Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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At what age do you think it is appropriate for kids to start reading Harry Potter?
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Rosie
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Aug 14, 2013 02:47AM
I read them at age 6 to 7. I have now read each book 9-17 times...
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I'd say any age between 9 and 60.
Erika wrote: "I'd say any age between 9 and 60."My ninety-two year old gran would raise an objection with that (she's just started Goblet of Fire, having whizzed through years 1-3).
Kids can start reading these books when they're fresh out of the womb, if possible. I honestly wouldn't say that there is an appropriate age.
Probably late elementary grades at the very earliest. The first couple of books are pretty tame, but the later ones contain storylines that are far too mature for younger readers to handle.
Certainly no later than ten, because Harry was ten when Hagrid finds him and tells him he's a wizard ("and a thumpin good one, once you've been trained up a bit.")These books are SO good. SO amazing. I read them with my youngest daughter and (though I was in my late 40s and early 50s) I loved them too. We made some wonderful memories together. Such great books for kids! Every child should read them.
Jessica wrote: "As a person who was denied no books as a child (I read Night by Eli Wiesel & Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire when I was in 4th grade), I believe the age that you introduce the books to your ch..."I think you're correct, Jessica. I am holding my 8 year old of books 4-7 because they're just so intense and I don't want her reading all of that alone. We, as parents, need to sacrifice the time and all of our undone reading and soak up books together. I can't imagine my dear, sweet and sensitive daughter reading about the death of Dumbledore without someone to process!
THanks for your insight.
I read them when I was in 3rd grade, and by the time I hit any bad language and violence, I was in 5th grade where I could handle it.
I think it depends on which book. They do get darker as the series goes on, and the later ones may not be suitable for some kids whereas the first one would be. It all depends on what you're ok with exposing your child too. The first book does have his parent's murder in it, the whole "Quirrel/Voldy" thing... but it's a lot lighter than the last few.
I read it when i was 8, but it depends on how mature the reader is.
I read the first three books on my own (starting from around age 7, which sounds crazy but it's true), and then read the rest of the books with my Dad (Well, that is until book 7, when I started reading it before he did. I couldn't wait any longer. It was the only one I read in two days). It was fun sharing and talking about the books with him. Eventually our discussion expanded to include my siblings as they read the books. I consider the appropriate age to be dependent on the parents. It's an individual thing. Me, I started reading them very young. Someone else may make a different decision for their child (or themselves); and that's right for them.
If they are advanced readers, first grade. The first three books especially.Kids generally won't keep reading a book that they aren't ready for yet. In general, if they can read it and enjoy it then we should encourage them to read.
I started reading them when i was 8 but when i was 9 i realized i didnt understand most of the books and that I need to read the series one more time so that is what i did. i recommend ages 10-11 if you want to understand it fully.
I would say about 7 or 8 (to start reading them).
As soon as their reading skills are up to it.
I started reading them in the third grade and I think that that is a good age to start. They will understand it better then and if you wait too long then they will probably start to read it at school or something before you allow them to.
Latonya wrote: "I just wanted to ask this to see what you guys generally thought. I would like my kids to read them but not sure when to introduce them. What age did you let your child read Harry?"I read the first book in second grade and would have finished them in elementary school but my stupid school wouldn't let me >>. Personally for appropriateness level I would be okay with age 9 or 10? It depends on their reading level more than anything, because there isn't really any problem with sex references or anything like that.
No age is suitable for a human child to be turned into a sheep. Keep them away from reading it at all. Baaaa
I read the books by myself in Kindergarten but I would say 3rd grade, as a kindergartener I came across some inappropriate language and was quite confused.
My son is 9 and he's just about finishing up volume 1. He wants the whole set now.
I was about 9 when I first started reading them. I honestly feel that even though the theme gets darker as the series progresses, it has nothing on the real world! I say if they wish to read the series and want to finish the whole entire series let them no matter what age they are. That is the great thing about HP, it teaches you the good and the bad in people and children are going to learn that regardless.
I read them towards the end of my fourth grade year, but in my opinion, there is no age where you should read them. It really all depends on what your kid is ready to read by themselves.I wanted to read them with my younger brother, who was 7 at the time, but my dad wouldn't let me because he had problems sleeping and being scared at night for him to read them.
It really is up to your kid, and what you know they are capable of.
problably kids that are starting 4th grade
I read these books in about 3rd grade. All 7 in one month.
I read the whole series when I was 12 because by then all the books had already come out. This was a good time to start as I wasn't to old for the first few but old enough for the last ones. Even though I probably still would have been okay a bit younger and I still love them now, starting the series at 11 or 12 is a good time if you are unsure.
My daughter learnt to read with Harry Potter. She brought her first Harry Potter book home from school at age 7. I was concerned they were too old for her, so I read them as well, and just like her became a Harry Potter fan. Good versus Evil and Good wins with a few casualties.
I suspect a lot of it depends on the child and his/her reading level and background of experiences. I think for most later elementary to early middle school for them to get the most out of the novels. Of course, I read them as an adult and loved them.The audio books are great for those young people struggling with reading.
10 or 11 and then one a year after that!!!That is how I read them I was always the same age as Harry, Ron and Hermione and it made the stories more alive and exiting I still read them all from time to time.
I must admit it was not my own selfrestraint but the fact that they were being published like that.
And you should expect you kids to sneak a peak.
My mom read me the first two chapters of number one when I was 9 cause I hated it at first. But when she was gone to bed I read two more until I colapsed with sleep and finished it myself the next two nights, cause mums reading out loud was to slow :P
I would say 11 or 12. they need to understand the charater in the book. I was so not ready when I was 9.
Maybe the first 4 books for 10 yr old kids but after that I would say 13 maybe
I would say 11-12 and up. Mostly because of some difficult concepts to understand. Mature topics, and certain vocabulary words.
