Harry Potter - When did your child read?

[mirabillis]

I know this is highly individual... I was just wondering on average, what age did your child read Harry Potter? I think my DS8 would love it. He's been reading the DROON series. He's an avid reader, and I think a hefty tome like Harry Potter would fascinate him. Just wondering... Thanks!

[patchfire]

Dd *could* have read it as early as 7... she decided that she wasn't interested until about 9 1/2. She loved them at that point. :)

[Jen500]

My boys read the series at about age 8.

[Tabrett]

My oldest dd (now 16) read Droon when she was around 8 or 9 and she LOVED Droon! She read the first chapter of Harry Potter over and over for about a year at age 10. Then one day she finally read the whole book! She was 10 when she finally tackled Harry Potter. I don't think she could have read it earlier because of some reading difficulties she had when she was younger (she was a late reader).

Personally, I liked that she was 10 when when read Harry Potter. Because the charectors in HP were 11, it gave her some personal connections to the students entering HW's.

[RegularMom]

My dd read them all this past year. She's 9. She loved them, and still laughs at herself for insisting a few years ago that she'd Never Ever want to read them. :)

[AppleGreen]

My son got it for his 9th birthday from Mama. I told him long ago that I would read it to him when he turned 9. :) We have read up through #3 and he generally reads them behind me, after we finish one he'll read it himself. All of his friends are 9-10 and have gotten into this past year...reading voraciously!

[mcconnellboys]

I think he would be fine with them....

[KidsHappen]

I bought the first book for my eldest dd before the second book was released, so about 2000? The next two didn't start reading them until right before the fourth book came out. The last two started reading them about age 10. I read the entire series as a family read allowed as well.

[Diane in CO]

My boy was 8 when he started and has read all of the books several times since them (he is 9 now). It is his favorite series to date.

 

Diane

[Stacia]

Ds read them at age 7. Over & over & over. (He still pulls them out & reads them sometimes; he's 9yo now.)

 

Your ds would probably adore them.

[JFSinIL]

The problem is that once an 8 or 9 year old reads the first one, then he or she will want to read them all...and the last few really are for teens and up.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

My boy read the first one at age 5. (yes on his own)

I told him it was one book per year, just like I had to read them. He was thus on a HP schedule, one book per summer. He was dying to know the rest of the story! But he was quite patient and handled it well.

[Food4Thought]

For those whose kids read them at age 8 - were they scared? Do you think they "got" the depth of the story? I'm just wondering because I recently finished them for myself, and I thought the last few books were quite frightening - but maybe it's more because I'm an adult. What do you think?

[Starr]

The problem is that once an 8 or 9 year old reads the first one, then he or she will want to read them all...and the last few really are for teens and up.

:iagree:

[HeidiKC]

The problem is that once an 8 or 9 year old reads the first one, then he or she will want to read them all...and the last few really are for teens and up.

 

This is my concern. I keep hearing this, but am not really sure what the issue is. Scary? Sexual stuff? Can you enlighten me? My 10-year-old is thinking about reading them, but has heard the later books are scary, so he isn't sure. He isn't generally scared about books, unless it is an audiobook.

[Novafan]

4th grade for my oldest - which is now. He started the first book in the fall and read through the entire series in about 3 months. I think he has reread a bunch of them now too.

Edited June 26, 2010 by Novafan

[Guest CarolineUK]

I read them all to my eldest boy when he was 8 and 9, and then re-read them all again to him and ds9 this past year - neither of them found anything in them at all too scary (although the films probably are scary), nor did I feel at all uncomfortable with any of the content I was reading. I think they could probably take a bit more from the stories if they were older, but they enjoyed them immensely at their current level of understanding.

 

DS5 is now desperate to hear them, but I've been adamant that he must wait until he's 8 - but only because I've found that at any younger than 8, as a bedtime story, they simply fall asleep! :lol:

[LauraGB]

We did the first 5 as read alouds - I think we started when the kids were about 5 years old. We all individually read the rest as they came out after that, and they have reread the entire series on their own a few times since then.

[LauraGB]

This is my concern. I keep hearing this, but am not really sure what the issue is. Scary? Sexual stuff? Can you enlighten me? My 10-year-old is thinking about reading them, but has heard the later books are scary, so he isn't sure. He isn't generally scared about books, unless it is an audiobook.

 

I think the big concern for some is the death of a lot of characters, some of whom you grow to "know well" throughout the series. It could be that the kids are growing up and develop crushes and such, too. But there is no screaming sexuality in any of them - it's all pretty innocent coming of age stuff. Way tamer than many other popular books for that age group.

[dangermom]

The problem is that once an 8 or 9 year old reads the first one, then he or she will want to read them all...and the last few really are for teens and up.

This is my thought too. To be specific, the books get quite dark. Harry is (justifiably) a POd teenager--he's angry. And scary, dark things happen. There's not much sexual, except the occasional reference to snogging.

