What age for Harry Potter?

[daysoftheweek]

asking for a 7 yr old
reading astrosaurs, charlie and the factory danny the champion, etc

I think the reading level would be OK but was wondering about the subject matter, are they really scary?
thanks

DOTW, DS1 was in yr2 (age 6) when he read these books. He really enjoyed them and the best bit is as they get older they can re-read tham many times as they are still just as gripping. DS1 is now 11 and still enjoys reading them.

thanks he is yr 2 too!

I personally think as long as the child is old enough to understand the majority of the words used then they are old enough to read the books. Anything they don't understand opens time for discussion etc and the next time they read the book they will enjoy it more.

My son has just turned 6 and we are now just starting to read more proper books rather than picture stories - I love the Harry Potter books and have been wondering whether I should read them to him - he has seen the films and loves them though hates any kissing bits!!! So think I will read the books to him now, I do feel they get more adult and darker as the series moves on so I may just read the first couple just now and see how that goes.

Play it by ear with the subject matter. My younger daughter read HP constantly from the Christmas of year 2 until the following November and was never frightened or distressed, but was already familiar with most of the plots from the films and the Stephen Fry readings, as she had an older sister who was immersed in all things Potter. I was much more concerned about subject matter from book 4 onwards when DD1 was reading them, although she was older, but had given up relaxed a bit by the time DD2 started them.

The later books don't become more scary in terms of monsters or baddies, but the consequences become more serious.

In the fourth book (Goblet of Fire), a minor character is killed. In bk. 5 (The Order of the Phoenix) a more central character dies. In bk. 6 (Half-Blood Prince) a major character dies (made me cry) and by the time you get to the last book your child will be able to cope with anything. I suspect that the younger the child, the less meaningful the deaths are, though they become more so as the child re-reads the books later.

My son read the first one the summer he turned 8. At that age he coped quite happily with the content, and made it through to the third book that summer.

He was motivated though, because I refused to let him watch the films until he had read the books.

Book 4, which in my opinion was sorely in need of more editing than it got, defeated him that summer. He went back to it two years later, when he finished the series up to book 6. We gave him the last book for Christmas that year, and he still hasn't finished it - finding it hard work to get into and not especially rewarding.

I think children probably self-govern to be honest, and with the later books being so long-winded younger children will probably give up early on.

Incidentally, he reads well, slightly ahead of his age, and has happily read other stuff while neglecting Harry Potter.

The orignal books were actually aimed at 10+ (yr6) when she wrote them.

DS started reading them at 9 and read most of them as they came out so was. These were the only novels he would read as he has dyslexic problems. He did start reading other novels once he was 13.

DD was capable of reading them since she was 5 or 6 but didn't bother until she was 11 and then read the whole series about 5 times in the space of a term, she got a little obsessed, although she did read about 50 other books as well.

DS1 is 6 and is in the middle of reading them (starting the Order of the Phoenix now). I'd say that the first 2-3 are suitable for younger children. I wanted him to stop and wait after the Goblet of Fire as the content does get much darker, however we have all the books and he really wanted to read the Order of the Phoenix, and it was a real battle to try and prevent him from reading it. In the end, I gave in (hoping that the length of the book will eventually just wear him down).

Had the earlier ones not been so successful, I'm sure the later ones would never have been allowed to be so baggy. The Order of the Phoenix nearly defeated me, but it seemed a shame not to be able to finish a children's book, and I almost lost the will to live, along with Harry, during the camping expedition in the Forest of Dean in the last book.

They're probably not the best books for honing one's children's critical faculties, but if they do enjoy them in spite of the length, they'll never be afraid to start a book because it's long.