Description: We are writers, librarians and others who agree that the proposal to put an age-guidance figure on books for children is ill-conceived and damaging to the interests of young readers. We disavow publicly any connection with such age-guidance figures, and state our passionately-held conviction that everything about a book should seek to welcome readers in and not keep them out.
childrens books (536) terry pratchett (20) philip pullman (4) age banding (1) anne fine (1) david almond (1)
... the neat sorting-out of books into age ranges, so dear to publishers, has only a very sketchy relation with the habits of any real readers. Those of us who are blamed when old for reading childish books were blamed when children for reading books too old for us. No reader worth his salt trots along in obedience to a time-table.
CS Lewis (1952 essay On three ways of writing for children , collected in Of Other Worlds (latest edition, Harvest Books 2002)
This website was set up by writers and other professionals who believe that the proposal to put an age-banding figure on books for children is ill-conceived and damaging to the interests of young readers.