The novels in the program are carefully selected to be age-appropriate. Texts do increase in maturity level across the program.
While we are careful to select books that are age-appropriate, we do strongly encourage schools to preview all of the texts in the program prior to adopting the curriculum. You know your students and parents better than we do, and we know you are sensitive to their concerns.
Carefully read the text complexity analysis in the front of each unit guide for specific details about mature content. To find this electronically, on our website go to
→the classroom resource page,
→select the grade level you are interested in previewing,
→and then "Look Inside" each unit.
Cautions considered in our text selection:
- Mild foul language is found in books at 4th grade and above. An attempt to avoid books in which the main character swears was made, knowing that students often look-up-to the main characters in their books.
- More cautions were taken for the book club titles than for the read-aloud titles with the understanding that in the read-aloud the teacher is able to address mature content more directly.
- When mature language, topics, and graphic visuals come up in the text, lessons provide additional notes for the teacher in how to address these items with students.
When placing students in the book club books, be aware that as books increase in complexity, so does the intended maturity level of the reader. Books for high-readers are more likely to include mature content. Just because a book is at a student's reading level, does not mean it also matches the students' maturity level. Teachers should take this into account when matching students to texts.
We encourage you to look up titles you may be concerned about on:
😀 If you have specific questions about the texts selected in our program, please contact us! We are happy to discuss this topic further with you and look forward to learning more about the needs of your school.