Can a bright 8 yo really appreciate Dickens?

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My (fairly normal) friend has started coaching her 8yo for the 11+. As part of this they are reading Great Expectations together. Now, I consider myself reasonably bright, (although admit my A-levels etc were maths/science based, arts never really my thing) and I have never got to the end of this book. I find Dickens incredibly hard going.

The girl is undeniably bright, but not miles ahead of her class or anything. It's none of my business and they can obviously do as they please, but I'm interested to know if this is really realistic or if I (and my children) are exceptionally thick.

I dunno, maybe it works with mum explaining along the way what everything means (I find Dickens is the kind of book I needed to read with a dictionary to hand at that age, doesn't he use words like "countenance"?). Never mind foreshaddowing & plot twists & cultural references, etc.

I doubt very much she'll need all that for the 11+.

I don't know; I was a Dickens obsessive at 10/11 (I asked for a set of Dickens as a prize for passing the 11+) so it is not beyond the realms of possibility, if she's a good reader. When Dickens first came out he was often read aloud by families as a whole and I think there is plenty in there to appeal to children. BUT I would think it pretty unusual and if I was coaching my bright dc I would probably not be pushing Dickens on them, it sounds a bit too try-hard....

I suppose it's possible the child watched the tv adaptation of Great Expectations and asked to read the book afterwards. The fact that it begins with Pip's childhood makes it plausible that a child might get drawn in.

I'd have thought that at that age she would get more out of children's classics: The Secret Garden, The Railway Children, Narnia, that kind of thing. Books she could really engage with and discuss. I'd be very surprised if an 8 yr old (even a bright one) got to the end of Great Expectations with a real sense of the whole novel and without losing interest - but like Tunip said, she might start off interested. Hey, my children have started reading Shakespreare (honest!) but they don't get all that far.

I was a bit of a star myself, but I didn't start reading adult classics until about 11.

I think it is entirely possible, especially if a lot of it involves having the book read to her, rather than reading it herself. I really think that children are way more capable than we sometimes give them credit for of really loving what they don't quite understand. The cadence and rhythm of complex sentences, the intriguing shape of an unfamiliar word, can be real sources of pleasure to a child. Plus, even without understanding all of the book it will be easy for them to grasp enough of the plot to aid excitement and suspense.

There is one book I can think of in particular that plays up to a child's love of the not-quite-understood. That is The Sword in the Stone, by T. H. White. It relishes words that must have been pretty obscure even in the 1930s.

Children habitually learn by exposure to things that are a mystery to them, so it isn't surprising that they have such a huge enjoyment of that mystery.

' I really think that children are way more capable than we sometimes give them credit for of really loving what they don't quite understand. The cadence and rhythm of complex sentences, the intriguing shape of an unfamiliar word, can be real sources of pleasure to a child. Plus, even without understanding all of the book it will be easy for them to grasp enough of the plot to aid excitement and suspense.'

amen to that.
It wouldn't bother me if a child missed a lot of the point of a book as long as they were getting something out of it.

My dad read me "The Impact of Stresses and Strains on Materials" at that age. I loved it & the experience of reading something adult/out of my sphere - wouldn't pick it up now...
Reading together and discussing is totally unlike reading alone, imo - I suspect ds (just 8) would cope with Dickens if we read it together.

I've just remembered that the opening pages of Great Expectations themselves include a child's reading of not-quite-understood words -- the inscription on the grave. How wonderful as a child to identify with Pip's puzzlement at partly understood words and events (events that remain a source of confusion for him throughout the book), whilst in the safe presence of a parent reading the book alongside you, like Pip is more or less in the safe presence of Joe.

I think an 8yo could get a lot out of Great Expectations, especially if it's being read to her and discussed. My mom started reading The Hobbit to me and my brothers when the oldest was 8 (I was 7), she cycled through the Rings trilogy every 2 years or so by the time the youngest got through the Return of the King, I'd heard the whole thing about 3 times and was 17. I got something different from it each time. I don't think you have to completely understand literature to take something positive away from it.

mrz does a tale of 2 cities with her Y2s.

