What iyo is the best age for children to start reding the Harry Potter books?

[Mintyy]

On the understanding that the child has the required reading ability, when do you think their level of appreciation (for want of a better word) is right for Harry Potter?

I know lots of children read them as soon as they can master the vocab, but is that too young?

All opinions gratefully received.

we have just read the 1st one with dd1 who is 7. it is hard because when they first came out they were spaced at what 2 years apart? So we are going to read the next one in a years time - the later ones are so dark and scary I would have thought year 5-6 at least

I wouldn't encourage my 7 yo dd to read them because I think she would be scared stiff by the later ones. But apart from that I wouldn't have thought the content was any more sophisticated than many other books that lots of 7 yos enjoy (thinking Joan Aiken, the Narnia books, the Hobbit etc).

My DD has read all of them now and she will be 8 in August. She is a very avid reader though - I never thought I would be telling a child off for SNEAKY reading but she has been known to stay up late or wake early to finish off something especially exciting

Biggest problem we found is how dark and scary/sad the books get once you get past the first 3. We had a pact with her that she could not watch DVDs until she had read the books so she was prepared for the sad/scary bits. We also read the bigger sad bits (eg death of cedric diggory and others) along with her so we could discuss and cuddle

I think they are great books for kids with the ability to manage vocabulary and subject matter.

I think some kids probably read them too young. my DD must have been 8 when she started on them, 7 might be OK for some kids. She's then gradually read some more over the last couple of years, recently finished The Order of the Phoenix.

They do get 'darker', not to mention longer so are quite good as a series to read over some years.

Oh thanks for replies - very interesting.

My dd is a great reader and has excellent results from school for reading and literacy. She is (as I have just found out tonight on Mumsnet ) a free reader and is allowed to choose her own books to read from the school library.

But she still hasn't read or expressed any interest in a Harry Potter book. She is 8 and a half.

I think I will leave it until she asks to read them. I'm sure the older you are the better you appreciate them. They are quite sophisticated even if you can manage all the words.

Many thanks for the input .

I think the original aim of the books were yr6, Ds was 9 when he first read the early ones and the later ones came out as he got older. DD wasn't really bother until she was 11 then got slightly obsessed and read them all about 6 times in 6 months.

aged 8 is the right age for reading HP bks. They are aimed at 8 -12 yr old bracket, however Jo Rowling has grown the books to an older audience as harry grew up, it's inevitable.

I am undecided on this. DS1 read them in yr2 when he was 6 and the others as they came out. he is now 10 and still enjoys reading them. Mind you like me he will re read a book numerous times if he enjoys it.

My DS1 started reading them when he was just 6. He could manage the vocabulary but I felt he didn't really understand them. He was desperate to read them as this was some years ago when the books first came out.
At 7/8 he had much more understanding and I suspect he enjoyed them more.

However I wouldn't encourage a child to read HP unless they want to. My DS1 was an avid reader of anything and everything until he read HP. After that nothing else compared and he became very picky and found it difficult to find books he liked.

it really depends on the child

what's right for one child might not be right for his friend