How much should I censor m daughters books?

[Rivvy]

My daughter is 6 and a very good reader. My husband takes her to the library and she chooses what she likes.

Some examples of recent content has included the daughter plotting how to stop her mother having an affair (no graphic details though!), and tonight disscusions over starting periods.

She knows the facts of life - we live on a farm! But I feel she's still a little girl and should maybe be protected for a bit longer.

I try to steer her towards the more classical books - Alice in Wonderland etc but she wants to read everything!

So really as above how much should I put my foot down and does anyone have any ideas for challanging and safe books for a 6 year old with a 13+ reading age?

Thanks

I'd take the view that you control what she watches on telly, what she watches on-line so why not the same for books. I'm not commenting on what you should protect her from (cos that's up to you) but just because it's a book it shouldn't have some special dispensation.

I don't know how much she would understand the history, but When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a lovely story.

Leave her to it. Your DD sounds very much like I was with my reading habits at that age. I read anything and everything and honestly, it did me no harm at all. You could steer her towards Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate etc, Jessica Mitford's Hons and Rebels, Monica Dickens' novels and autobiographical books.

I can't give any advice on which books not to read but try these - I loved them as a kid.

wheel on the roof

farthest away mountain

no ideas, but yes I do think it's maybe sensible to censor things a bit. perhaps your husband could ask a librarian when he is in there, for some suggestions?

i was a very good reader when I was a child and ended up reading quite a lot of stuff that I had chosen because it looked nice but that was way over my head, or contained sutff that kind of weirded me out a bit because i didn't understand it.

Julerose I agree I think - I'm quite strict about TV. But my husband says leave her to it it's great she's reading so much. She's going through a girly phase at the moment so there's lots of teenage girl issues.

I think maybe I need to give her a freeish rein but explain to her the books are aimed at 12 year olds so she needs to come and ask if she doesn't understand anything or if it worries her?

I wouldn't worry - I trawled through the contents of my parents bookshelves will nilly and probably read all kinds - I especially remember Nell Dunn's Up the Junction which contained lots of swearing, an abortion and a miscarriage which I didn't understand but I found the book really made me want to write my own stuff !

I would censor - definitely
Our library is hopeless about noticing which books are entirely unsuitable to be found in the kids section

Some teenage books look harmless enough but are definitely not......... I was quite shocked to find "A little love song" by Michelle Magorian (which I love) amongst the kids books

I think if she reads and learns too much now she will be old beyond her years by the time she is 14 which you and she might not appreciate!

I would do that - you may well find she self-censors ones which are unsuitable anyway, my DS picked a number of "adventure" books at a jumble sale, and promptly handed a couple of them over to me when they turned out to have rather "adult" themes! If she knows you'll be happy to discuss issues with her, she can choose whether to read and discuss, or put those ones aside.

Thanks for your replies - caused a debate on our sofa! I guess I remember reading Forever at 11/12 and don't want her going there yet!

I don't censor at all and never have.

Rivvy, I read Forever at about 12 or 13 and agree with you, 6 is way too young for stuff like that, so I do think that censoring is maybe necessary a bit.

I wonder if you could get her interested in a series of books for a while? that would keep her going and you would know are suitable?

like the idea of the classics too, I can't wait until mine are old enough for swallows and amazons and that sort of thing

My ds read all the Swallows and Amazons books when he was 6 - 7 years old. He loved them. They are well-written, and would be challenging enough for your dd to be interesting, but certainly nothing too "adult" in content.

Also stuff like the Secret Garden etc would be good. A lot of classic type books do tend to be a bit more challenging to read, but safe in terms of content.

I do censor my ds's books to some extent. I don't want hime reading about teenage relationships yet (he is 8).

I've got her the full set of Jills Gymkana for christmas (1960s series) but she reads very quickly so they'll last about 4 days each!

She hates Animal Ark, she read 3 and said they are all the same (I do agree with her). But still tends to choose a bit by the colour and picture on the cover, they are all pink and purple at the moment and won't take much guidance from anyone.

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I would censor a bit. We had to do this with dd1 who read very well, very early but wouldn't have been emotionally ready for the content of some of the books that she would have been able to read.

You could try her with:
The Secret Seven and Famous Five books, Judy Moody, Horrid Henry, The How To Speak Dragonese series, maybe What Katy Did, Heidi, Pippi Longstockings, the Spiderwick books (perhaps a bit scary though), the young Jaqueline Wilson ones, like Sleepovers (although she gets very samey and boring and children tend to grow out of her before they are old enough for the "older" ones of hers, the Clarice Bean books.

Has anyone read The Chronicles of Narnia recently? How scary are they, she wants a box set for Christmas.

And "Ballet Shoes".

What about Just William - admittedly featuring a boy but still hilarious. A lot of the stories revolve around william trying to marry off his elder siblings which my ds wouldnt get but your dd might?

They were available as a box set from the book people - 10 books for £5

Also the Gemma Series by Noel Streatfield

don't remember narnia being particularly scary, although some of the later ones might be a bit confusing.
i think she'd be fine with them though

Chronicles of Narnia are not scary as such - but lots of religious symbolism which can annoy some adults

What about The wind in the Willows, The Wizard of Oz

I'm going to print this post off as the ideas might keep her going for a few months - thank you.

I loved all the childrens book club books from the 1940s & 50s - my mum had saved them all. Things like Ballet Shoes, various stories about girls boarding schools etc. All very innocent but for an older age group reading ability iyswim.

Also the Just William and Milly Molly Mandy series are great.

Can I second the Just William books my DSs (6 and 11)love them.