The Bookseller.com

20th July 2008

Public calls for age-ranging

26.11.07 Caroline Horn

Consumers have returned a resounding "yes" to age guidance on children’s books, according to new research from the Pub­lishers Association. The research showed that 86% of adults felt that age-ranging was a good idea, while 40% said they would buy more books if they were age-ranged.

Of children asked to choose their favourite book from a selection, most (85%) selected books aimed at their age group, irrespective of whether an age was included on the book jacket. The research included focus groups, three workshops and 500 telephone interviews involving adults alongside around 230  children aged between seven and 12 years old.

"Whereas many people in the industry were against age-ranging children’s books, this research has shown that we need to explore it further," said Elaine McQuade, chair of the PA’s Children’s Group. The results will now be presented to retailers and the best way forward discussed, she added.

The Book People c.e.o. Seni Glaister has called on the industry to adopt the age bands used during the recent "Richard & Judy" Children’s Book Club programme: "The sooner we do this, the sooner we give the consumer one less reason not to buy a book," she writes in an opinion column in The Bookseller this week.

McQuade said the "Richard & Judy" bands would be "added to the mix" of ideas being considered. "PACG are in the process of discussing the results of three major pieces of research into how we can give more guidance to consumers and this will form part of that debate," she said. "What our research has shown is that there is a large number of people—who are not parents—who really want to buy books as gifts for children and who need as much guidance as possible."

Caroline Horn children's age guidance

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