What Age Group Is Goodnight Mister Tom Suitable For?

This is controversial but essentially it’s better for adults with difficult childhoods. It gives them a model of a healthy, playful, emotionally available parent. So for a five year old it’s fun but for a 35 year old struggling with issues of their own from their childhood it can be therapeutic. It opens up a whole new age range of people who would benefit from seeing a model of secure attachment in action. And that has a value far beyond preschoolers. It’s got value for anyone who wants to see what a supportive and playful family looks like.

A ‘play’ book. The regions on the tree top are magical playgrounds, like a Land of Sweets, a Land of Toys, where you can fly and play and have adventures. So the book will appeal to children of the kind of age where they are still playing with imagination most of the time. Children from kindergarten up to 2nd or 3rd grade love playing and making up stories and this book is pure fun. It’s imaginative play at its best and for that age group it’s perfect. It even validates their own games by saying yes to the idea of a land of birthday parties situated high up in the clouds.

My two cents: Stop worrying about the age of kids and let them read whatever they’re interested in. If they find a book too hard or boring, they’ll put it down. But if they love it, that’s great. ‘Heidi’ has captivated children of all cultures and languages for 140 years. It’s got a timeless core – children love nature, want a home of their own, and love to be kind. That’s accessible to a very wide range of kids. The specific prose of the story may pose problems for some young readers, but the core of the story is ageless. Just trust the natural curiosity of kids and not some arbitrary age.

Honestly? I would open a book to a random illustration. If a kid looks at it with fascination and says “Cool!”, then they’re ready for it. If not, then maybe next year. It’s not science.

I compared it to The Handmaid’s Tale and Cinder in the blurb. Cinderella Is Dead is in the middle grade range, while The Handmaid’s Tale is an 18+ read due to its extreme realism and graphic content. I aimed to write a YA protagonist’s story with a similar tone to that of The Handmaid’s Tale, but a more hopeful and conclusive ending. Therefore, while The Handmaid’s Tale is a 18+ read, I’d consider Cinderella Is Dead to be a 15+ read, with a similar thematic content but in a fantasy setting. The main audience for this book would be teens who can see cracks in the fantastical stories that are presented to them in order to understand the world.

Consider the interests of the child you are buying for. Does she like to dig in the dirt, build forts or make models with Lego? If she is this age and loves to think about things and how they work then ‘Stig’ could be a great read from as young as 6 years old. Older children who are into fast-paced fantasy or sci-fi may find ‘Stig’ slightly dull until they are around 10 or 11 years old and can appreciate the subtle commentary. A book for the curious and very observational child who loves to think about where people belong in the world. I said this isn’t a blockbuster book, but the best children’s book of all time (it’s mine anyway). Knowing this can help you work out the right age. Some children are ready to read character-driven novels with very little action at the age of 7, others at 12. So look at their reading diet and see if they read other novels about real kids in somewhat unusual circumstances. My two favorites are The Secret Garden and Tom’s Midnight Garden.

The experience that 17 year old sheltered reader would have with same language as 14 year old history studying adventurer would likely be quite different. I would advocate for a “layered” reading experience of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. For late elementary age children, a version of the book could be read to them and then they could have an adventure of their own. In high school, the full text of book could be read by students with teacher-led discussions. Finally, in adulthood, the book could be re-read critically by the reader for even more insight and value. This experience would not be possible if the book was limited to a single age group. The depth and complexity of the book would not be allowed to grow with the reader.

I consider the publisher (Tor) to publish mostly adult fantasy. The main character in this novel is forty-ish. I’d expect this to be marketed as an ‘Adult’ novel, though. On the other hand, Klune’s writing is infused with the sense of the children’s classics such as The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by fundraisers for poor orphan children who find a home at last. So that’s a universally appealing read for a mature 12-year-old+ reading for the magical orphan’s tale or 30s+ reader and utter comfort read of mine for any age reading it as a wonderful ‘feel good’ read. I consider the upper bound to be limitless. Romance is gentle, highly emotional and centred on connection. So while this could be read by a younger reader who isn’t easily disturbed by more graphic content, it is highly suitable for readers of 13+ and of any age who are willing to read a novel that is premised on kindness, celebrating difference and even finding great joy in the simple things like having a cup of tea. It’s not a novel for people who only read ‘gritty realism’ with a healthy dose of moral ambiguity though.

The greatest beauty of this book is the delineation of Jackie’s development from being able to love her friends at Walterbank in a platonic and familial way. Her journey as she grows to become able to love romantically in the story is highlighted beautifully through her relationships with the different Walter siblings. Yes, there is a love triangle in the story, but Jackie’s growth and her learning to become part of a family again is the core of the story and the greatest beauty in it. This makes the book accessible to a wider range of ages than a purely romantic novel would be. A teenager who does not necessarily ‘get’ romance could still love the story of the sibling relationships in the novel and Jackie’s growth. Therefore when thinking about age, the question to ask is will the reader get a lot out of reading a story about family and friendship? If the answer is yes then they could be as young as 12/13 and get a lot out of this book. The romantic subplot in the novel is gentle and doesn’t dominate the story of Jackie’s healing and her journey to finding her place in the world. It is a beautifully balanced book, hence it is difficult to pinpoint an exact age of reader, but the book has great appeal to a teenager reading within the teen category.

If I had to choose an age range for the book, I’d say 11–13 years old. ‘Faerie Wars’ is a great book to mirror the era where a child starts to question things and realises that the world is not just black and white. In the faerie realm of Faeries there are politicians, questionable actions and even demons with their own agendas and reasons for things. In ‘Faerie Wars’ Henry has to make very difficult decisions with extreme consequences and this is enjoyable for a reader of an older but still ‘young’ age. Although a lot of description has been used in order to enable the reader to picture scenes, it is not over-excessive or overly poetic in places, thus becoming boring or annoying. It is a ‘bridge’ book in the sense that it is a magical, exciting, fun adventure, and slowly but surely it introduces more complex ideas that eventually lead to epic fantasy of greater complexity.