Before Social Media

Name: Before Social Media
Author: Susan E. Hamen
ISBN: 9781644930441

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Susan E. Hamen

What Did We Do?

Reading Level 3-4 C · Gentle Ages 9-12 Balanced Read Page-Turner

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes. Its HootRating code, C, means gentle content.

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About This Book

Discover how people stayed connected and shared stories long before social media took over. Explore the world of letters, newspapers, cameras, and other creative ways friends and families communicated in the past. A fun look at the different tools that helped people keep in touch and capture memories.

Themes

HistoryCommunicationFamilyLearning

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 3-4 book with gentle content intensity. No notable content concerns flagged. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated Before Social Media C (Gentle)

Before Social Media is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 32 pages (approximately 1,168 words). Reading-wise, most kids in grade 5 and up can manage Before Social Media on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

Read aloud, Before Social Media takes about 8 minutes, which fits within a single read-aloud session.

We rate Before Social Media as C (Gentle) because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.

Thematically, Before Social Media explores history, communication, family, and learning — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about history, communication, family.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there is one more book in the What Did We Do? series.
✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.

Maybe not for

! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.

For Parents

Content Intensity

C · Gentle

Emotional

Gentle

Physical

Gentle

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Gentle

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

No conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.

Data confidence: standard

Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?