No, I don't think you are remotely thick,OP. I read Great Expectations at 20 and loved it, but I also found it extremely long. Sixty chapters in all, so reading it to myself took quite some time, and given that reading aloud takes about 3 times as long for a fluent reader, they are going to take ages. Factor in explaining any new vocabulary, and the fact that the book has sub-plots and a lot of extra detail that is generally omitted from the films and TV series, this will may make it very hard to follow the main plot. Also, it is unlikely that an 8 year old will get many of the historical references, and possibly your friend won't either, but these will have to be explained to get any real understanding.

There are a lot of classic books that were written for children that would still pose a challenge for an 8 year old.

Dickens used to be read to whole families, true, but they also lived in the same period and would recognise many/most of the cultural references. Whereas we moderns need to have them explained to us. Time permitting I'd read the classics, Railway Children, Narnia, Hobbit, Secret Garden, Shakespeare adaptations for children, rather than the bard himself, (I wouldn't want to be blamed for putting them off for life!) and Dickens. Mind you, I'd be reading Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist not Bleak House or Gt Expect!

Yes, I'd only want to argue that GE can be a great book for an eight-year-old. I certainly wouldn't want to argue that it has to be, or that they are "thick" if they don't enjoy it. And nothing is worse than having a brilliant book ruined for life by someone foisting on you when it isn't pleasurable.

It is worrying that GE is being read as "coaching" for the 11+. That sounds dull and worthy. The single happiest, loveliest part of parenthood for me was reading books with my children. From The Gruffalo to The Lord of the Rings it was a joy. But only when the books were really those that the children wanted.

That's one of the reason I asked AIBUqatada. I remember "holidays" when my dad wold bring along some high-brow book and make us spend evenings reading it together. It was torture. As I child I enjoyed reading, but have never read many of the classics and I think my Dad has something to answer for too.

My mum did English Lit at A-Level, so presumably enjoyed reading at some point, but I have never known her pick up a book for pleasure in my 40 years.

My 10 year old just read a kids version of it and loved it. No idea how it was changed - maybe made the graveyard a bit less scarey. She doesn't normally enjoy reading but loved the story so now reading the full version of Oliver !! Ive had a quick flick through and it's very dark but she is v keen. Weird really as she couldn't get into Harry Potter !!

I think children can surprise you. I've just started reading Mr William Shakespeare's plays by Marcia Williams to my 3.5 year old (admittedly more for my own edification than anything else). The book has cartoon characters and offers scaled back versions of the plays but she has really enjoyed Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and keeps asking for it at bedtime.

I thought she'd lose interest but I think she's fascinated by the fact that the subject matter is so different from what she's been exposed to. Obviously I have to keep explaining who Macbeth is and how he is not the same person as Macduff....

It all depends if the child is enjoying it. One of my dd's friends refused to even look at any of the Tolkien novels as she grew up because her dad tried to read them to her as a child and it put her off completely. First sign of them not enjoying it,and you have to stop!

It is possible. My dad told me he distinctly remembered me aged 10 telling him Dickens was overrated and Great Expectations should have finished halfway through...

I have not changed my mind

I read GE at 8 because there was nothing else left in the crap school library. It was ok. I don't think it's as heavy as other Dickens to read, but I probably missed a lot of the subtext. I loved miss havisham as a character and drew her a lot and wore a net curtain on my head to creep my sisters out!

They wouldn't appreciate on the same level as older children who wouldn't appreciate on the same level as an adult who wouldn't appreciate it at the same level as a Dicken's scholar but they can enjoy the story.

Why not just leave it till they're old enough to REALLY enjoy it?

because for some people that time never arrives

and for others it arrives at age eight or earlier.

There is no harm in exposing children to high quality texts be that Dickens Shakespeare or a multitude of other authors.

I read a Christmas carol at 8 and loved it. And treasure island.

The books at my grandmas were somewhat limited and there wasn't daytime tv or games consoles in th 1970s lol.

I also read an awful lots of extremely boring " shoot" magazines as my granny was football mad - I definitely appreciated dickens rather more !!

You can't tell if you will like something until you experience it