Brooke's not-so-perfect plan

Name: Brooke's not-so-perfect plan
Author: Jo Whittemore
ISBN: 9780062358936

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jo Whittemore

Reading Level 3-4 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 5-8 Matched

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for younger children (ages 5–8), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.

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About This Book

The rustle of paper and the clatter of keyboards fill the bustling newsroom as Brooke and her friends huddle over their latest advice column. The smell of freshly printed pages mixes with the excitement of new friendships and big dreams. But as Brooke juggles soccer, school, and the newspaper, a tough question bubbles up: can she keep everything from falling apart?

Themes

FriendshipSchoolsAdventure Coming of Age Humor

Quick Assessment

This early chapter book follows Brooke and her friends as they navigate the challenges of middle school, friendships, and extracurricular activities while writing an advice column for their school newspaper. Aimed at readers ages 5-8, it explores themes of time management and responsibility in a relatable, age-appropriate way. The story is lighthearted and suitable for young readers transitioning to independent chapter books.

Why we rated Brooke's not-so-perfect plan LE (Mild)

Brooke's not-so-perfect plan is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 286 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 5 and up can manage Brooke's not-so-perfect plan on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Brooke's not-so-perfect plan as LE (Mild, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

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

Thematically, Brooke's not-so-perfect plan explores friendship, schools, adventure, coming of age, and humor — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 5-8 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, schools, adventure.

Maybe not for

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

For Parents

Content Intensity

LE · Mild · Emotional

Emotional

Mild ←

Physical

Gentle

Social

Gentle

Thematic

Mild

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

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: high

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