To say no to the 6th Harry Potter book...

[TabbyTigger]

DD is 5. She’s just finished the first five Harry Potter books and, obviously, now wants to move onto the 6th. However from what I and other DCs remember, this one has more mature themes (romance/more detailed deaths) and is generally more complex. AIBU to ask her to wait a year or so before reading it or should I let her try and see how she does?

Absolutely ridiculous. On many levels. You are being very silly indeed, OP.

It's tough restricting an avid reader especially if there are older children around, good luck.

My 12yo was the exact same (always trying to read my now 18yo’s books) so I’m luckily prepared (this time round).
Everyone in the family reads avidly so we’ve got a LOT of books.

These books are wasted on her at this age.

My dd won't read one of the hp books as she finds it too scary. She's 12 now and still hasn't picked it up again. She is obsessed with harry potter.

Maybe look at the Philip Pullman books for her?

It is bloody wonderful that she is able to read so young. I too was able to read at a young age and had read all of James herriots books before I started school.

My dd couldn't read until year 5 as she is dyslexic but at 12 is making up for lost time and I couldn't be more proud.

You know your dd and what you feel she will like but maybe wait a few years.

My DD read the first 3 age 5 and then I directed her onto something else. Not because she couldn't have ploughed through it but because she wouldn't appreciate it.

Getting the balance between an advanced reader and suitable content is challenging. I've found that the classics provide challenging language but appropriate content. So DD read Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Five Children and It etc at that age. Same now aged 10. She loves sci-fi and fantasy, particularly YA fiction but stuff like Austen, the Brontes, Little Women, Sherlock Holmes etc has been useful. She read the other Harry Potters from age 8 onwards.

6yo DS has read the first two Harry Potters and is currently reading Treasure Island. He can wait a few years to read the rest.

I read Little Women aged 5. Also Five Children and It, and the Hobbit. Did I understand every word? Definitely not. Did I understand every emotion, plot line, reference or conversation? Again, no. Did I understand the general plot, was I transported and delighted by the story and characters, did I learn a lot of new words and slide other ones into my memory to understand when I encountered them again? Yes I did. So I think it is absolutely fine for a child to read a book that they are not going to understand completely, if they want to.

This is how I feel - I was reading Shakespeare at 7. I’m sure I didn’t understand 20% of what i understand now, but I learnt some new words and enjoyed it and decided I wanted to be like Beatrice

Again - I’m definitely going to make her wait a little bit for the next HP, at least until she starts year 2.

I’m just in awe at the thought of a school where more than one Reception/Yr 1 child is reading Harry Potter books.

Quite, quite remarkable.

Why are people being so dismissive of the OP?

There are so many more suitable books for a five/six year old.

Get her the worst witch books.

I agree you're spoiling them for her.

This is possibly the stealth boastiest post I have ever read on Mumsnet .

I believe HP was written so that the children reading it grew up with the characters. That obviously doesn’t work now, with all the books available immediately.

Because even if her 5 year old has read the first 5 Harry Potters itbis ridiculous that she has. And not so stealth boasts are tedious.

MissClare she’s year 1. Surely it’s really not that shocking - they all copy each other, and the first three aren’t challenging in terms of vocabulary for bright kids of that age. DD’s gone into school telling her friends to read them, and her friends have copied. Not that radical really.

Get her the worst witch books.

Got them thanks :)

What about 5 children and it? Then the Phoenix and the carpet. Amazing books.

Oh and Chronicles of Narnia

Do you remember the choose you own adventure books?
Maybe she could really engage with something like that?

If you've been daft enough to let her read Goblet of Fire she'll be fine with the later ones.

You can’t “spoil” books by reAding too young!! One of The best things about books is that you will get different things from them at different ages. I read his dark materials ages 12ish and liked them for the story. I read them in my twenties and sobbed for Will and Lyra’s lost youth and innocence! I loved Romeo and Juliet when I was a teen and now I want to bang their bloody heads together!! Your enjoyment changes with your life experiences xx

cloudtreeour house rule is that you can't watch the movie until you've read the book, too!!

I used to teach at a highly selective independent school where 100% of the children had read the HP series by the end of KS1. Talking to one of the very brightest in secondary school (scholarship to SPGS and one of the best chess players in the UK) she delighted in telling me (at 14) that she was reading the HP series again because she 'really didn't understand them' when she was younger.

But as long as OP's daughter is enjoying them, why not? It is difficult to find appropriate material for able young readers. Instead of HP 6, I'd be steering her towards the wonderful classics, such as Anne of Green Gables or books by great modern children's authors like Michael Morpurgo, Lauren St John, Cressida Cowell or maybe even the Lemony Snicket series. A good librarian will know even more with suitable content/themes, but interesting and challenging vocabulary.

What's the point in reading a book if you don't fully understand and enjoy it. Once again like the lady with the Marvels question and her 3 year old this is just not the right books for her age. Why does everyone want their children to grow up too quickly!

I think its really difficult when you have a precocious reader to find books suitable for their reading skill with the right reading matter - I have definitely struggled with this even though at 5 my daughter was no where near this reading skill.

Personally I would stick to your guns and ask her to wait a little while and find some more suitable to her age in terms of content. There are definitely other books out their for that age with a bit more mature understanding and capability reading - I am thinking maybe the Scarlet and Ivy ones might be OK, but also you could try her with some classics which tend to be a bit more old fashioned about content but have the reading difficulty, Anne of Green Gables, Lion the witch and the wardrobe, Applebough, Ballet Shoes, What Katy Dids and so on

Absolutely ridiculous.

It’s counterproductive to let children that young plod through books they won’t understand. There’s more to reading than just being able to identify some of the words.

Most obvious stealth boast I have ever seen on here and many of the answers are not much better.

This is how I feel - I was reading Shakespeare at 7. I’m sure I didn’t understand 20% of what i understand now, but I learnt some new words and enjoyed it and decided I wanted to be like Beatrice

Pretentious bullshit.

LEM - I think it's because some mums can't handle the fact that whilst their own child is still on biff and chip, (which is obviously fine), others of the same age are reading things like Harry Potter.

Mine wanted to read the Harry Potter Books when she was 18 months old. I refused as I wanted her to be able to understand the theme and details of the book. I made her wait until she was 2 and a half and I don't regret my decision. It's soooooo hard to raise a genius.

It’s okay - 6th Harry Potter is waiting until year 2 and she’s currently sat reading Clarice Bean, which my older DDs definitely read at her age.

She’s definitely not that remarkable. She just likes reading. Sorry that offends some of you...