Division of Young People's Literature

Children's Literature is divided into groups according to the desired audience age. There are 4 categories: children's literature, middle grades/tween, young adult, and new adult. I would keep these age groups in mind when ordering books for my library depending on what level of school I am work at.  A librarian must always keep his or her clientele in mind when ordering product. It is ineffective to order books that have content that is too young and easy or that is too mature and hard.

The first group is children's literature. It is for ages 0-8 years. These are picture books both wordless and with words, easy reader, illustrated chapter books, and young early readers. These books would be appropriate for those students learning to read through students building stamina and fluency.

Middle grades and Tweens is the next division. It is geared for ages 8-12. If I worked at a middle school or intermediate school, I would order books from this category.  These books move past the very easy concepts and begin to introduce readers to topics like romance or family issues.

Young adult books are geared for ages 13-18. The topics in these books are much tougher. They may include characters that discuss their sexuality. Violence may be another topic focused in these books.

New adult is the last category. The audience for these books are 18-30 years old. This is a newer category. It was introduce in 2009 to meet up the demand of adult readers you like YA but still needed topics that were more adult driven. These would be literature that would appeal to high school or college graduates. The books focus on characters who are experiencing major transitions in life include leaving family homes or finding a spouse. I would look for these title if I worked in a public or college library.