I started at 7, when the first 4 books and just the first movie had been released, and I read all four books in a row, enjoying every single page. Nothing really frightened or made me feel uncomfortable at that age up until Goblet of Fire. Then I started to read the books as they were released, and I feel like The Half-Blood Prince, for example, could have been a little too much for a 7 year-old to handle, but nothing 11 year old me couldn't take. Same with Deathly Hallows and 12 year old me. I was lucy I was able to grow up with the books, but I think any age above 5 is fine to be introduced to Harry's world.
I read them when I was 6 but I didn't really understand anything
I can just imagine the scene. Bleak hospital bed, me in a gown. A nurse comes to me and says, "Oh you're up. Here's the baby you just had. Wanna hold it?"I hold the baby in my arms, lean closer, cuddle it a little, and then start, "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much..."
Malavi wrote: "I can just imagine the scene. Bleak hospital bed, me in a gown. A nurse comes to me and says, "Oh you're up. Here's the baby you just had. Wanna hold it?"I hold the baby in my arms, lean closer, c..."
WIN
Malavi wrote: "I can just imagine the scene. Bleak hospital bed, me in a gown. A nurse comes to me and says, "Oh you're up. Here's the baby you just had. Wanna hold it?"I hold the baby in my arms, lean closer, c..."
:D I love it!
I am a teacher of elementary aged children with a MFA focus on media literacy. I believe that Harry Potter should not be read by children under 12-13. A friend who teaches at an elementary school for gifted children agrees. Most of the series was written for adults. Just because your young child can read the words doesn't mean their brains are able to conceptually understand the meanings being expressed. This is a cognitive fact. Maybe the first two books can go younger but only if you as a parent are willing to do the teaching work required, reading and breaking down the meaning for your child. In my sons 1st grade class (ages 6-7) a group of boys were reading Harry Potter and immediately started a HP club. Of course they continued past the first two books. By the end of the school year one of the boys was singled out and bullied by the others. He was so traumatized that he was crying and throwing up in the mornings not wanting to go to school. Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, an American author of novels, children's books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction stated that the HP series was, "ethically rather mean-spirited." Clearly the boys picked up on that! The unfortunate thing is that parents' egos sometimes override the reality of what their young children's brains can conceptually handle. As for the movies, please use the ratings the film industry provides. Films are a different beast. Just because your child read the book doesn't mean watching the movie is appropriate. There is no reason to traumatize your children.
Stephanie wrote: "I am a teacher of elementary aged children with a MFA focus on media literacy. I believe that Harry Potter should not be read by children under 12-13. A friend who teaches at an elementary school f..."I really cannot see how Harry Potter led to the child being bullied, and I also disagree about the "ethically mean-spirited" business. Care to explain?
Also, film industry ratings are a bit excessive. I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey when I was like 11, and although it wasn't a walk in the park, I was a pretty intellectually mature adolescent. I've watched tons of films with nudity- not porn, mind you- before I was technically old enough for it, and I'm glad. I was the girl who watched world cinema and read Nobel-winning books while her classmates watched Bollywood and read- well, not much other than textbooks. Was it isolating? Yes. Do I regret it or wish I'd hung out more with people instead of books and movies growing up? Absolutely not.
I'm sorry to say this, but sometimes adults really have no clue about what is appropriate for children. Children- and adolescents- are capable of understanding much more than what adults give them credit for.
I was 5 at most when I learnt how to read and I guess I was like 6 when my father brought me Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone and I put my whole face in it. I loved it and loved the series. When I wanted more of it, he brought me the 2nd, and the 4th after that, then the 3rd, and I probably wasn't even 11 when I read the 5th book. I bought the others as soon as they were translated, so I finished the series at the age of 12. As you all know, Harry was 11 when he started to go Hogwarts.Do I think it was inappropriate for a child at that age? As the mentioned child, I don't think so. I was and am very happy for reading them as soon as I could. Also, I think that dark parts come at the 6th book but I admit that the 4th is darker than the first three books. I am almost 18, so I don't know it's like to have cildren; but I have a sister 5 years younger than me and I know what trying to protect her from the things that might be inappropriate for her age is. I'm trying to look from that point of view, I have all the books and I wouldn't have any problem if she would have wanted to read them when she was 6 (she learnt to read at the age of 4 too, so it was possible).
To sum up, I don't think Harry Potter is too dark to read, even for the pre-teens. It is an all-ages-fantasy series. If you believe that your children's reading level is enough, you can give them the first book.
I think I started to read them at 7 or 8.
D.M. Andrews (author) wrote: "This is one of the subjects that frustrates me as an author. I have a novel out that is doing quite well, but knowing at what audience to pitch it is a problem. It's an all-ages fantasy, comparable..."When I was in school I went straight to the Sci Fi Fantasy section of the book store. I was in my 30s before I discovered they had books that were just as good hidden in the young adult section.
Round about 11? Harry's age at the beginning.
I would say that it depends of the kid, because sometimes they can understand things really early, like 7 or 8 years old, but with deaths like in the Goblet of Fire, they can be very impressed, you know? I thought about it a few months ago, and I think that, maybe, the properly age is about 11, because then they can grow up with the characters.
The child will know when it is time. They will pick it up or listen to it and they will not want to put it down. At that time they will know they are ready for Hogwarts :)
Don't start too early. The first few books are pretty mild, but the themes get darker as the series progresses. I would suggest starting on the first books at around 10/11, but the last book I wouldn't suggest for someone under at least 12, maybe even 13.
7 or 8 years old.....BUT...in the last book Mrs.Weasly says "Not my daughter you bitch" just warning you
I read all the books when i was 10 or 11. that's the perfect age!
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