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The Story of Ford

Lonnie Bell

Cover of The Story of Ford

The Story of Ford

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Lonnie Bell

Built for Success (Smart Apple Media)

Reading Level 6-7 11C Ages 9-12 Sweet Spot

The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes.

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About This Book

Explore the fascinating journey of a company that started making transistor radios in post-war Japan and grew into a leader in high-quality electronics. Discover how innovation and determination shaped its rise in the industry. This story brings history and technology to life for young readers.

Themes

HistoryScience & NatureBusiness

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 6-7 book with gentle content intensity. It's a Sweet Spot read — challenging text with gentle themes, ideal for advanced or 2e readers. No notable content concerns flagged. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated The Story of Ford 11C

The Story of Ford is written at a Level 6-7 reading level across 48 pages (approximately 4,105 words). Strong independent readers around grade 7.6 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The Story of Ford works for readers up to grade 8.6.

Read aloud, The Story of Ford takes about 27 minutes, which fits within a single read-aloud session.

We rate The Story of Ford as 11C ("Clear") because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.

Thematically, The Story of Ford explores history, science & nature, and business — 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.
  • Readers who like a steady plot with enough momentum to keep pages turning.
  • Kids drawn to stories about history, science & nature, business.
  • Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there is one more book in the Built for Success (Smart Apple Media) series.
  • Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.

Maybe not for

  • ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic "gifted kid" mismatch.

For Parents

Content Intensity

11C — Clear
Emotional
Clear
Physical
Clear
Social
Clear
Thematic
Clear

No conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.

Data confidence: standard

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

Reading Insights

Hook Factor

6/10

Engaging read with solid pacing and interesting themes.

Discussion Potential

1/10

A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.

Book DNA

Multi-dimensional content fingerprint

Vocabulary Level
5
Emotional Weight
2
Narrative Pace
7
Theme Richness
3
World Scope
3
Data Confidence
8

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Details

Book Length

48 pages
4,105 words
27m read-aloud
ISBN
1583402934
Pages
48
Publisher
Black Rabbit Books
Published
2003
Type
Nonfiction
Word Count
4,105
Read-Aloud
~27 min
Text Density
Light Text

Genres

Subjects

Ford Motor CompanyAutomobile Industry and TradeUnited StatesBusiness

Places

United States