Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
A Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Classic
by Robert Louis Stevenson
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.
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About This Book
There’s a secret locked inside Dr. Jekyll—a dark side that no one else sees. When he changes into Mr. Hyde, everything shifts in mysterious and scary ways, but that’s only the beginning.
Themes
Quick Assessment
This edition presents the full classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, exploring themes of identity and duality suitable for middle-grade readers. It includes helpful vocabulary support to build language skills, making it a good choice for ages 9-12. Parents should note the story involves elements of psychological tension and mild peril.
Why we rated Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 9ME
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 184 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 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, thematic difficulty — 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, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores multiple personality, self-experimentation in medicine, mystery, and classic literature — 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.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about multiple personality, self-experimentation in medicine, mystery.
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
2/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781419542275
- Pages
- 184
- Publisher
- Kaplan Publishing
- Published
- 2006
- Type
- Fiction