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Fields Alive!

Brian Deaton

Cover of Fields Alive!

Fields Alive!

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

A Fertile Fields Book

by Brian Deaton

Reading Level 5 10LE Ages 9-12 Balanced Read

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material.

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About This Book

I have a secret to tell you about Bruce Baily — he’s trapped between two worlds and can’t remember which one is real. Strange friends appear and disappear, and the world around him is changing in ways he can’t explain. But that’s only the beginning.

Quick Assessment

Fields Alive! follows Bruce Baily, a boy caught between his everyday life and a mysterious alternate world called The Fields. As Bruce struggles with memory loss and shifting realities, he teams up with elusive friends to understand and possibly save this crumbling mindscape. Suitable for ages 9-12, this middle-grade fiction explores themes of identity, friendship, and reality without intense or graphic content.

Why we rated Fields Alive! 10LE

Fields Alive! is written at a Level 5 reading level. Strong independent readers around grade 6.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Fields Alive! works for readers up to grade 7.0.

We rate Fields Alive! as 10LE ("Light — 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, Fields Alive! explores friendship, adventure, mystery, and identity & self-discovery — 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, adventure, mystery.

Maybe not for

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

For Parents

Content Intensity

10LE — Light — Emotional
Emotional
Light
Physical
Clear
Social
Clear
Thematic
Light

Light conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.

Data confidence: standard

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

Reading Insights

Hook Factor

3/10

A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.

Discussion Potential

1/10

A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.

Book DNA

Multi-dimensional content fingerprint

Vocabulary Level
4
Emotional Weight
4
Theme Richness
4
World Scope
1
Data Confidence
7

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Details

ISBN
9798986290225
Publisher
WhatOneManCan LLC
Published
2022
Type
Fiction

Genres