Which Harry Potter book to start with?

[AllTheGoodOnesAreTaken]

DS6 is a very good reader and I wanted to get him the HP books, just not sure which one to start him with as I don't know them at all. Would prefer no scary bits as he's quite sensitive.

The first one! It is great.My favourite....The Philosophers Stone.

Thank you!

YY, Harry Potter and the Philospher's stone. TBH all the HP books have undertones of loss as Harry's is an orphan and his parents were killed by an evil wizard. The plots are cracking and my dc LOVE them (including my slightly sensitive ds). If your DS really is sensitive then I would suggest you read the book before giving it to him and make a judgement yourself. All the HP have scary bits - not terrifying but just part of a very good tale. I love them to bits and wouldn't want to discourage you at all but you might want to wait a couple of years if you think he will be upset by them. HTH

Philosopher oops!

It is tricky when they enjoy reading,trying to find good books that are still age appropriate.This one is,I think OK but you might want to have a quick whizz through first to see how you feel.Also there are the Alan Garner books...The Weirdstone of Brisingamen etc but not sure if that too scary.And Professor Brainstorm books are fab

You need to read them in the right order.

Is he 6? Even if a good reader it may be dauntingly long and wordy...

LOL - yes, the first one. They won't make sense otherwise :)

Is he 6 years old or your sixth son?? If he's only 6, I would probably not go for Harry Potter though TBH. There are more appropriate books.

The Jack Stalwart books are good (child spy) or Charlie Small.

I'm trying to think what my DSs enjoyed... those are the two that stan out in my memory.

My DS likes Roald Dahl, The Famous Five/Secret Seven, Jeremy Strong's 'My Brother's famous bottom books.'
Horrid Henry is aimed at your (and my) ds's age but I don't like them at all. Millions of small boys would disagree with me though.

The books you have mentioned my DS has already read and he has actually asked about harry Potter because he has the Nintendo DS game (not remotely related to the books, I realise that!).

He's almost 7 anyway

TBH then the best thing is for you to whizz through before you give it to him. Honestly they are a good and easy read. It won't take long at all. I have stopped my dc after the third one for the moment as they do get a bit darker after that. They do ALL (as I said earlier) have scary bits.

Reading order is:
Philosopher's stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban (my favourite)
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix (the worst one in my opinion)
Half Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows

Thank you so much!

My ds read the first 3 at 7, but got bored with the next one - I think it gets a bit old after that. He's just finished reading the rest at 10.

My daughter 9, has just finished the last HP book. What can I get for her next? I want to keep her newly found enthusiam for reading ripe. Any suggestions on what worked for your HP addicts?

DD2 ploughed through them between the ages of 7 & 8. She was a diehard Dr Who fan already though, and not easily scared. She was also already immersed in HP culture through the early films and was a badly brought-up second child - DD1 watched and read things at an appropriate age, DD2 watched the Prisoner of Azkaban standing in the living room doorway after I'd asked DH to entertain her while I watched it on DVD with DD1 in case she was scared .

Completely agree with PureNewWool about the Order of the Phoenix.

If your DD is grieving for HP, alirose, she may like Percy Jackson (begins with PJ and the Lightning Thief). A bit of an HP rip-off, but fast-moving and funny, and very useful for learning Greek mythology.

You have to start with the first one, Philospher's Stone.

The characters and plot etc are introduced in it, as in any series I guess; also the plots get more complex and more scary as the books progress - as the initial audience got older.

If yr DS is 6yo I think HP will be too difficult and frankly dull for him. My DD is a very good reader but was bored when I tried to read her the first one at 7yo ish.

She read them all when she was 8-9. (She wasn't bothered about the grim bits (ie fave characters dying) in 6 and 7!)

purenewool DD's fave is number 3 as well! (I gave up after the first two).