Soar

Name: Soar
Author: Joan Bauer
ISBN: 9780451470348

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Joan Bauer

Reading Level 3 LE · Mild · Emotional Ages 9-12 Matched

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

The crack of the bat echoes through the air, and the smell of fresh-cut grass fills your nose. Jeremiah, with a heart full of baseball dreams, can't play the game anymore, but he finds a new way to shine by coaching. In a town where hope feels lost, his courage and love for the game might just bring the whole team back to life.

Themes

Family Friendship Coming of Age SportsHeart HealthCommunity

Quick Assessment

Jeremiah, a devoted baseball fan recovering from heart surgery, moves with his father to Hillcrest, a town whose scandal has left residents ready to give up on their beloved team. Parents should know the story has a warm, hopeful tone with humor and a heart-operation backdrop handled briefly, with no violence and only mild emotional weight as the family adjusts to a new place.

Why we rated Soar LE (Mild)

Soar is written at a Level 3 reading level across 296 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 4 and up can manage Soar on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate Soar 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, Soar explores family, friendship, coming of age, sports, and heart health — 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 family, friendship, coming of age.

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

Gentle

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?