Age banding and its impact on children and their reading

The study described here investigates the thoughts and opinions of young readers related to age banding on children's books. Emphasizing the views of children themselves, rather than adults such as parents, librarians, teachers and authors, the research involved a series of three focus groups involving children aged 11-13 years. The discussions held by the focus groups revealed that participants thought that age banding is intended primarily for adults, and for readers younger than the participants. Age bands were thought to neglect individualism and to restrict autonomy; they were less obvious than other features on books so their position and appearance were significant.