AGE-APPROPRIATE GUIDELINES

At LibraryPass™, we believe that comic books, graphic novels, manga, and picture books offer an incredible opportunity to engage readers of all abilities and ages, and Comics Plus® is our unique gateway into that diverse and engaging world. Our staff includes experienced teachers, librarians, and publishing professionals, and we fully support the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement, all of which informs our Collection Development Policy, which includes these age-appropriate guidelines.

It is our belief that the library has a unique responsibility of introducing young citizens to the world of information, and they have the right to a relevant, balanced, and diverse library collection that represents all reasonable points of view. As such, we partner with a variety of library-friendly publishers to provide unlimited access to a broad range of content through Comics Plus, and we purposefully curate materials that offer diverse viewpoints for readers of all ages to enjoy, including well-known favorites and lesser-known gems.

We also understand that providing age-appropriate materials is a primary concern for librarians, educators, and parents, and appropriateness can often be a subjective judgement that is different in every school, library system, and community. We take our curation process very seriously, utilizing a custom set of guidelines to help determine appropriate age ranges for the content we offer, and make them publicly available for maximum transparency.

We periodically review and occasionally update age ratings on specific titles and series to ensure they align with our age-appropriate guidelines, and those guidelines are regularly reviewed to ensure they align with our dual mission to to provide unlimited access to a broad range of content while enabling our customers to confidently offer Comics Plus to their students and patrons.

Our Reconsideration of Materials Policy also offers our customers a process to request a review of the age ratings of individual titles and series. Each request is reviewed and evaluated solely in accordance with the principles and guidelines stated in our Collection Development Policy, and a decision is typically rendered within one business week after the request is received. Our customers also have the ability to remove individual titles from their own collection if they disagree with its age rating.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, or how they’ve been applied to specific titles, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@librarypass.com.

PreK-1/Ages 3-5 (Emergent)

Readers: Preschool and kindergarten; may be able to recognize sight words but can’t read independently yet.
Format: Picture books and early readers; comic books with simplified panel layouts.
Language: Simplified word balloons; no swearing.
Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to children’s television shows, reflecting age-appropriate experiences.
Comics Plus Package(s): Elementary, Children’s Public Library, All-Access for Schools, All-Access for Public Libraries

K-3/Ages 5-7 (Children)

Readers: Kindergarten and early elementary school; reluctant and remedial readers in elementary.
Format: Picture books and early readers; comic books with simple panel layouts, including comic strips.
Language: Simplified word balloons; no swearing.
Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to G-rated movies, while reflecting age-appropriate experiences.
Comics Plus Package(s): Elementary, Children’s Public Library, All-Access for Schools, All-Access for Public Libraries

Gr 3-5/Ages 8-10 (Kids)

Readers: Elementary school age readers; reluctant and remedial readers in elementary through early middle school.
Format: Traditional comic books and manga with simplified panel layouts, including comic strips.
Language: While some readers in this range can handle mild profanity, particularly in a humorous context, every family has different rules about swearing, so a very conservative approach is required at this level.
Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to PG-rated movies, while reflecting age-appropriate experiences. Romantic relationships and scenes of affection between partners (hugging, holding hands) are age-appropriate; emphasizing beauty, hypersexualized appearances, sexual behaviors, and stereotyped sexual roles is not age-appropriate. Drinking, drugs, smoking, and risky stunts aren’t age-appropriate.
Educational value: Readers in this age range will benefit from content that supports school-readiness, including social-emotional skills such as self-control. Older children are often reading for pleasure, so stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science. Stories should expose them to diverse experiences; encourage them to think about other people’s lives; or teach them about different times and places.
Comics Plus Package(s): Elementary, Middle School, Children’s Public Library, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, All-Access for Public Libraries

Gr 6-8/Ages 11-14 (Teen)

Readers: Active readers in upper elementary and middle school; reluctant and remedial readers in high school.
Format: Comic books, manga, hybrid prose/comics; more sophisticated panel layouts.
Language: Mild profanity is age-appropriate in small doses, but every family has different rules about swearing, so a relatively conservative approach is observed.
Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be equivalent to a typical PG-13 rated movie, while also reflecting a typical middle grader’s life experiences. Historical contexts of violence, including violence experienced by particular social groups, are considered age-appropriate. Humor may come at the expense of authority, and poop jokes and other potty humor are considered age-appropriate. Kissing and dating are age-appropriate; partial or full nudity and simulated sex are not. Disrespectful portrayals of characters as sexual objects or as sexual aggressors are not age-appropriate, nor is humor that relies on these themes.
Educational value: Readers in this range are often reading for pleasure, so stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science, and can expose them to diverse experiences, encourage them to think about other people’s lives and viewpoints, or teach them about different times and places.
Comics Plus Package(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, All-Access for Public Libraries

Gr 9-12/Ages 15-18 (Young Adult)

Readers: Active teenage readers in upper middle and high school; reluctant and remedial adult readers.
Format: All.
Language: Every family has different rules about swearing, so a mildly conservative approach is always preferable; similar to a more intense PG-13 movie.
Content: Story intensity, action, and violence are equivalent to more intense PG-13 movies like the Fast & Furious, James Bond, and Twilight franchises, while also reflecting a typical teenager’s life experiences. Some violence and blood, but no explicit, gratuitous, or excessive gore. Some nonsexual, partial nudity, or sexually suggestive content, but nothing gratuitously portrayed. Relevant coming-of-age body, health, and sexual situations are age-appropriate. Humor deriving from sexual innuendo or bodily functions is age-appropriate, but disrespectful portrayals of characters as sexual objects or as sexual aggressors are not, nor is humor that relies on these themes. Pairing sex and violence is not age-appropriate.
Educational value: Teenagers can glean educational value from less obvious lessons, and understand that knowledge can be gained from the experience of non-ideal situations, including historic or realistic context. It’s important for teens to become global citizens and learn about other cultures and points of view. Stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science, to promote social emotional learning, exposing them to diverse experiences, encouraging them to think about other people’s lives, or teach them about different times and places.
Comics Plus Package(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, All-Access for Public Libraries

Ages 18+ (Adult)

Readers: Mature teens and adult readers of all interests.
Format: All.
Language: Similar to R-rated movies and many prestige TV shows.
Content: Explorations of mature themes with language and imagery appropriate for audiences 18 and over, similar to an R-rated movie or prestige TV show. Some titles may contain violence, blood, or even explicit gore; partial or full nudity, and suggestive or simulated sexual situations may appear, but pornographic content is not included.
Educational value: Readers who enjoy complex concepts and nuanced storytelling in both fiction and nonfiction will be exposed to a diverse range of stories and experiences.
Comics Plus Package(s): All-Access for Public Libraries

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