What reading level is Walking on Air?

Walking on Air by Kelly Easton is at a Level 6 reading level. Recommended for Middle Grades readers (Ages 9-12).

What age is Walking on Air appropriate for?

Walking on Air is recommended for Ages 9-12. HootRating: 11ME (Moderate — Emotional). Content flags: Poverty & Hardship, Family Change.

What genre is Walking on Air?

Walking on Air is fiction — Young Adult Fiction.

Does Walking on Air have any content warnings?

Walking on Air has a HootRating of 11ME (Moderate — Emotional). Content flags include: Poverty & Hardship, Family Change. On HootRated, every book is rated across four dimensions — emotional, physical, social, and thematic — to help parents make informed choices.

How many pages is Walking on Air?

Walking on Air by Kelly Easton is 213 pages.

Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated June 9, 2026

Walking on Air

Kelly Easton

Walking on Air

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Kelly Easton

Reading Level 6 11ME Ages 9-12 Matched Rich Discussion

The text is written at a 6th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.

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About This Book

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to walk on a tightrope high above the ground, with nothing but faith and hope to catch you if you fall? Imagine traveling from town to town during the Great Depression, performing in strange places and meeting all kinds of people. What secrets will you uncover when the tightrope starts to wobble beneath your feet?

Themes

Family Coming of Age HistoricalFaithAdventure

Quick Assessment

Set during the American Great Depression, this middle-grade novel follows 12-year-old June, a tightrope walker traveling with her preacher family from town to town. The story explores themes of family loyalty, faith, and self-discovery as June confronts difficult truths and choices. Suitable for ages 9-12, the book sensitively addresses historical hardship and personal challenges without graphic content.

Why we rated Walking on Air 11ME

Walking on Air is written at a Level 6 reading level across 213 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 7.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Walking on Air works for readers up to grade 8.0.

We rate Walking on Air as 11ME ("Moderate — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Poverty & Hardship, Family Change.

Thematically, Walking on Air explores family, coming of age, historical, faith, and adventure — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
✓ Family book clubs, classroom read-alouds, and parents who want a strong conversation hook.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about family, coming of age, historical.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.