Why does it matter what type of editor I use for my children’s book?

So, you’ve written a children's book and now it’s time to have it edited. Finding the correct editor for your children’s book is crucial when you are writing elementary and middle school age books.  Punctuation and spelling correction is still needed, but your story must contain the right reading level appropriate words and sentence structure. This type of edit is known as “leveling” your book.

“Leveling down" means simplifying vocabulary/sentence structure and reducing sentence length. The plot, characters, story organization, etc., are not changed but leveling a book from a higher-grade reading level to a lower grade reading level means significant changes to word choice and sentence structure/flow.

Here is an example of an edited, but not leveled, paragraph:
“The grand oak tree was the tallest and oldest tree on the little island. If Ruby looked hard and squinted his little eyes, he just about could see every corner and every beach of the small island in the middle of the bay that surrounded it.”

Now, here is the same paragraph leveled for a 2nd-3rd grade reading level:
“The grand oak tree was the tallest and oldest tree on the little island. Ruby looked hard. He squinted his little eyes. He could just about see every corner and beach of the small island. He could even see the bay that surrounded it.”

Having your children’s book leveled is more than just beneficial to your target audience. This process allows you to market your books directly to schools and libraries.  There are several avenues you can take advantage of to help with this marketing process, F & P Leveling and Accelerated Reader.  

Prior to publishing, your book is submitted for official leveling to the Fountas & Pinnell Leveling Team.  Once assigned a reading level, the reading level credentials will be printed on your book and added to your website. Your book will also be listed on the F & P website to be discovered by teachers looking for grade appropriate books.

Accelerated Reading is a program that helps educators manage and monitor children’s independent reading. Children select a book at their independent reading level. Once they finish reading the book, they take a short quiz which provides feedback that teachers use to help children in ongoing reading practice.