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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Latonya
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Mar 26, 2012 01:50PM
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?
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My kids mostly read them in 4th & 5th grade. The problem I had was that the first couple are significantly more simplistic and without the dark themes that come up in the last two books especially. How do you let them get started and then tell them to wait to finish the series? My son read them all in 5th grade and did fine with them, but my daughter read the first one in 3rd grade and took a break before reading more.
My dad read the fist four to me, starting when I was about five or six. I started by myself when I was 7.
I started reading them in third grade.
I'd say about 8. I see a lot of books pitched toward middle-grade children, books I would have read when I was 5 or 6...maybe the later books could add a few years. Maybe.
10 going to 11 so they feel like Harry in the book! :D
I think 3rd grade that is when i started reading them i mean i don't easily get scared by books so i enjoyed the 7th one even thoguth i didn't get the deatail then i started reading them again when i was in 6th or 5th grade.
My daughter read the whole series over the course of one month a few months after she turned 7, while she was in first grade. She thoroughly enjoyed it. I had already read it, and I was comfortable with her reading the series, although it is worth noting that the subject matter gets more intense in the later books.
I think I "read" the first one when I was 5. I use quotation marks because my parents read it to me. I was reading them as they came out, which was kind of like growing up with them. Now that the series is over I would say 7 or 8. But everyone should defiantly read them again when you're older so you get the more deep and "thinky" parts of the series.
I was seven when I first started reading them.
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 to (though not inspired by) Harry Potter. Currently it is under children's and adult contemporary fantasy on Amazon, and does better under the latter despite being aimed at the former. I guess this is because there are more adults doing the buying ;) But knowing how to describe it is not easy. If I say "children's book" most people think of books that are for readers who are not confident (where the vocabulary needs to be restricted, etc.), but YA or Adult can also put across the wrong image, too..So, how would you categorize HP? The best I have come up with thus far is an "all-ages fantasy" or "9 to 99" age group; alas, Amazon and other sites have no such categories...
Of course, I know it is parents that must be appealed to for preteens.
I would say they should be 12... so they feel a bit like the characters. But (and there's a big "but") I really think that from the 5th book, the story turns for young adults, as they are indeed growing.Maybe if they read one book for year... I know that's impossible!
Either way, they are going to feel all kind of feelings about each book.
I believe I was in third grade when I started reading the books. I would caution against reading the Deathly Hallows at too young of an age.
i startede reading them in year four because everyone in my class was talking about them, they had all read them previously. i think you should give it to them to read as soon as they are able to read them. cause once they can read to that level, they can generally take on darker themes
I read the first book in grade four, but that was right when they had come out. So i had to wait for all of the other books to come out. It is a good idea for them to take a break between the books because they get more mature the further on you go.
I started reading them at age 10 or so, and grew up with the series as the books came out. I'd say the first three books should be fine for someone aged 8-10, but I think I'd hold off on book 4 and 5 until about age 13 or so. I strongly feel that especially book 7 is not appropriate for anyone under about age 14.
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 child is less important than your willingness to engage in the literary experience with them.Harry Potter is a fantastic series for sparking young readers (and even pre-readers) interest in the world of books. What an amazing discovery - that entire new worlds lie in wait within the pages of a book, no pictures or passport required!
I still remember my mother reading The Chronicles of Narnia (the Harry Potter of my days, so to speak) to me when I was no more than four years old, and shouting with certainty that the Boy & His Horse didn't need to run - the lion chasing them was Aslan, I just knew it was! (And what a great confirmation of the brilliance of my 4 year old mind when Aslan later confirms that yes, it was him chasing them. ;)
I think if you are willing to read the books with your child, no age is too young to begin the Harry Potter series, and you will find it to be a memory making experience for both you & your child.
I would say as soon as they are able to read them. If they are at an age where they can read books by themselves then I would say they are old enough. I almost feel jealous of them just about to start their HP adventure! I would love to have the feeling of reading them again for the first time. And what a great mother you are for introducing them to the series!http://divaliciouzbookreviews.blogspo...
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..."@Jessica,
Thank you so much. Loved your insight.
Amanda wrote: "I would say as soon as they are able to read them. If they are at an age where they can read books by themselves then I would say they are old enough. I almost feel jealous of them just about to st..."@ Amanda
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I didn't read HP until I was in my 20s. My parents were and are still anti-HP so I wasn't allow to bring them in the house. So I really felt I missed out on the adventure as a child. I dont want to do that to my children and I want my little girl to read everything.
My mother let me read it when I was only 12 years old.
In some ways, though, I feel kind of sorry for the kids just starting Harry Potter today. They're just going to read them back to back, and the entire thing will be over for them in a few months, maybe a year. They're going to miss out on the long, long waits between books. The reading and writing of speculative fanfiction, the hours spent chatting with friends old and new about what might be coming next, the line-ups at midnight at the store to get the next book in the series, and that feeling you get when you're reading something at the same time as what felt like half the world. I'm not saying to avoid Harry Potter for them obviously, or to force them to wait between books, because now that the rest of us have read all of HP, they can't get that feeling of discovery no matter what. But maybe get them into a currently on-going series, as well. I made some good friends, both online and offline, through Harry Potter. Even though it's all over now, we're still in touch. I think that's just as important as the reading and the books. So yes, introduce them to Harry Potter, but also let them find something currently on-going that they can love and wonder about and spend all year until the next book discussing and speculating about. I think the reason many of us are so fond of Harry is because we feel, somehow, that we grew up with him.
Samuel wrote: "In some ways, though, I feel kind of sorry for the kids just starting Harry Potter today. They're just going to read them back to back, and the entire thing will be over for them in a few months, m..."I read it as soon as each book came out so I feel sorry for them too.
i read them at 12 but i think i could have read it earlier.
