The first question I need to be sure of the answer to is "what, exactly, is my target age range?". I have stated previously that my target age was 7+ because, while researching for BA7, I found that children under 7 had difficulty understanding the concept of death fully. However the style I have given the narrative visually is very simple and seems that it would be more appealing to younger readers, possibly for an age range of 5 to 10.
So the question is do I change the style to fit the age range or the age range to fit the style, or even do I change the narrative to fit a different age range?
I think I am definitely happy with the narrative in terms of plot and I don't feel that I want to change it too much. However I'm also happy with the style I am developing and want to keep the visuals simple, I think that the narrative has two levels at which it operates. On face value it is a fantasy adventure story and beneath that a tale about a boy finding a way to come to terms with the loss of his sister. Most children's stories operate on more than one level and if the implications of the underlying meaning are not understood then the story will still work on the basic level. For this reason I feel like I can aim my narrative at a slightly younger audience and still have the narrative understood in some way by all audiences.
I also feel like it is the kind of story which is meant to be read by a child with an adult so that there can be a discussion of the kind of ideas and topics which arise due to the subject matter. When researching my research report topic I found that any kind of representation of death can be helpful to a child as it allows an easy way to begin dialogue between parent and child about a topic which may, normally, be difficult to approach.
Other Children's Books in this Age Range:
I also discovered through research that, in terms of age range, most book shops seem to split it up as follows, 0-5 : which are very simple picture books with not much text. 5-8 : which seemed to be picture books but with more text or books with small chapters to get children used to reading books with more text. 8-12: which are more novel-like and chapter based. And then 13+ which is classified as teen fiction which are pretty much like adult novels but with themes to suit a younger audience.
From conducting this research I now feel confident that my narrative would fit in the age range of 5-8 with a possibility of slightly older readers but the main target audience would be 5-8 years. I can now concentrate on tailoring my visual style and content with this audience in mind, although I feel that the way I want to tell they story already fits into this range.
I also found when researching the age range 5-8 that there were a lot of books designed to help children understand emotional concepts.
This shows that there is definitely a place for a narrative with a nature like mine in the age range I am visually targeting at. There are a lot of books for children which aim to help them understand something which might be difficult but a lot of them are set in the real world and don't have any kind of fantasy element which is something I think sets my story apart from the rest. Also because my narrative is interactive this adds something different and more engaging than a simple picture book.
I think that games or interactive media have the potential to be more engaging for a child because they are participating in the story. While doing the research for my research report I found that a lot of developmental psychologists such as Jean Piaget stated that we learn by doing so if a child has the opportunity to be more involved in a story, through interaction, this may help them to learn the lesson behind it.
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