Every children’s book genre has standards (rules that you may or may not want to follow). It’s helpful to articulate what genre you’re writing, even if you’re blurring the lines. It will guide your creative decisions, as you’re working on the book, and it will make it easier for your agent to position the book when it’s time to share it with editors. Categorizing a book is definitely an art not a science, but knowing the genre or age range, will help an editor understand what to expect. It helps a bookseller know where to shelve your book in the store. And it helps reader discover your book at just the right moment, when they’re looking for something wonderful, but they don’t know what it is yet! Below are some guidelines and questions to help you sort out what you’re working on.

Board Books

• Ages 0-3

• Less than 100 words

• 5-10 words per page

• Often follow young children of animals

• Simple POV

• Little to no plot, but takes the reader on a journey with a gentle climax

• High-contrast illustrations

• Encourage multiple readings

• Develop a love of books and reading together

• Show how the world works (basic concepts like colors, shapes, manners, etc)

• Often reformatting of a popular picture book

Picture Books

• Primarily ages 3-7, but stretches to sophisticated NF titles for ages 12+

• Rarely over 1000 words, mostly under 500

• Protagonist is 3-7 years old (in body or soul)

• Tends to follow traditional story structure with a main character who solves the problem

• Most often read aloud

• Themes include going to school, sharing, nature, love, and other topics relevant to young readers

• Large market

• Caldecott award

Early Readers

• Ages 5-7

• Leveled text (formally or informally)

• Designed to help kids become independent readers

• Simple sentences and vocabulary

• May include chapters (either that work as isolated vignettes or that connect and build on each other in some way)

• Illustrations support the text and ease readability

• Give readers a sense of accomplishment

• Simple but engaging so the emphasis is on learning to read rather than understand the content

• Limited market

• Geisel award

Chapter Books

• Ages 6-7 and 8-10 with some crossover

• 5000-35,000 words

• Includes chapters

• Dialogue-heavy text

• Main character is often 1-2 years older than reader

• Simple POV

• Plot includes twists

• Books are often part of a series

• Books within a series often follow a templated storyline

• Story includes moments of heightened emotion, rather than simply external action

• Themes include feeling alone, friendship, and being brave

• Limited but expanding market

Middle Grade

• Ages 8-12

• 30,000-45,000 words

• Main character is 2-4 years older than the reader

• Includes more developed secondary characters

• Complete novel with twists, subplots, and emotional journey

• Main character is more developed, makes more serious mistakes, and suffers more deeply

• More plot driven than YA

• Themes include crushes, good versus evil, feeling at home

• Expanding market

• Newbery medal

Young Adult

• Ages 13-16+

• 50,000+ words

• Main character is in high school or older

• Complete novel

• Often more internally and emotionally driven than based on external action

• Themes include self discovery, conformity, social issues, relationships

• Large market

New Adult

• Ages 17-mid 20s+

• 50,000+ words

• Main character is in their 20s

• Complete novel

• Often sexier than YA

• Themes include being an adult, social issues

• New market

Many of these categories include subgenres.

• Concept books

• Nonfiction

• Poetry

• Humor

• Historical fiction

• Realistic fiction

• Mystery

• Magical realism

• Sci-fi and Fantasy

There’s always crossover. Sometimes older kids read board books, because they’re easier when they’re learning to read. Or they’re simply trusted favorites. Early readers can feel a lot like chapter books if they have chapters. And there’s a big range within chapter books, with some that feel like graphic novels and other that feel almost like full middle-grade novels. It can be helpful to look at a writer who works in multiple genres, like Mo Willems or Annie Barrows, and study the differences between their books.

Twenty years ago, these were more formal categories. Now there’s more room for creativity and publishers are willing to blur the lines a bit, because they recognize readers want to read all different kinds of books at different stages of life. It’s not as simple as saying, if you’re 7, read this kind of book for a year. And books reflect that now. And I hope it goes without saying that no category is better or worse than any other. There’s just what’s right for your story. And to make things even more complicated, there’s often more than one way to tell a story. If you have an idea for a book, you might try it as an early reader, a chapter book, and a picture book, before you settle on the right genre. It takes time to figure out the character and themes, which means it takes time to figure out what format makes the most sense for each story.

Try This

Think about the format, plot, characters, voice, and themes in your book. Then ask yourself:

• Who do I want to read this book?

• Will they care about these themes and ideas?

• What’s the simplest way to tell this story?  

• What do I need to tell this story completely?

• Is this a series?

• Does this book look, feel, and sound like other books in this category?

• Do my favorite writing people (my agent, my editor, my coach, my friends) agree?

Then experiment, tinker, read some more, and keep writing! If it feels messy and fun, you’re probably doing it right.  Send me a message if you have more questions!