Secrets out!

Name: Secrets out!
Author: Julie Sternberg
ISBN: 9781620917770

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Julie Sternberg

Illustrated by Johanna Wright

Reading Level 3 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

Celie is the best secret-keeper around—until her own family starts hiding big surprises! When Granny moves in and forgetfulness causes trouble, everything gets tricky. Can Celie crack the mystery behind the whispered secrets before things get out of hand?

Themes

Family Humor Friendship Coming of AgeDiariesSecrets

Quick Assessment

This early chapter book follows ten-year-old Celie as she navigates the challenges of family secrets and changing relationships, including caring for her forgetful grandmother. The story uses humor and diary-style entries to explore themes of trust, communication, and growing up, making it suitable for ages 5-8. Parents should note that it gently addresses concerns about aging family members and the complexity of keeping and sharing secrets.

Why we rated Secrets out! LE (Mild)

Secrets out! is written at a Level 3 reading level across 166 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage Secrets out! on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Secrets out! 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, Secrets out! explores family, humor, friendship, coming of age, and diaries — 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 family, humor, friendship.

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?