Harry Potter, Book 4--what age?

[38carrots]

I've let all my children to develop their reading skills naturally, with no lessons (other than Reading Eggs, if they requested it). My oldest DD could ready at 6, but didn't start reading for pleasure until 9, and is not a big fiction reader. My son struggled with reading at the age of 9, started reading a bit at 10. He's now almost 12 and finishing the HP series. My youngest is  newly 8...She just learned to read in the last 6 months. After a couple of early chapter books she is now excitedly finishing book 2 of HP. At an amazing speed, I have to say. I was a bit concerned about her comprehension, to be honest, but she's so excited to re-tell me everything that now I have no doubt she is understanding it well.

 

She's already talking about reading all the books, just like her brother. She says she is not concerned that they get dark and scary or sad, because they are "interesting." She already knows some spoilers from her brother.

 

I haven't read the books past the first 3--not my thing at all. I'm aware of the storylines, though.

 

Would you discourage your 8 year old from reading beyond book 4? Beyond other book?

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

[Ellie]

Yeah, I might encourage an 8yo to wait for the Goblet of Fire and beyond.

[eternalsummer]

Mine read them all straight through at 8 and seemed no worse for the wear.  

[Outdoorsy Type]

She might appreciate or understand them better later, but I let my oldest child read them about that age.

[SKL]

I would not restrict an 8yo from reading them.  My youngest read all of them (1-7) before she was 8.  She is a sensitive kid but had no problem with these books.  Both of my kids are big Harry Potter fans and have seen all the movies too.

[Ellie]

Well, there you go. :-)

[kitten18]

My dd listened to all of them by the time she was 7.5.

She loves them and has re-read them many times now.

My ds is much more sensitive but he finished listening to the books in the last year (10) but he knew the stories because he had watched the movies years ago.

[kentuckymom]

I didn't let my 11 year old go past book 3 until this year, but I'm pretty conservative regarding what media I expose my kids to. I'm taking the opposite path of my parents, who let me read or watch just about anything. I don't think it permanently damaged me or anything, but I was definitely exposed to some things before I was really mature enough for them, in retrospect.  When it comes down to it, you have to make a judgment based on  your own child. Books 5 and up not only get darker but deal with more and more mature themes  regarding relationships and life choices. Some 8 year olds would be totally fine with all of them though some stuff would undoubtedly go over their heads. Other 8 year olds would be terrified. If your DD is sensitive, hold off at least a year. Maybe let her read Goblet of Fire and then talk about it before considering whether to let her move on. A minor character dies in that book. Major characters die in all of the remaining books.

[redsquirrel]

I had my kids wait for the 4-7 books.  The first three are clearly juvenile novels. They are fairly standard boarding school mysteries with a twist. But, with the fourth book, they become YA books, progressively darker and more serious in tone. By the time you get to the fifth and sixth book they are dating, kissing, drinking alcohol(butterbeer) and there is some very mild swearing.  None of that would bother me in the least for a 13 year old. It's still Harry Potter. But it's not what I personally want my 8, 9, 10, 11 year old reading.  There is just SO MUCH age appropriate stuff out there for a really good reader of that age to read. It's not like we are struggling to find wonderful books for my kids to read.

 

As for the movies, I don't think any of them are very good. My older son saw one at a friend's house and said he didn't want to see any more of them. He liked the books too much to bother with the movies. 

 

FWIW, years and years ago I read an interview with JKR and she said she made her daughter wait until she was older to read the books. She had always envisioned the books would be read by kids at the same age that Harry is in the books, meaning they are written with an older crowd in mind. They would get to grow and mature with Harry. So, for example, in books 7 they are 17 years old, full and legal adults in the wizarding world, making adult decisions and living adult lives. Harry is a man, not a boy. 

 

I would suggest you read them yourself. I know you say you've read books 1-3, but the following books are different. I was sort of 'meh' with the first three, they were very similar to books I read as a child, and I found them sweet but predictable. But I LOVED the fourth book. It was gripping and exciting and I loved it. It was clearly NOT a book written for very young children. I loved the transition to an older tone. And the fifth books is a political thriller! But, it was exactly that switch that made me decide to hold off on the last final four books with my kids until they were a little bit older.

Edited August 28, 2016 by redsquirrel

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I've allowed free range with the books, but have restricted the movies to just 1-3. DS read them all within two weeks of his 9th birthday. DD age 7 has read 1-3, but lost interest in the first chapter of 4 for now.