I don't think it should be about how old the child is but more of the maturity level of said child. You can have a 10 year old who is about as mature as a 5 year old. If you feel your child is ready to read them then let them read the books and if you aren't totally comfortable with them reading Harry Potter alone then why not read them with your child and have discussions about the book. At the end of the day your going to know what is best for your child regardless of when other people started reading the books.
i would say...if you feel like your child can handle the material that is in the books, it doesn't matter what age they are......if you feel like your child can't, maybe wait another year? idk...it's pretty intense stuff if you really think about it...lol
I read the series when I was eight, and I've read them again and again ever since. The first three books would be generally suitable for seven year olds too. (Maybe?) :) I love Harry Potter and don't think it should be restricted to an age, but under seven is a bit too young. I first saw the third movie in cinema aged six, then bought it on DVD along with films 1 and 2. I've watched every film and read every book since, and am currently reading Quidditch through the Ages, because I've read the series five times and wanted some-thing different.
I finished the series in about two weeks when I was eight or nine, but anything younger and I think it would be too young.
I started reading them when I was in about third grade, though my parents still read them before me to preview and found nothing. The first movie is a little scary for young kids with the man with two faces and all, so my parents didn't let me watch that part for a while.
I started reading them when I was 6, but I was a really avid reader but I would say when they start to want to read big books. I wouldn't let them read 4-7 until they are around 10 or so.
I think you should read it to them as soon as they are born!!!!
Samuel wrote: "In some ways, though, I feel kind of sorry for the kids just starting Harry Potter today. They're just going to read them back to back, and the entire thing will be over for them in a few months, m..."I agree completly, I started the books when I was 11 and ended when I was 21 with the books alone thats 10 years of Potter and my love for the book continues today!! & ALWAYS!!
whenever they want to
I let my son start in 4th grade because that was the age Harry was. He then had to wait until the end of 4th to read the 2nd and in 5th he read the 3rd. In 6th grade he read the 4th book and the summer before 7th grade I let him read the rest. I thought that some of the subjects in the later books were not for him when he was younger. I also thought that he would appreciate the story better if he could grow up with Harry, Ron and Hermoine.
I was about 6 or 7 when I first started reading them.
I started reading them when I was 11 and each year when a new book came out I was the same age as Harry :P
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..."Beautifully put - I wish more people had the same outlook!!
I was 16 when the first books came out but instantly felt like a 6 yearold when I started reading them only because they were so much fun.My Mum would read everything to me - I remember making out way through JRR Tolkein when I was in elementary school. As a kid, I couldn't completely grasp everything going on, but I definitely got the jist of the story and, as was mentioned eariler, it's the memory of reading with my Mum that matters.
With HP, no one is too old or too young - it's the kind of story that reaches everyone on some level.
I started reading these books in fourth grade. I personally think that you can read them at age seven or eight, but that's only for the first two books. Unless your kids would be fine with a year or so in between books, I would really recommend reading them to them until they get to be at least 12. (After all, there's cussing in the last book. Anyone here remember what I'm talking about???)
ok...just because there's cussing that doesn't mean a child shouldn't read the books....i was 12 when i started reading them and as i got older i realized how dark the story is, especially from the 4th book on....that's why a child should be a little older to read the books....cussing is fine, i see kindergarteners cussing every other day at the school i volunteer at, but because of how dark the story gets if my kids want to read HP they'll have to be the same age i was when i first started reading them
I read them as they came out, so I was seven when I started reading them. I dunno I guess the last couple of books are more adult, but the first 3 or 4 are fine for younger children.Also, I don't think kindergartners cussing is fine, I would be shocked to hear a child that age swear.
My son read the first one in 3rd grade, I guess he would have been 8. He loved it. The first book had just come out, so he grew up with the series. Depends on how mature your child is. If the deaths in the later books would bother them, then I would wait until they were 12-13.
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 think I would gear it toward the individual child. The books were still newer when my third son was in first grade. We started with the books then. I would read some pages, and he would read one or two pages ( keep in mind he was a beginning reader at this point). By second grade, he was reading them by himself (they were not all published at that point).
Samantha wrote: "My kids mostly read them in 4th & 5th grade. The problem I had was that the first couple are significantly more simplistic and without the dark themes that come up in the last two books especially...."You can just tell them there are no further books yet.
I would say start at 11. The main characters are right at that age, so it's easy for the kids to understand and relate, especially since it is all in Harry's perspective. Plus it is great when the reader can grow up with them.
Jessica wrote: "I read them as they came out, so I was seven when I started reading them. I dunno I guess the last couple of books are more adult, but the first 3 or 4 are fine for younger children.Also, I don't..."
i'm not saying kindergarteners cussing is fine...but that's just what our generation has come to right now, i guess i made it sound like i was okay with them cussing, i'm really not, but i was just trying to say i'd be more concerned with how dark the story gets rather than the cuss words
though to be quite honest they hide the cussing very well, and it's not like young kids would fully comprehend what those words meant anyways
I think anytime they can understand the meaning of it. Or sooner! Read it to them as a family. They'd really enjoy it i think. I read HP when i was like 5 and I LOVED it. I am not saying of course that your kids will be exactly the same. Just saying, I don't think it really matters about physical age, just mental age.
I'd say about 11 or 12, and do like some other people suggested and let your kids read one a year. They do get more intense and mature the farther into the series you get. With that said, this is highly subjective on your children's maturity and reading levels. Some children are ready for the first Harry Potter book at 9, some at 12.
I Read them when i was in Grade 8. I could have read them LONGGGGGG before that!
I first read the series when i was in 4th grade. so i was like, 10 yrs old. I fell absolutely in love with it then. Even though i started reading books when i was like 6 yrs old, this book was the one that definitely made me the total booknerd i am today.
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