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Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The

Gordon Korman

Cover of Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The

Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Gordon Korman

Reading Level 8 12C Ages 9-12 Sweet Spot

The text is written at a 8th 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

Imagine your new exchange student is the absolute opposite of cool—he eats paper, talks to dogs, and can't stop picking his nose! But what if that gross habit is actually the secret to saving an entire planet? Get ready for wild adventures that blast from ancient Egypt to the Statue of Liberty, where being different might just be the universe's greatest superpower.

Quick Assessment

This collection features four humorous middle-grade books about Devin, whose exchange student Stan turns out to be an alien with a unique—and admittedly gross—way of accessing his technology. The stories blend science fiction and fantasy with lighthearted adventures that emphasize friendship, acceptance, and creativity. Appropriate for ages 9-12, the book contains silly, quirky humor centered around nose picking, which may amuse or gross out some readers but poses no serious content concerns.

Why we rated Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The 12C

Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The is written at a Level 8 reading level across 592 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 9.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The works for readers up to grade 10.0.

We rate Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The as 12C ("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, Ultimate Nose Pickers Collection, The explores friendship, adventure, humor, science & nature, and fantasy world-building — 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, humor.

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

12C — 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

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
7
Emotional Weight
2
Theme Richness
5
World Scope
1
Data Confidence
7

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Details

Book Length

592 pages
ISBN
9780786837403
Pages
592
Publisher
Hyperion Books for Children
Published
March 28, 2006
Type
Fiction

Genres

Subjects

FantasyHumorous StoriesScience Fiction, Fantasy, & MagicExtraterrestrial BeingsSchoolsScience FictionFriendshipAdventure Stories