I just finished up this book. I know I'm late to the party on this whole series. I never got involved when they first came around, I was in college and didn't have a lot of time for recreational reading. When I finally did have the time, the series was already up to about the fifth sequel and it just didn't seem like it was worth the effort to catch up.That changed, however, several months back when Emma suddenly professed herself to be an avid Harry Potter fan and thought all things HP-related were just the best (having been highly swayed by a few older cousins, I believe). So I figured if she was going to love Harry Potter she ought to actually read the books. And that was a good enough reason for me to join in as well. I knew the series generally got scarier/more intense/etc as the books went on, so I wanted to stay one book ahead of her to know what was coming. She's about half way through #3. She read voraciously for awhile, but now seems to have lost steam. She's taking a break (right when there's dementors running around all over the place!) and going through a few shorter books (Goosebumps) now. And after finishing #4 myself, I'm in no hurry for her to catch up to me. I think I may even impose an age limit on book 4, or at least purposefully steer her in another direction for a year or two. Is it just me or was #4 quite the leap from #3 in terms of intensity of content? There were quite a few parts that were downright disturbing. The forbidden curses, the torture, the death, the whole rebirth scene, even the riotous behavior after the World Cup...it all just seemed a little much for an 8 year old.
Come on Emma, I've got a nice girl named "Anne" I'd like you to meet....
5 comments:
Yes! Elle loved Anne!
Or. . .the secret Garden!
Go toward girly-stuff!!
Tal LOVES Harry Potter. I tried to impose the age limit thing, but it was killing her. Instead we took a post-it note and put around the chapters and parts she couldn't read. She didn't really miss much and still got to read the rest. She was happy. BUT, I am with you...Big leap in intensity!
Good luck with Anne...Tal likes the first couple, but thinks they get slow after a while.
Narnia is pretty good.
I didn't even notice the build in intensity...I guess it is hard to get scared when you know it is all fiction.
But, hey, now I understand why your kids are afraid of the sharks in Nemo :)
Anne is a great gal. I will be VERY impressed if Emma gets into that classic literature at such a young age.
I am impressed that she has read so much HP...I LOVE HP...the only way I could get Abigail to read Harry Potter was to have her listen to them on CD when she was stuck in a round trip ride across the country...worked like a charm...and the man who reads the books...he's amazing...he has a new voice for every character...it was so cool!
just so you will know...you know, when you get over your nightmares :)
I've been meaning to get around to reading HP myself. I'm all for parental monitoring. I don't think it can hurt.
I like the post it idea.
I banned spongebob at our house because I thought they were too rude. (of course I thought it was HI-larious before I had kids).
Yeah, I read #4 soon after Bryant was born....during midnight feedings....not a good idea. Freaky. Gross. Evil. I was really scared going into the 5th book that it was going to be even worse, but it pales in comparison. Almost anti-climatic (compared).....
I like Harry Potter, but they do require a mature constitution. I don't have a lot of recommendations because Bryant likes boy books....he loves Hardy Boys. Does Emma like Nancy Drew?
And I don't know if you care, but I went to a convention where Marc Brown spoke (author of the Arthur books) and he talked about this very thing. That of course parent's are gratified when their kids are reading Harry Potter in first or second grade, and it's great that they are at that reading level, but.... His concern is that we don't allow kids to be kids long enough. That what most kids could really use is sitting on someone's lap (or at least cuddling) and reading picture books and discussing things and appreciating the art and letting kids do something slow in their hyper-paced world. Bryant doesn't choose picture books at the library, but if I'm reading them to the other kids, he loves to cozy with us and listen. You can't necessarily stop a kid when they are determined to read Harry Potter, but I thought Marc made some good points.
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