Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
Camille McPhee fell under the bus
Kristen Tracy
Camille McPhee fell under the bus
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Kristen Tracy
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 mild with minimal sensitive material. Its HootRating code, LE, means mild content, mostly emotional.
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About This Book
What happens when everything seems to go wrong all at once? Camille McPhee is juggling school, her best friend's absence, and keeping her blood sugar steady, all while her parents are having big fights. Can she find a way to keep her balance when life feels so out of control?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Ten-year-old Camille McPhee narrates her fourth-grade year in Idaho as she adjusts to her best friend's move overseas, manages her low blood sugar, and watches her parents' conflict grow. The story stays hopeful and often funny, and it explores fairness and honesty through everyday school life. Parents should know that the bus incident is brief and not seriously injurious, and that the parental tension and friend's departure are the main emotional weight.
Why we rated Camille McPhee fell under the bus LE (Mild)
Camille McPhee fell under the bus is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 293 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 5 and up can manage Camille McPhee fell under the bus on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.
We rate Camille McPhee fell under the bus 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, Camille McPhee fell under the bus explores friendship, family, school, health, and conduct of life — 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.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, family, school.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers looking for something heavier — this is a gentle, low-stakes story by design.
For Parents
Content Intensity
LE · Mild · EmotionalReading 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.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780385736879
- Pages
- 293
- Publisher
- Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
- Published
- 2009
- Type
- Fiction