The Left Behinds

Name: The Left Behinds
Author: David Potter
ISBN: 9780385390569

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

The IPhone that Saved George Washington

by David Potter

Reading Level 3-4 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

What if you got stuck in the past during Christmas break? Imagine waking up in 1776 New Jersey, right next to General Washington—who’s suddenly gone! Now, with only an iPhone in hand, three friends must figure out how to fix history before it’s too late.

Themes

AdventureHistoryFriendshipProblem-SolvingTime Travel

Quick Assessment

A malfunctioning iPhone sends Mel and two schoolmates back to Christmas 1776, where they must help George Washington cross the Delaware River and keep American history on track. The tone is humorous and fast-paced, with time travel, historical detail, and Benjamin Franklin as a memorable figure, and it includes battlefield-era setting but no graphic content. Parents can expect light peril and some wartime backdrop handled with lightness, making it a comfortable pick for middle-grade readers who enjoy history-based adventure.

Why we rated The Left Behinds LE (Mild)

The Left Behinds is written at a Level 3-4 reading level across 344 pages. Reading-wise, most kids in grade 5 and up can manage The Left Behinds on their own; younger readers can enjoy it with a parent or teacher reading along.

We rate The Left Behinds 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, The Left Behinds explores adventure, history, friendship, problem-solving, and time travel — 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 adventure, history, 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

Mild

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?