[kiwik]

Ds9 is part way through book 2 and I am reading ds7 book 1. Ds7 likes note advanced stuff than ds9 at the same age. I don't think ds9 will go past 3 or 4 for a while. I won't read past 3 aloud so ds7 will have to read it for himself. However he just finished the second Mary Poppins and it will be well within his abilities.

 

I intended to hold off until ds9 was 10 but I needed something to read. I won't let them watch the movies until after they have read the books but they have shown no interest.

[Guest]

I let my kids read them and/or read them aloud. I think they were at least 8, maybe 9. The last three books, IMO, are so complex, I doubt they can really understand and appreciate those stories with full comprehension.

[bettyandbob]

My oldest read the first three at 6/kindergarten. Then I made him wait until the end of 1st grade/7.5 for book 4. He read the others as they were published. He never finished the series--decided he was too old when he was in high school.

 

Dd didn't read for pleasure until she was 9. She was not permitted to watch the movies until she read the corresponding book. I recall she pushed herself to get book 5 done before the movie came out at the theatre.

 

My youngest has special needs. We've read the series to him. We started reading it to him at 12. We put off the later books by a year, rereading the early ones. He's 15 now. He had been read all the books and seen all the movies before we went to Universal Orlando one year ago.

 

I think when you read some books at younger ages you do miss some of the nuances. However you can go read them again and pick up more.

[alisoncooks]

My 8 and 10 year old have read the first 3 and watched the first 3 movies.

I'm debating about book 4, since they have overactive imaginations at nighttime,  :glare: and book 4 does have more death and scary stuff.

 

My girls won't be going above 4 (if we choose to read it) for another year or 2.

(Book 5 is filled with so much teenage angst, LOL. I guess I want my kids to have a little more experience under their belts so they can more fully appreciate the books.)

[Kathryn]

My oldest read them all at age 7. I'm in the middle of reading them to my 6yo and am on book four. I had to explain the teen angst to my first but it wasn't a big deal.

[Laurie4b]

I don't think there is an answer that will work for all 8 year olds. You know your own 8 year old  best.

 

What I would do if I were you is to pre-read the book. You can just read the darkest part and see what you think. It's when they enter the maze in the competition. Your older ds can show you. 

 

I did not let mine read them at age 8. I was lucky in that they were still coming out, so my kids had some time to mature. Personally, I asked mine to skip that really dark part until they were older. 

[AnnE-girl]

My 9 year old got about halfway through book 4 before taking a break from it. I had already talked to him about taking a break from the series and waiting to read the last few books until he's a bit older, so I'm glad he decided on his own to stop where he did. I asked one of our children's librarians for recommendations for books similar to HP, but not so dark for sensitive kids who aren't quite ready to finish the series. I can't remember the titles at the moment, but that helped distract him until he's ready to finish HP.

[mlktwins]

We did them all as a read aloud at age 10.  My boys loved them and started my non-recreational reading in reading other books in his free time.  We watched the movie after each book and they did fine (even my sensitive one).  I did block the one scene of Harry and Hermione in the 2nd to the last movie (or was it the last movie?).  I think they did well watching the movies because they knew what to expect from the books.  They liked the books better than the movies.  We are heading to Universal Orlando soon to visit HP world :-).

[Ellie]

 

Dd didn't read for pleasure until she was 9. She was not permitted to watch the movies until she read the corresponding book. I recall she pushed herself to get book 5 done before the movie came out at the theatre.

 

 

 

Well done!!!

[mtomom]

I waited until mine was older. Can you read just the darkest parts? Anyone who has read them can tell you what portions to read. I think you'll know whether your particular 8 year old can handle it after reading. Mine couldn't have, but clearly lots of kids can.

[historically accurate]

This is one of the few series that I have rules for. Book 4 is more YA literature, and I think book 5 has swung lightly into adult literature. 

 

Books 1-3 can be read at age 9.

Book 4 at age 10.

Books 5-7 at age 11.

 

They are not allowed to see the movies until after they have read the book. 

 

Usually what this means is the child rereads the books 1-3 just prior to her 10th birthday (or books 1-4 just prior to her 11th), and then I hand them the next book in the series at their birthday party. I don't see the child for a day or two and then they finally come up for air.

 

I allow some YA novels at age 10 (with my approval), most at age 11, and I pretty much turn them loose at age 12, so that's how I figured out my "rules" for Harry Potter. I figure I had to wait for JK Rowling to release each novel, so it won't kill my kids to have to wait for the next installment in the series.

[Dmmetler]

My DD stopped by herself, first after book 3, then after Sirius died, and finally finished the series last year at 11. She didn't find Percy Jackson as intense, and read those straight through (the second series she's mostly read when they're available in paperback or when we can get them from the library, so that's spaced them out just due to publication).

