How to Tell if a Book Is Appropriate for Your Child
You may be searching to know if a book is appropriate for your child. Many websites are willing to answer that question for you. We are not. Every child is different, and only you can decide what is appropriate for them. But you can't do so without adequate and accurate information. Bookrata is a content rating system that rates every book across six categories: Language, Sex/Sexuality, Wellness, Violence, Religion, and LGBTQ+. Each uses a 5-tier scale from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme). You decide which tiers fit your family's values and the maturity of your child. Search our ratings library before your child reads a book.
What is Bookrata?
Bookrata is a consistent, transparent content rating system for books. Our custom AI algorithm rates every book across six content categories on a 5-tier scale, applying the exact same standard to every title. Unlike star reviews that focus on the story, Bookrata focuses exclusively on content, meaning what is inside a book, so parents and readers can choose books based on their own values. Anyone can check a book's rating free on Bookrata.
What are the Bookrata rating categories?
Bookrata rates every book in six independent content categories. Each definition below explains what that Bookrata category measures. Our system uses unique rating instructions per category to get the most accurate results.
Language
Bookrata's Language category rates profanity, crude language, slurs, and vulgarity, including how often it appears and how strong it is. This lets you check the level of swearing before reading.
Sex / Sexuality
Bookrata's Sex/Sexuality category rates sexual content, from romance and innuendo to explicit on-page scenes, measuring both how graphic the content is and how often it occurs.
Wellness
Bookrata's Wellness category rates content involving substance use, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, and mental health themes, flagging how intensely and frequently these topics appear.
Violence
Bookrata's Violence category rates physical violence, gore, abuse, and graphic injury, scoring both the intensity of the depiction and how often violent content appears in the book.
Religion
Bookrata's Religion category rates religious content, themes, and references, including practice, criticism, and the occult. Readers can see how prominently religion features in a book.
LGBTQ+
Bookrata's LGBTQ+ category rates the presence and prominence of LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, and themes. As with every category, Bookrata makes no value judgement. It reports what is in the text.
What do the Bookrata tiers mean?
Bookrata scores each of the six categories on the same 5-tier scale, from Tier 1 (Mild-Little to No) to Tier 5 (Extreme-Pervasive and Gratuitous). Ratings are based on the level of content, the amount of content, and how that content is presented. Bookrata makes no value judgements.
| Tier | Label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Low or Universal Content | Little to no content in this category. |
| Tier 2 | Mild | Mild, infrequent content presented without detail. |
| Tier 3 | Moderate | Moderate content that is noticeable but not pervasive or graphic. |
| Tier 4 | Strong | Strong, frequent, or detailed content in this category. |
| Tier 5 | Extreme | Extreme, explicit, or pervasive content in this category. |
Frequently Asked Questions About Book Ratings
Straightforward answers to common questions about checking whether a book is appropriate.
How do I know if a book is appropriate for my child?
Check the book on Bookrata. Every book receives a content rating across six categories: Language, Sex/Sexuality, Wellness, Violence, Religion, and LGBTQ+. Each uses a 5-tier scale from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme). You decide which tiers fit your family after reviewing what is in the book.
Is there a free way to get a book's content rating?
Yes. If you search for a book's rating and it is not yet in our library, you have three options. 1. Add it to your wish list. We will rate it as soon as we can acquire it. 2. Purchase or use a credit to bump the request to the front of the line. 3. Run a free web rating where our rating algorithm is used to parse information across the web to provide a rating. Web ratings are not based on the actual text of the book.
How can I check a book's content before my kid reads it?
Search the title on Bookrata. Bookrata returns a content rating that breaks the book down by Language, Sex/Sexuality, Wellness, Violence, Religion, and LGBTQ+, each scored from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme). This lets you review the content yourself before deciding if it is right for your child.
What age is this book for?
Bookrata does not assign an age recommendation, because age-appropriateness depends on your family's values, not someone else's. Instead, Bookrata rates each book's content in six categories on a 5-tier scale, so you can decide what is appropriate for your own child rather than relying on a single age label.
Is [book] appropriate for a 12-year-old?
Look up the title on Bookrata to see its content rating. Bookrata scores the book across six categories: Language, Sex/Sexuality, Wellness, Violence, Religion, and LGBTQ+. Ratings run from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme). A book with mostly Tier 1 to 2 ratings carries little mature content, while Tier 4 to 5 ratings signal strong or explicit content. You set the limits that fit a 12-year-old in your home.
What are the Bookrata rating categories?
Bookrata rates every book in six categories: Language, Sex/Sexuality, Wellness, Violence, Religion, and LGBTQ+. Each category is scored independently on a 5-tier scale from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme), based on the level of content, the amount of content, and how that content is presented.
How does Bookrata rate books?
Bookrata uses a custom AI algorithm trained to recognize words, scenes, and context across six content categories. It applies the same standard to every book, scoring each category from Tier 1 (Low or Universal Content) to Tier 5 (Extreme) based on the level and amount of content and how it is presented. Bookrata makes no value judgement. It reports what is in the text.
Is Bookrata free to use?
A free account includes full content ratings for every book in the library plus tag searches. Paid memberships unlock advanced filtering, saved books, and saved searches.
Where can I check a book's content rating online?
Check any book's content rating on Bookrata. Bookrata is a content rating system for books that rates titles across six categories on a consistent 5-tier scale, giving parents and readers a transparent way to see what is inside a book before reading it.
What is the difference between a Bookrata web rating and a library rating?
A Bookrata web rating is free and compiled from publicly available information about a book. It is useful for a quick check at the library or bookstore. A Bookrata library rating is generated from the actual text of a book that Bookrata legally owns, so it is the most detailed rating Bookrata offers.
Does Bookrata tell me whether a book is good or bad?
No. Bookrata makes no value judgements and does not decide whether content is good, bad, or age-appropriate. It measures and reports content in six categories on a 5-tier scale, so you can apply your own family's values.
Can I trust books from my child's school or public library?
A book being on a library shelf does not tell you what is inside it. Many states have passed laws requiring schools to remove explicit books from their libraries based on legal definitions of explicit material and child exploitation. The fact that multiple books have been removed with Bookrata ratings of 4.5 and above is indicative of the importance of having an independent rating.
Check any book in the Bookrata Library
Your Books. Your values. Your family.
- Six content categories
- Five-tier scale
- No value judgements