Different types of books for each child age group.
Knowing your target audience informs all kinds of things in your book; the illustrator you choose, how many words your book will have, and the language you use.
Newborn to age 4: Picture books in the form of board and soft books and Finger Puppet books.
Babies love to look at pictures, but they are not so good with paper pages. A soft baby book is best. They come with a fabric cover and sections made of soft, safe-to-the-touch materials.
Ages 2–5: Early picture books.
Early picture books; children aged 5 or younger are typically read board books. These kinds of books are quick and easy to read. They’re made up of mostly pictures and few words. The main goal of these books is to teach young children basic language skills like memorizing their ABCs, identifying shapes & colours, etc.
Ages 5–8: Picture books, coloring, activity and novelty books.
Picture books are for children aged 5-8 years old, but some of these books are suitable for children up to 10 years old as well. Younger readers will most likely have a parent read the story to them. Older readers will likely read these books on their own. Similar to board books, picture books have a lot of illustrations and few words per page (but they’ll have more words than a board book). In terms of word count, you want to aim for about 800 words up to a maximum of 1,000 words.
Ages 4–8: Early (easy) readers.
Children in this age range are just starting to read on their own. These books focus more on words and less on illustrations. They feature simple phrases and only go up to about 2,000 words.
Ages 6-9: First chapter books and graphic novels.
Chapter books are for children who have learned how to read on their own and are looking for a more challenging read but are not quite ready to dive into a full novel. These books feature short chapters, a simple plot, and are typically between 8.5-12 thousand words.
Ages 8–12: Middle-grade novels and graphic novels.
Next up is Middle Grade Fiction. These children have moved on to chapter books like the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books.
Ages 12-18: Young adult (YA) novels and graphic novels.
Finally, there’s Young Adult novels. These books are on the fence between children’s books and adult novels. Some examples of popular YA novels include The Hunger Games series and The Maze Runner books.
