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Jane Parsons asked this question about Empire of the Sun:
Advice please - I haven't read this since I was a teenager so I would be grateful if anyone could advise me as to whether an eleven year old would be OK with the content. My son is a very good reader and has managed some fairly grown up books but will this book traumatise him?
Sheepdog I taught the age for many years, long ago. I would applaud any parent who gave the book to most 11 year olds. But I'd be careful to encourage discussi…moreI taught the age for many years, long ago. I would applaud any parent who gave the book to most 11 year olds. But I'd be careful to encourage discussion of thoughts arising. And if the child had, say, recently lost a grandparent, I would delay... the descriptions of the treatment and fate of corpses in those less resource-rich times are pretty graphic. Connections might be made, unhappy thoughts spawned. All depends: Are you of the "keep them safe from the real world" school, or do you see books as a way to help kids learn about what's around them?(less)
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Empire of the Sun
by J.G. Ballard
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