Children’s books are back in the headlines with the current debate about the inclusion of age guidance on the back of books.

The debate is a highly visible demonstration of the passion that underpins the creation of literature for young people; even if, in the middle of the 2008 National Year of Reading, we would have wished the book trade to be united in celebrating one of the UK’s strongest creative sectors.

The motives of both sides in the debate are impeccable: those in favour of age banding want to empower those who aren’t comfortable with book buying by providing them with guidance; those against are keenly aware of the complexities of children’s reading development and the fact that this development is rarely linear.

At a deeper level the debate is beginning to reveal two contrasting approaches to books and the balance of power between reader and writer. One approach centres around defining the book by the author’s intention. The other is a reader-centred approach which defines the book by the relationship with the reader. Inevitably many authors will tend to the former and those who market books will tend to the latter.

If one sees a book as a work created by an author and appreciated by the reader, then the book will be packaged based on the identity of the work. If the book is seen as a collaboration, with the reader taking a more active role in the creation of the book, then the cultural values and identity of the reader become more important. For the former group the idea of age banding is intrusive and inappropriate; for the latter it is a useful tool for guiding the reader to the book.

There are skilled professionals who can introduce readers to books – specialist booksellers, children’s librarians, teachers – who don’t need this kind of guidance. They are comfortable with an author-centred product because they can make the author/reader connection based on professional experience. However, many book-buyers may appreciate extra guidance, especially when children’s books are available outside of these traditional settings.

In the end, writers need to have faith in the integrity of the design of their books and readers need to personally connect with the book as an object as well as its contents. Those who promote children’s books need to be given space to connect the right child to the right book at the right time. Ultimately, this means that age ranging will probably never be wholesale or systematic but neither will it ever be obliterated. The debate is a demonstration of a creative relationship at the heart of a creative experience – the act of reading itself.

Jonathan Douglas, June 2008