To try to choose the books my daughter reads??

[lemonysnickett]

My DD is 11. I have noticed girls in her class are reading books which might be found in teens section in bookshops...at the moment a series of books by ally carter, some of the J.Wilson books...generally about boy/girl stuff. I think a lot of books on offer slip issues like this in..I would rather she kept on with Enid type books if you know what I mean...what does everyone else do? I know I want her to have a love of reading and this will ultimately come from her choosing what she wants to read...really don't know what to do here!

Oh let her choose! Best way to put somone off reading for life is to only allow them to read books you approve off!

dd, 12yo, is an avid reader. She reads J Wilson (and has done from about 9yo), Malorie Blackman (thoguht-provoking, well written - buy Pig Heart Boy for her), teen vampire shit, Lord of the Rings, Inkheart trilogy, the Lemony snicket series (!) and tons of other stuff! She's way too old for enid Blyton now tbh.

So give her the choice, but buy the occassional good quality book so she reads a wider range of stuff - at some point she shoudl begin to discern the difference between teen romance pap and decent stuff. But it has to come from her if she's to have a lifelong love of books.

Let her choose.

Let her choose.

At 11 I was reading the books my mum had borrowed from the library. I loved biographies and also read any Catherine Cookson books that she had..

Reading is educational, and at 11 she should be able to choose the sort of books she wants to read within reason... I would lay off the Jackie Collins till she is at least 13!!

You can't keep her in a box forever.
Let her grow up and guide her as she becomes a young adult. Restricting her reading is restricting her education.

It doesn't matter (within reason!) what she's reading, it matters that she's reading.

I agree entirely with titchy.

YABU.

IMO and from my own experiences, if a person is too young mentally to read a book, then that book will be difficult for them to understand (either in the language used or the topics discussed - or both) and so they will stop reading it. Unlike a film or tv programme, where not much thinking is actually needed to take what is going on in.

valhala. Maryz - what are the Cherub ones like thne? ds, 10, is majorly into these!

Cherub books are very much for boys imo (I've read most of them then got bored with the boyishness of them!). There is a bit of violence, swearing, mild sexual stuff - but then it's about a teenage boy so a book without that would be very old fashioned really. It's like a teenage James Bond story.

Have a look at the website www.lovereading4kids.co.uk they have fantastic reviews and suggestions my ds10 gets all his book suggestions from here

But anything not directly aimed at 11 year olds you should read yourself first, so you can answer questions.

Thanks maryz - ds has only read the first two but loves them. However he spent his class' puberty talk with his fingers in his ears (metaphorically speaking) so it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to the later books!

dd loved Boys don't cry!

is your dd interested in reading those girl/boy romance type books? I wasn't at her age and dd isn't either (10). I see a lot of them around but never see any one actually reading them.

Just make her aware of good quality books and have some around. If you still read to her at night, read those type of books with her unless she dislikes them? I certainly wouldn't direct her towards all that rubbishy romance and SF crap but if she finds her way there herself, it is ok if you make her aware of what else there is. You cannot really control a dc's reading after a certain point though, in terms of censoring it and unless it really is disturbing material where you need to step in, I think keep parental interference down to a minimum.

I disagree that reading any old thing, the more the better, regardless of the quality of the writing and the content covered is best. Better to read less but good quality material IMO - and to read it thoughtfully. Some of the best spoken people I know read little outside of workl but what they choose to read is always quality literature. Dh is like them, I don't mind a cosy or some other trivial literature as well as the good stuff.

If you think fast reading of any old thing is good reading, I'd ask you: Is it better (in terms of developing musicality) to listen to repetitive pop music all day long or to listen to one good piece of music with appreciation? You can tell what a rubbish reading diet does in the way these books are devoured - and not savoured amongst everything else.

But surely ZZZenAgain what one person considers quality can be completely different to what another thinks and that doesn't make either person's opinion less valid. Whether it be books, music or chocolate!

I came out safely the other side of a hard core spell of reading all my grandmother's Georgette Heyer's at that age. The local library then pointed me at Dickens and I was off reading those. Let her choose & find her own taste.

no I don't think so. There is quality in writing along with any other artistic pursuit in life

Taste is different, what you enjoy or want to read about and is independent of quality

Thanks maryz I'll try him on Charlie Higson!

Without a broad diet, it is difficult to develop a sense of discrimination. It's only by developing some sort of critical faculties that you can say
'This is good, and this is not and these are the reasons why
If she reads a variety she will come to learn what she enjoys and why others may choose to read material she doesn't. Much better for her to try something shallow and repetitive and put it down half-finished and say 'boring' and be able to give reasons for her judgement.
OP, go to the library and try some of the 'teen' books yourself, look at SGM thread in feminism and be in a position to understand what is on offer.