 

I will say that she mostly skipped YA except for a few favorite series, and moved to reading adult books-mostly fantasy, Sci-fi and mysteries. Often they're less "adult" than the YA marketed ones.

[idnib]

DS finished all of them by the time he was 9 and seems no worse for wear. I don't doubt a lot of the subtleties of the teen experience were lost on him, but he did fine with the darker stuff and the deaths. DD is 8 and is somewhere in book 3 and I don't plan to stop her reading onward. 

 

I tend to agree with Judy Blume that kids mostly mentally skip over things that are beyond them. That was certainly my experience, and DH's as well.

[redsquirrel]

DS finished all of them by the time he was 9 and seems no worse for wear. I don't doubt a lot of the subtleties of the teen experience were lost on him, but he did fine with the darker stuff and the deaths. DD is 8 and is somewhere in book 3 and I don't plan to stop her reading onward. 

 

I tend to agree with Judy Blume that kids mostly mentally skip over things that are beyond them. That was certainly my experience, and DH's as well.

 

I absolutely agree with you, that things get 'mentally skipped over'. I know I had that experience as well.  However, with some books I don't want my kid 'skipping over' parts.  I have my elementary age kids read juvenile versions of many classic works in school. We wait until someone is old enough to take in the language and the ideas behind the literature.  I know when my kids were 8 they could have read "To Kill a Mockingbird" but I'm not sure that would have been the best use of their time. I found it better to wait until they are older and better able to appreciate reading it the first time.

 

I personally feel the same way about the Harry Potter series. There is a lot there of value and I'm not sure I want it mostly going over their heads. Can they return to it when they are older? Yes, of course, if they want to. But that will be up to them.

[Farrar]

I'd let any kid asking read them all.

 

I think people have a weird hang up about Harry Potter because it's so dissected. So we really see the themes and the dark elements and the ways in which Harry grows up. But I'll see people saying they're not going to let their kids read HP until a certain age but they're not censoring the other fantasy books they read a bit. Like, they'll talk about a kid having to wait on HP but letting them read Gregor the Overlander instead (mouse genocide reminiscent of the Holocaust) or the Prydain books (graphic descriptions of battle scenes with swords and dark introspective bits from the main character) or Inkheart (torture, exploration of evil at least as dark as HP and probably a lot more so). And I could go on... I think it's just that we're not so hyperaware of them (even if we've read the books) because they're not a cultural phenomenon.

 

Of course, some people limit kids' books across the board in a more even way. And not all kids dive into dark fantasy when they're not allowed to read HP. And I'd be the first to argue that there's a value in trying to time book suggestions right and not push kids into reading harder books when there are so many good earlier middle grades books to enjoy. I just have seen this big debate among parents many times when the kids are already tackling stuff that's equally challenging from a moral or emotional perspective. And I think it's important to note that kids take different things from books than adults take. Where we might get caught up in a right or wrong question or see how gruesome or dark a scene was, kids often glaze over that stuff and read for pure plot and adventure and resolution. And only later go back and really see the nuances.

[idnib]

I personally feel the same way about the Harry Potter series. There is a lot there of value and I'm not sure I want it mostly going over their heads. Can they return to it when they are older? Yes, of course, if they want to. But that will be up to them.

 

I agree. I admit I'm just making the assumption that for this particular series, they will read it again. DS is on his third reading, and DD has read the first book twice. For a book I suspected they might read once, and which I wanted them to absorb more fully, I would probably suggest waiting. But I wouldn't tell them no.

[AK_Mom4]

I'm another almost-free-ranger on reading material. All my kids read HP at a young age -DD15 finished the series when she was 8.

 

I had one shelf of books in my room that was off limits- Stephen R Donalson and Twilight had to wait until high school age for my kids due to violence and intense sexual themes.

 

HP? No big deal.

[gardenmom5]

 By the time you get to the fifth and sixth book they are, drinking alcohol(butterbeer) and

 

I never had the impression butterbeer was anymore alcoholic than rootbeer.  they were drinking it as 13yos when they went to hogsmeade.

 

 

Dd didn't read for pleasure until she was 9. She was not permitted to watch the movies until she read the corresponding book. I recall she pushed herself to get book 5 done before the movie came out at the theatre.

 

ds was a *very* reluctant and struggling reader.  also pretty sensitive. so when he was 9, we read the books together. (with me doing most of the reading)  after each book, he was allowed to watch the corresponding movie. 

