Lord of the Flies & Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - what age group?

[BananaChoccyPancake]

Just wondering what age these books are most suitable for, assuming an able reader.

Also, does anyone know if there's such a thing as a wiki-style "Parents' Guide" for books, like the IMDb one for movies?

[Enb76]

I read Lord of the Flies when I was 12 and Hitchhikers when I was 14. I don't think HGTTG would be very funny much under 14 and though I could probably have coped with LotF younger than 12, I think it was about the right age.

[Enb76]

Commonsensemedia.com is what you're looking for

[BananaChoccyPancake]

Thanks Enb76, that's helpful.

[almapudden]

I read both when I was 12 and enjoyed them both very much. I think younger than about 12 and a lot of the significance/humour would be missed.

[kimlo]

I was going to ask the same about lord of the flies. dd1s book club is considering it, they have children from year 3.

I studied it at gcse, I dont remember that much about it but it seems a bit young.

[Eastpoint]

My son read Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy when he was in yr 6 and read Lord of the Flies in yr 7. He loved the Hitchhikers books.

[FiveExclamations]

I also read them both about 12, Lord of the Flies was was brilliant, but terrifying, HHGTTG brilliant and funny.

There is mention of a whore in HHGTTG and if you are expecting them to progress through the rest of the books a mild sex scene in number 4 and at least one "fuck".

[Jux]

Dd read Hitchhiker's at 12 and loves it, has reread it several times (she's 13 now). She did LOTF with the school at 13 and hated it - mind you, I hated it too, when I read it in my teens. Haven't re-read it, so no idea if I still would.

[maillotjaune]

DS1 is 11 next month and reading Hitch Hikers now. He read the first book in 3 days last week and is onto the second - I did think it might go over his head but we've read some of it together and discussed other bits and I'd say he is getting most of the humour.

He's a great re-reader so I expect he'll come back to them at a later date and get something different out of them.

[Clonakiltylil]

Rape imagery in Lord of the Flies is very disturbing for virtually anyone. Be very careful Just because this book is about young boys does not mean it is suitable for them.

[hardboiled]

Ds read hitchhikers when he was 10. He loved it and found it hilarious. Lord of the flies is so disturbing I am keeping him away from it as long as I can. They are completely different books!

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

13 for Lord of the Flies. The idea of doing it with Yr 3, however 'good' they are at reading, seems positively ridiculous to me (I'm an English teacher and have done it with Yr 9-12 before). I'm not sure how much anybody younger than 12 or so would get out of it.

[wol1968]

I read Lord of the Flies at some ridiculously early age, like 8 or 9, and certainly got the creepiness of the imagery, the bullying and the utter sadness and horror of the ending. I don't think I understood the significance of rape at that age. I think, if you're into adult books that can be read by children, Animal Farm is a much better choice.

[bunnybing]

I read Hitch Hikers when I was around 12/13 and found it hilarious - one of my fave books/series ever. Bought it for DH recently and he reckons it's dated - don't agree.

Read Lord of the Flies in English lessons in yr 9- any rape imagery completely passed me by.

[kimlo]

remus thats how I feel about it. They did the demon dentist last term, I just dont get the thinking behind it.

Im going to have to bring it up with the teacher next week.

[TheOneWithTheHair]

Dd loves Hitchhikers at 10. I wouldn't let her read Lord of the Flies yet though.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Kimlo - yes, deffo speak to the teacher. It seems like they either don't know the book v well, or don't know children v well! :)

[Wurstwitch]

Mine are all into hitch hikers at the mo - they are 10, 12 and 14.
As they were reading the book, I dug up the film on netflix, I haven't seen it for years! V funny.

Coincidentally, I spent yesterday googling Marvin pics for a work colleague... Is there some sort of hitch hikers resurgence going on? Are they reprinting? Selling box sets or something?

[MarriedDadOneSonOneDaughter]

My 10 year old son just devoured Lord of the Flies. Couldn't put it down. We chatted a bit about how society needs rules and particularly about when the kids are rescued and those rules come flooding back to them along with all the emotions. His on Animal Farm now .....

I did say to him that these books will keep giving more to him as he re-reads them over the years. He seemed to understand that.

[MrsSteptoe]

I wouldn't let DS loose on LOTF just yet. I think it would really upset him. He's anxious enough about secondary school transfer without reading LOTF. I shall also be avoiding Tom Brown's Schooldays for the time being.

Now I've read ^^, though, I might try him on HHGTTG. I think he'll appreciate ZB and Marvin.

[LetUsPrey]

Radio 4 Extra started re-broadcasting Hitchhiker's yesterday at 6pm. It was 36 years to the day from the original broadcast.

Stuff about it here

I am encouraging DS1(12) to listen to it and then hope he'll want to read the books.

I love HHGTTG

[slartybartfast]

i read HHGTTG as a teen but can't get into it out, might suggest it to my teens

[Martorana]

"I think, if you're into adult books that can be read by children, Animal Farm is a much better choice."

What, that charming story about cuddly animals?

Why do people do this? The world is full of fabulous, age appropriate books for children. Why spoil grown up books for them by getting them to read them as children?

[IHeartKingThistle]

I agree Martorana. I was an extremely good reader, read LOTF at 14 and was freaked out by it. When I studied it at GCSE I was much more able to understand it. Why do people insist on pushing disturbing books onto younger and younger children?

[BananaChoccyPancake]

"Why do people insist on pushing disturbing books onto younger and younger children?"

Probably because they don't know what's in them! I read both books when I was in my twenties and can't remember enough about them to know whether they're suitable or not. That's why I asked the question at the start of the thread about a wiki-style "Parents' Guide" for books, like the IMDb one for movies, which I use a lot to help me decide which films I'm happy for my kids to watch.

It's hard to get similarly detailed information for books, but asking the question on Mumsnet is the next best thing to re-reading them yourself.