This interesting article from a children’s editor (Ms. Whitman) on SFWA (Science Fiction Writer’s Association) talks about how people are still unclear about the differences between Middle Grade (MG) and Young Adult (YA), but as these genres grow in importance (to publisher and bookseller bottom lines) they are getting more attention. She points out that the difference between MG and YA is content driven, not necessarily the age of the characters.
I like her idea of splitting up “younger” and “older” teen material on the bookstore and library shelves, and think I might suggest that the next time I cruise into my local B&N. She even suggests using MPAA ratings as a guide for authors and publishers in determining the target audience for a book! Now that’s an idea Ink Spells can really get behind!
Would you like to see an “older” and “younger” teen section in the library or bookstore?
Do you think the “middle grade” section (or “young reader” as it’s called at my local Barnes and Noble) should have a similar breakdown, so that Captain Underpants isn’t shelved next to Harry Potter?
Or do shelvings in the library or bookstore not influence your book selections?
I find it interesting to see books at the library shelved differently than the way publishers marketed them.
I've never actively shopped for MG. And YA is only where I go when what I'm looking for isn't in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section and I go, "Oh yeah! They lump all the teen books together."
Of course that's when I was in America.
Anyway, I'd be all for a ratings system, if only to give parents and buyers some idea of what's inside, even if they don't agree with the rating. (You know, just like movies).
@Caroline Yeah, I wondered about that too! I saw a book shelved just recently in the "Youth" section of the library, which is solidly MG, but I knew it was a YA book. It wasn't the publisher, who in general seem more sensitive to appropriate marketing (ditto bookstores).
@Adam I think more people are "dipping" into the YA section, either accidentally (they didn't know it was YA) or on purpose (they decide to stay). And I'm obvs in favor of a rating system, but I'm always surprised at how many people object to it, usually citing the "subjectivity" or fear of having books "banned." Somehow, I think we could manage to do it, but publishers would have to take the initiative. I think that shelving serves as their defacto rating system, but in YA it's particularly sticky.
I'm not opposed to content advisories, but I hate to think that they would be used to restrict sales. I do browse bookstores based on the shelvings.
At my library, Harry Potter is indeed lumped with Captain Underpants. Both are for Juveniles (grades 4-6). [Although, as Harry Potter aged, and the books got darker, they were less appropriate for that age range.] The huge, headache-y problem for me as a children's librarian is the YA section, where there are big differences between younger YA (grades 5-8) books and older YA (grades 9-12). We don't try to separate them, as it would present too many problems. I tell worried mothers to look at the title and the cover. If it looks like it might be a problem for their young-ish YA, then it probably is. Or, usually, it's not perceived as a problem for the reader, but the reader's parent. 🙂
I would like them to stop putting supernatural books in the fantasy/sci-fi section. They belong either in horror, or in a section of their own. I kind of wish all YA would be kept out of the fantasy/sci-fi section actually.
@Rick I think a lot of parents look to shelvings for guidance too. 🙂
@Catherine I know YA is tough! And some of the stuff that's a problem for the parent would not be a "problem" for the kids, in the sense that they probably would love to get their hands on it. Baring thing like certain men's magazines in the hands of 13 year olds, I think most of it can be handled with good parental discussion. But how do parents know when something needs discussing? Kids likely won't bring it to them (at least mine don't).
@Ted Ignoring for the moment that all SF used to be considered "juvenile," why in the modern era do they put ANY YA in the SF section? Are booksellers trying to entice adult SF readers to dip into YA (not that I personally think there's anything wrong with that)? In our local bookstores, the YA is quickly getting bigger than any of the adult sections.
This was interesting because I attended a conference on Saturday and one of the editors said in answer to a question that the age of 16 could be used for the protagonist in MG. I was stunned. I write MG and always used 12 as the cutoff. She didn't go on to explain so this younger vs older book theme makes sense.
@Catherine I've been seeing more books with older protags (like 15, 16) marketed as MG, which I actually think is great as long as it's appropriate. Leviathan comes to mind – older protag, but so clean it's easily an MG read – but also has cross-over appeal for young teens.
It surprised me that Nightshade City was housed in the little kid section (in the MGs) at B & N…I thought it would be with Harry Potter in YA…I think there are grey areas. 🙂
@Sharon See now, my bookstore stocks Harry Potter in the MG section. I think there's a good case to be made for the first 4 books of that series being solidly MG, and even the later books (while dark) do not go into teen themes the way some YA books do. I'm not familiar with Nightshade City, but I'm sure the B&N would like to hear your opinion about its placement. 🙂