Why use age ranges to describe the sophistication level, rather than grade level in school?
During a given school year, most students enjoy a mix of books, some fun and easy, and some complex. Sometimes you feel like reading a book with a lot of layers of meaning, and sometimes you just want something light. Both are appropriate choices, and the sophistication level classification can help you zero in on a book that fits your appetite today. As your literary tastes mature, you’ll seek books from more sophisticated categories. That said, fourth- and fifth-graders enjoy books in all of the elementary school sophistication level categories, and middle schoolers of each grade enjoy books in all of the middle school sophistication level categories. All of the elementary school fiction is a “4th grade book”, it just depends on the 4th grader, and on each student’s literary appetite at the moment.
