Should a book aimed at a child have an age band on the cover? Many people would say yes – a guideline age could be invaluable, not only for parents and teachers, but particularly for those childless relatives who find it so hard to gauge the suitability of a book being bought as a gift.
Adding an age guide to children’s books is due to be implemented this coming Autumn by major publishers including Random House, Puffin and Macmillan, who have promised via a statement issued by the Publishers Association that there would be “no question of age guidance being added to a book without full consultant with the author”.
No to Age Banding
Despite this promise, many authors appear sceptical about the move, and some are violently opposed to it: Philip Pullman, best-selling author of the Northern Lights trilogy, is leading a campaign against the proposal called “No to Age Banding”.
The campaigners, according to their website, include “writers, illustrators, librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, educationalists, psychologists, parents and grandparents”; indeed, the list of people on the site who have added their name in support includes some very famous writers and illustrators indeed.
Famous Names in Support
Not surprisingly, writers of books for children are well represented: as well as Pullman himself, the names of writers such as Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Rice, JK Rowling, Michael Rosen and Michael Morpurgo also appear. The issue is particularly pertinent to some of these writers: although the Harry Potter and Northern Lights series are primarily aimed at children, both JK Rowling and Philip Pullman can count a huge number of adult readers amongst their fans.
However, the campaign is not supported only by those who earn their living writing for children. Well-known authors such as David Lodge, Roddy Doyle, Susan Hill and Helen Dunmore have also added their names to the site.
Why Not Have Age Banding?
The campaign lists a number of reasons not to implement the age banding, the main one being that each child is unique: who is to judge what may or may not be suitable for them? Another real worry is that age banding may dissuade a child from reading: a book may be discounted by a child for fear of looking too “babyish”, while a less confident reader could be put off reading for life because the book that is supposedly the right age for them is too difficult.
Everyone seems agreed that the main positive of age banding would be to help adults buy books for children, which can only be a good thing – most people feel that encouraging a love of books in a child is very healthy indeed. The campaign counters this by saying that parents and other buyers could become over-prescriptive; in an age of competitive parenting it is easy to imagine how the scheme could limit the books an adult would be willing to buy.
If you wish to add your support to the campaign, you can add your name to their webpage, which currently has around 3300 signatures. The Publishers Association’s response can be read in full at their website.
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