Beardance
Will Hobbs
Beardance
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Will Hobbs
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
Cloyd races through the snowy mountains, his heart pounding as he spots a mother grizzly and her cubs near the trees. Suddenly, disaster strikes, and the mother bear is gone—leaving the cubs alone and in danger. Can Cloyd keep them safe as winter closes in?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Beardance is an engaging adventure story about Cloyd Atcitty, a young boy determined to protect orphaned grizzly cubs in the Colorado mountains. Suitable for middle school readers and up, the story explores themes of wildlife conservation, courage, and survival. While it includes some moments of peril and loss, the content is appropriate for ages 13-18 and offers positive messages about responsibility and nature.
Why we rated Beardance 9ME
Beardance is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 197 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Beardance works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Beardance as 9ME ("Moderate — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the moderate intensity score.
Thematically, Beardance explores adventure, survival, wildlife conservation, coming of age, and nature — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about adventure, survival, wildlife conservation.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9ME — Moderate — EmotionalReal stakes and emotional weight. May include sustained danger, loss, or bullying.
Was our "Moderate" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
2/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
3/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780689870729
- Pages
- 197
- Publisher
- Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Published
- August 24, 2004
- Type
- Fiction