Children’s Book Target Ages
A fundamental part of the creation of your children’s book will be its structure. Therefore, we will talk about how many pages and illustrations you can have, as well as the structure and design you will carry. These factors will depend on the age of the children who will read the book, as each will have different needs. Today, we will learn about the children’s book target ages.
Picture Books – Boards Books:
For ages 0-3 years, books are often printed on cardboard because children at that age tend to rip the pages or chew the edges. In general, these books tend to have 12 to 16 pages, mainly consisting of illustrations, having just a few words or none at all.
Topics include shapes, colors, sounds, animals, or children doing simple activities.
In general, these books provide children with knowledge rather than tell a story.
Young Picture Books:
For ages 2-5, these books usually introduce children to a specific topic, such as learning how to count, or are bedtime stories. They are written in general rhyme and can have between 200-400 words. They are somewhat challenging books to write because the vocabulary must be very simple and limited.
Wordless Books:
Wordless books for children ages 3-7 tell a story with images only. Children are encouraged to create the story that runs through the illustrations, making reading these books an excellent activity that stimulates the imagination.
Trade Picture Books:
For ages 4-8, Picture Books are most of the books found in bookstores. With an overall word count of 400-800, these books are ideal for those children who are interested in exploring their world. The stories often deal with the challenges these children face daily, and illustrations are as important as words.
Picture Story Books:
There are also Picture Books for children ages 6-10. In most cases, they have illustrations on each page and have a word count of 1000-3000. These books cover the transition between Picture Books and the next big step: Chapter Books.
Chapter Books:
For ages 6-10, Chapter Books are transition books, broken into small and simple chapters, preparing children to read novels. These books usually have a word count of 3000-10000, only contain some illustrations, and tend to be a part of a series of books that repeat some line of argument and develop the characters in different scenarios and situations.
Middle-grade Books:
For ages 8-12, as in all children’s books, language should complement the children’s vocabulary level. These books tend to deal with strong subjects with a lot of adventure. Parents are generally absent in these stories, the protagonist is usually the same age or a little older than the readers themselves, and they always have a happy ending.
As you can see, there are many kinds of children’s books and the possibilities are endless. A good way to know what kind of books you can write is to take your favorite books and try to categorize them according to the number of words, illustrations, and pages. This way you can choose the kind of story you’d like to write. So, what did you learn? Now you are aware of the children’s book target ages?
Source: “How To Self-Publish a Children’s Book” by Yvonne Jones
“How to Create a Successful Children’s Picture Book” by Bobbie Hinman
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