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Original poster

Would you let your 7yo read this book?

16 replies

Concernedfriend2023 · 13/12/2023 17:23

First question: DS is in year 2 and has bought home a couple of 'Quest of the Gods' books to read this week. Never heard of the series, but it seems very graphic for a child who has only been 7 for two weeks. Would you let your 7 year old read this?

Second question, anyone have any good recommendations for a year 2 child? All the Treehouse books done, most of Roald Dahl. I'm currently reading him Harry Potter. I thought perhaps The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but he's not keen. I find Tom Fletcher and David Walliams awful. Thank you :)

Would you let your 7yo read this book?
Would you let your 7yo read this book?
Would you let your 7yo read this book?
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Hellenika · 13/12/2023 17:28

I raised mine on mythology which is just as violent and full of concepts like good and evil. I would probably read the whole book myself before letting them read it. The few pages aren’t bad, but if it got darker, I would save it for when he/she were older.

Marblessolveeverything · 13/12/2023 17:29

They appear to be recommended for age 8+ . So within their age range. If the child is enjoying them I would leave them be. Though I always enjoyed as do my children the darker side of fiction.

CurlewKate · 13/12/2023 17:30

That is significantly less graphic Han much of Roald Dahl or Harry Potter!

VisiblyNot25 · 13/12/2023 17:31

I don’t know the God Quest books… from the passages you’ve posted I think it probably depends on the temperament of the child…

In terms of other recommendations for that age, The Boy Who Grew Dragons series is really good. My son also really enjoyed the Dog Diaries books & The Nothing To See Here hotel book series.

Airdustmoon · 13/12/2023 18:06

My DS likes the Beast Quest series - there are about 100 of them and they’re all terribly formulaic and trashy but whatever gets them reading …

Legomania · 13/12/2023 20:14

DS (who loves Roald Dahl) recently really enjoyed the Enid Blyton mystery stories (Five Finder Outers). He has started The Hobbit but I don't think he's gripped yet

Labraradabrador · 13/12/2023 21:05

Yes, I would read these to my y2 6 year olds (have this in the queue actually), but we have already read a great deal of Egyptian and Greek mythology with them, which is pretty bloody. It will depend on your child I guess - mine can be sensitive about some situations / topics, but aren’t the kind to have nightmares and generally are able to differentiate a fictional narrative from real life (no signs they are contemplating patricide so far!).

i actually think it is healthy to read about characters with darker emotions or challenging / uncomfortable situations, as it is a safe way of broadening their emotional awareness and learning about different life experiences outside their safe middle class bubble. We are currently reading ‘Christmas Pig’, and there are plenty of dark emotions relating to divorce and step-sibling rivalry. Some of the characters behave terribly in a way that I find much tougher to read than the violence in a myth or fairytale because they are so much closer to real life. We have had some really interesting discussions about it all, and on balance has been a great read.

other books my y2 girls love include toto the ninja cat series, mr. Penguin series and Leonora Bolt.

Koalatreats · 13/12/2023 21:12

Mine read The Endling series at that age. They are quite dark but they were school reading books and he enjoyed them.
Mallory towers was a hit with my son as were the famous five books and five find outers.
Firework makers daughter.
Kids Encyclopedias and a kids bible.
Kids Shakespeare books were popular. You can buy a set, they were read over and over.
Tom Fletcher books.
Tom Gates books.

Koalatreats · 13/12/2023 21:18

If he has female friends I do suggest you give him traditional ‘girl’ reading books too. My ds shares books with many of his female friends. By 9 he was always chatting about books with the girls in class. Because he was open to reading anything he got more suggestions and they shared and bought books as gifts. The boys read but didn’t seem as keen to chat about authors and series. So I do think his exposure to Mallory Towers etc helped. He also got them reading different books outside their norm. He would come home asking to buy a book his friend was reading and that makes it very easy to keep them reading!

Iwishiwasasilentnight · 13/12/2023 21:22

It’s no where near as bad as the later Harry Potter. If they enjoy the books I would be fine with it and they sound better than the cutesy fluffy animal stories my 7 year old is into at the moment.

mammabing · 14/12/2023 15:54

I’d recommend having a look here:
https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/recommended-reads/year-2/
We always have the posters up in our school library and we try to pick from the list for class story time.
They have a list for every year group. It might be worth checking the year 1 and year 3 lists too.

Best Books for Year 2: Recommended Booklist for Ages 6-7

Browse our list of 50 recommended books that Year 2 children love reading. All were reviewed by teachers and matched to the age and stage of 6 and 7-year-olds.

https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/recommended-reads/year-2/

Noicant · 14/12/2023 15:58

Children are actually quite morbid, I’d happily let a 7yr old read that.

Curlewwoohoo · 14/12/2023 16:02

My ds is 6 but reading age above. I've had to send a couple of books back to school that I thought were a bit graphic. Also got a problem with them being too big and print too dense, it's been quite a jump for him moving off phonics scheme to Accelerated reader scheme the school uses. Things like 'Daisy and the trouble with', 'mudpuddle farm' and 'real pigeons' have been good for him to bridge the gap...

Noicant · 14/12/2023 16:02

Labraradabrador · 13/12/2023 21:05

Yes, I would read these to my y2 6 year olds (have this in the queue actually), but we have already read a great deal of Egyptian and Greek mythology with them, which is pretty bloody. It will depend on your child I guess - mine can be sensitive about some situations / topics, but aren’t the kind to have nightmares and generally are able to differentiate a fictional narrative from real life (no signs they are contemplating patricide so far!).

i actually think it is healthy to read about characters with darker emotions or challenging / uncomfortable situations, as it is a safe way of broadening their emotional awareness and learning about different life experiences outside their safe middle class bubble. We are currently reading ‘Christmas Pig’, and there are plenty of dark emotions relating to divorce and step-sibling rivalry. Some of the characters behave terribly in a way that I find much tougher to read than the violence in a myth or fairytale because they are so much closer to real life. We have had some really interesting discussions about it all, and on balance has been a great read.

other books my y2 girls love include toto the ninja cat series, mr. Penguin series and Leonora Bolt.

Completely agree with this.

NameChange30 · 14/12/2023 16:09

Another vote for The Boy Who Grew Dragons and Toto the Ninja Cat series.

My son (in Y2, not quite 7 yet) has really enjoyed The Secret Explorers; I'm less of a fan but he loves all the facts.

liveforsummer · 14/12/2023 16:18

You might get a shock later in to Harry Potter if you find this bad. Have you read them yourself?

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