Book bands can be pretty complicated! We’ll explain how they work, and help you figure out exactly where your child should start.
What are book bands?
Reading Chest has a vast selection of reading books, which are used in schools across the UK. These are carefully graded by reading levels known as book bands.
This means that when you know your child’s book band, you will be able to select books from different reading schemes with confidence, knowing that they are the right level for your child.
Each book band has its own colour. These are shown below together with some sample pages to show the levels of difficulty at each band.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
Level 10
Level 11
Level 12-13
Pink Book Band
Level 1. Recommended reading age 4 - 5 years.
For children just starting to read. Children are getting used to reading from left to right and matching spoken words to written words. Usually no more than 10 pages with up to 5 words on a page.
Sample Pages & Books
Red Book Band
Level 2. Recommended reading age 4 - 5 years.
The second step up the ladder as children gain a little more confidence and may know some words by sight. Usually no more than 15 pages with 1 sentence per page.
Sample Pages & Books
Yellow Book Band
Level 3. Recommended reading age 4 - 5 years.
Children are beginning to read more varied sentence structures and taking some note of punctuation. Usually no more than 15 pages with 1 or 2 sentences per page.
Sample Pages & Books
Blue Book Band
Level 4. Recommended reading age 5 - 6 years.
Children are becoming more confident at reading longer and more varied sentences. Usually no more than 15 pages with 2 or 3 sentences per page.
Sample Pages & Books
Green Book Band
Level 5. Recommended reading age 5 - 6 years.
Children are starting to read quite fluently and take note of punctuation. Usually about 20 pages with 3 or 4 sentences per page.
Sample Pages & Books
Orange Book Band
Level 6. Recommended reading age 5 - 6 years.
Children are starting to read longer and more complex sentences and can understand a range of punctuation. Usually about 20 pages with 4 or 5 sentences per page.
Sample Pages & Books
Turquoise Book Band
Level 7. Recommended reading age 6 - 7 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Children can read complex sentences fairly fluently, taking note of punctuation. They use expression and do not rely on illustrations to help them. Usually about 20 pages with 4 or 5 sentences per page.
Purple Book Band
Level 8. Recommended reading age 6 - 7 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Children might read silently or quietly at quite a rapid pace, taking note of punctuation. Usually about 25 pages with 5 to 10 sentences per page.
Gold Book Band
Level 9. Recommended reading age 6 - 7 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Children might read silently or quietly at quite a rapid pace, taking note of punctuation. Usually about 25 pages with 5 to 10 sentences per page.
White Book Band
Level 10. Recommended reading age 6 - 7 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Books might have chapters. Children will read silently most of the time. They are interested in longer texts which they can return to easily after a break. Usually no more than 30 pages and about 10 sentences per page.
Lime Book Band
Level 11. Recommended reading age 6 - 7 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Books might have chapters. Children will read silently most of the time. They are interested in longer texts which they can return to easily after a break. Usually more than 30 pages.
Extended Book Band
Level 12-13. Recommended reading age 7 - 9 years.
Sample Pages & Books
Books might have chapters. Children read silently with confidence and perseverance. A wide variety of longer, demanding texts, usually with around 30 - 50 pages..
Oxford Reading Tree levels and book bands
Oxford Reading Tree books have always used their own levels, but also use book bands that correspond to their levels. Oxford Reading Tree levels correspond to the following book band colours:
| Book Band | Color | ORT Level |
|---|---|---|
| Pink book band | ORT Level 1+ | |
| Red book band | ORT Level 2 | |
| Yellow book band | ORT Level 3 | |
| Blue book band | ORT Level 4 | |
| Green book band | ORT Level 5 | |
| Orange book band | ORT Level 6 | |
| Turquoise book band | ORT Level 7 | |
| Purple book band | ORT Level 8 | |
| Gold book band | ORT Level 9 | |
| White book band | ORT Level 10 | |
| Lime book band | ORT Level 11 | |
| Extended book band | ORT Level 12 & 13 |
Book bands in school
The book band system is designed to help schools grade their reading books. Most reading scheme books for children aged 4 to 8 years have been given a book band colour by the publisher based on the level of reading difficulty. These colours (also used by Reading Chest) usually correspond to those in your child’s school.
Ideally this means that a ‘pink’ book in the Collins Big Cat scheme is at the same reading level as a ‘pink’ book in the Project X scheme.
Reading age & book bands
As you will see from the chart above there are general guidelines about which book bands should be covered at each age group. Please remember that children learn in different ways and make progress at different times. It is possible that there may be seven year olds on book band red and five year olds on book band turquoise.
As a rough guide, children are expected to reach the highest level (lime) at seven or eight years old. Children who read above lime level are reading fairly fluently and although some books are still graded above this level, children are reading such a wide range of material that the banding becomes not so important.
Reading Chest offers books up to book band lime and also beyond (extended readers) so that we can cater for those young readers who might be called ‘free readers’ at school.
How do I know my child’s book band?
Book bands are usually shown on the back or spine of the book. If you don’t already know your child’s book band colour, please refer to the chart above. Have a look at the sample pages, or take advice from your child’s school.
It is important that children read books at the correct level. For more information on this have a look at our tips on choosing books page.