Frankenstein

[beautifulswan]

I was having a chat with my 9yr old DD last night in bed about books, I was telling her my favourite classic is Wuthering Heights and was hoping she'd want to read it. She surprised me by saying she'd like to read Frankenstein! I've no idea how she's heard of it...I don't have it and I haven't read it. (She said while we were watching Edward Scissorhands it reminded her of it but she can't remember how she knows of it originally)

She's not a keen reader so I don't want to discourage her but is it suitable? Will she have nightmares forever more if she reads it?

Frankenstein would be a really tough read for a 9 yr old IMO. I used to teach it to gcse students who struggled with the language and ideas

I did a degree thesis on it. It is a very, very interesting book but I reckon a nine year old would find it boring.

Try 'Stitch Head' by Guy Bass. It looks much more age appropriate.

Thank you all. I will indeed look up Stitch Head. Sounds good!

I have ordered Frankenstein and I will read it first to see, but I think you're right it will be too hard going and maybe a bit depressing. (She does like odd things though)

I bought a copy of Frankenstein for my DD1 when she was 10/11 (now 26). It was a childrens graphic novel. You could talk to your local bookshop and see what they have available. My kids always loved the graphic novels and then graduated onto the full text.

Thanks brehon, sounds good to me.

This was the book for our adult book club this month. I'm afraid we all really struggled with it, finding it a bit "over-written" and extremely hard work - general consensus was that it was an amazing book for a girl to have written aged 18 (!!) in the 1820s, with some extraordinary enduring ideas, but perhaps not a great read. I saw it at the National with Benedict Cumberbatch earlier this year though, and that was extraordinary. I rebelliously took my youngest, who was 11, although the recommended age was 15. In fact it wasn't unsuitable for her. There were 10 or so minutes of nudity at the start, and I wondered whether the age restriction was because they were afraid some children might giggle.

I ordered it anyway, thought I'd read it first to see if she'd like it but I'm struggling with it too.

I have since ordered a childrens graphic novel, brilliant idea!