Hi Lou,
I received a rejection letter from an agent for my chapter book yesterday. He’s written that I’ve mixed up chapter books and middle grade books, but the children in my book are eight years old. So, isn’t this a chapter book?
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Technically, chapter books are for children between 7 and 10, and middle-grade is for children from 8 to 12. As you can see, there is some overlap here. Further distinction can be made in the word count of your book and the subject matter.
Chapter books are normally between 6000 and 10 000 words long, while middle-grade ranges more from 30 000 to 45 000. While chapter books often have pictures like easy readers, middle-grade tends not to. You haven’t given me the theme of your book, but check that it’s appropriate for your eight year olds – not too childish or not too advanced.
Do. Not. Panic. You can always drop or raise the age of your protagonist. Doing so might sort out the problem if it’s age-related. If your word count is off, look for unneccesary scenes or chapters you can cut during your revision process, or sit down and have a think about what you can add to your book that will raise the word count and improve your story at the same time.
You’ve got this!
Lou