 

 I remember when book 4 came out -we were going to yosemite. (youngest was 9 turning 10 <a month)  we stopped at costco and bought the book to read in the car while driving.  we stopped at the next costco and bought the book on cassette (yes, very primitive.) because then everyone could hear.  no one was supposed to read the book unless everyone was there.  it was funny having two in a lounge chair and another reading over their shoulder.  with subsequent books, I'd have kids buy their own just so they didn't have to wait.

[MistyMountain]

I read my ds them when he was almost 7. I told him the later books were darker and had deaths in it and he said that he still wanted to listen to them. He enjoyed all of the books and was on edge waiting to see what happen next. On the other hand my dd who was older then him could not make it past the middle of book two because it was too suspenseful and the first movie scared her. It depends on the kid more then the age.

Edited August 28, 2016 by MistyMountain

[mamaraby]

I never had the impression butterbeer was anymore alcoholic than rootbeer. they were drinking it as 13yos when they went to hogsmeade.

That was my impression as well. Unless you were a house elf, anyway. Binky got quite drunk on butterbeer in the fourth book. Maybe about as alcoholic as kombucha.

 

My kids read the books when it's at their reading level, regardless of age. Ds read them all between second and third grade. Dd1 is in 2nd grade and isn't quite there yet reading ability wise. Dd2 is still learning how to read. We have read the books as a read aloud - though my dds were pretty young and don't remember it all.

 

All three kids have seen movies 1-3. From movie #4 on, you get to watch the movie after you have read the book yourself. Four years layer, ds is still re-reading the series off and on with other books in between re-reads.

[redsquirrel]

Butterbeer is mildly alcoholic.  It has enough alcohol that an alcoholic house elf uses it as her drink of choice....and there is an alcoholic house elf, in case you didn't know.  And I think there is a passage when Harry wonders what Hermione and Ron will get up to at Slughorn's party under the influence of butterbeer.  And Hermione describes it as 'not very strong', but not non-alcoholic.

 

Apparently there were some people upset because in one of the later movies it appears the kids get mildly tipsy drinking butterbeer? I haven't seen it so I don't know?

 

Again, this is a very minor thing to me. I mean, I think we get told in the first book by Draco that Hagrid gets drunk and sets his bed on fire occasionally, lol.  I actually like how there is a pub at the center of Hogsmeade and it's a place where everyone goes. But as the kids get older, the books get more geared towards and older reader and that is one of the smaller ways that it does. It's on my pile of reasons for having my kids be 11 or so before starting the second half of the series, not seven or 8.

[Plateau Mama]

I have a rule that they cannot watch movies 4-7 until they read the books. My son desperately wanted to watch the movies so he started reading the books in November. He was 7, turned 8 the end of February. He finished them in June. He loved them. the relationship stuff, butterbeer etc didn't mean anything to him. I'm sure at some point he will reread them and get more of that stuff.

[Ali in OR]

I didn't bring the books into the house until my kids were a bit older. I think my older dd was 10 and younger 7.5 when we did the first three as read-alouds. I also wanted to wait before going on to book 4, at least for my youngest. I thought older dd was fine reading it on her own (i.e. not a read aloud), but once the library book was in the house youngest read it too of course. And it was fine. And they proceeded to devour the rest of the books and have both read them many times over. My kids are not sensitive at all if that matters.

[Mergath]

We started them as read-alouds at six. Dd read through the series on her own at seven, and is reading the books again this year at eight. She hasn't needed therapy as of yet. ;) 

 

I've read quite a few middle grade and YA novels, and the HP books aren't especially dark or mature compared to a lot of what's out there.

[Mergath]

This is one of the few series that I have rules for. Book 4 is more YA literature, and I think book 5 has swung lightly into adult literature. 

 

Books 1-3 can be read at age 9.

Book 4 at age 10.

Books 5-7 at age 11.

 

They are not allowed to see the movies until after they have read the book. 

 

Usually what this means is the child rereads the books 1-3 just prior to her 10th birthday (or books 1-4 just prior to her 11th), and then I hand them the next book in the series at their birthday party. I don't see the child for a day or two and then they finally come up for air.

 

I allow some YA novels at age 10 (with my approval), most at age 11, and I pretty much turn them loose at age 12, so that's how I figured out my "rules" for Harry Potter. I figure I had to wait for JK Rowling to release each novel, so it won't kill my kids to have to wait for the next installment in the series.

 

I would have to disagree with the bolded. Maybe the case could be made that they're early YA, but definitely not adult lit. There are no sexual themes beyond kissing, only very mild fantasy violence, and even the teenage angst isn't overly angsty.