 

I didn't want my daughter reading them until at least 10--there is a ton of excellent fantasy for kids out there (Diana Wynne Jones!) and there's no need to rush into HP. But she read the entire Lord of the Rings, which I had not thought to forbid :001_huh: and after that I figured there wasn't much point. I don't think she got more than about 50% of LOTR but either way it's pretty dark in spots too. So she read HP at 9, I guess, and loves them.

[abbeyej]

Oldest read the first at 5, I think. I stopped him for a while after the third, 'cause that's when they start to get darker. I think he finished the last some time when he was 9? Dd started them at 7 and will finish (soon) at 8. I guess I was a little more lax about the darkness with the second kiddo. ;) I did find that if things got too intense, they would sort of naturally set the books aside for a while.

[ereks mom]

...as a family read-aloud. We wanted to be able to discuss it as we read. ER doesn't like read-alouds--he'd rather read it on his own--but dh & EK & I are enjoying it a lot.

Edited June 26, 2010 by ereks mom

[Rhonda in TX]

My kids were 11 and 12 when they started reading them. I didn't allows books 5-7 until they were 12 and 13 because of the darkness of the later books.

 

Just going by reading ability, they could have read them much earlier. I was more concerned with subject matter, so we waited.

[nmoira]

DD the Elder (8) read the series last month. I'd put off getting them for her because I didn't know if she was ready for the death of a main character (in the second-to-last book). However, if I'd read the series myself, I'd have known that it's not nearly so gut wrenching as I'd anticipated.

[Kim in Appalachia]

the girls could have read them at 7 or 8, but we didn't have the books, and I didn't push them. My son has loved them, and it has been key in getting him to realize he can read longer books, and enjoy them. Once he finished the series I assigned a reading challange for him for the summer. He needs to read 25 books (of my choosing) and he gets a new video game.

 

All of the books are shorter than the Harry Potter books, so he thinks they are easy.

[golfcartmama]

We read 1 and 2 to our ds (7.5) this past year, but he has an overactive imagination and although he *LOVES* them, they started giving him nightmares. So...we're waiting another year before continuing with the series. My ds is the kid who needs to see the movie first and then read the book, so he knows not to be scared! :lol:

[Angel]

My younger dd also loved Droon! I believe she was 8.5 when she began H.P., after I had read them all myself. She read books 1-3 quite quickly. She had trouble with 4-6 so I read some, she read some, and she listened to parts on audio book. She had worked on those books for months. As the 7th movie approaches we are beginning the 7th book. I am reading this one out loud to her because of the number of things that happen in this book that might bother her. Not so much scary stuff, she's usually good with that, but with some of the characters personally. She'll be 10 by the time we finish :D

[Melinda in VT]

My oldest started reading them just before he turned 8. This was 2003, so only the first five books were out. I don't remember restricting his reading of them. (We did the first two books as read-alouds when he was five or six.)

 

My twins started reading them just before they turned 6, in 2005.

 

I've come to realize, though, that I am on the more liberal end of things when it comes to reading material. I do set limits occasionally, but it's rare for me to limit children's books.

 

Ironically, DH is more restrictive of reading material than I am, but far more liberal with computer games and movies.

[hsmamainva]

My 10yo is reading the series for the first time this summer...and loving it!

 

After he finishes a book, he watches the corresponding movie.

[catz]

My son could have read them sooner, but balked at the size of the books until he was 7. He read through all of them right in a row. They would be fun read-alouds and I'm thinking about reading the first with my newly 6 yo daughter to get her hooked and let her take off from there if they're her thing.

 

My son is not particularly sensitive about content in books and seems to have a firm grip on fantasy and reality, so I did not worry about the content of the books for him. But several of his friends had to stop at about the 3rd book and hold off. I think it really depends on the individual child.

 

They are fun books! I love them too!

[Hunter's Moon]

I read the first three books at the age of 8 or 9. I then read the last 4 at the age of about 13 and 14 but I don't see anything wrong with an 8 or 9 year old reading all the books at that age. I just had to wait for the last book to come out :tongue_smilie:

[Gooblink]

My oldest read them all between age 9 and 10. :)

[Jen in PA]

DD is 6 and read the first 3 books a few months ago. I am in no rush to have her get to the darker stories later in the series, but for now she is busy with the Sisters Grimm and Percy Jackson books, so she has plenty to keep her busy.

[RainbowSprinkles]

My dd is 8 (since Feb) and she she just borrowed them at the library a couple of weeks ago. She loves them!

[anissa]

My 8 yr old ds read the first 5 books and loved them. He is now on the Kingdom's Dawn series.

[littlebug42]

My 8 year old read them all this year. My 6 year old started them but has stalled out on book 4. I think she has lost interest.

[LibraryLover]

My oldest is 21. He was 10 when a friend sent him The Philosopher's Stone fro the UK. He was the same age as Harry at the time and loved that. I just asked him about it and said "Wonderful part of my childhood". My youngest dd is a huge fan. She and her big brother talk myth and mythology re HP often. Sweetness. Her big brother says it was hard to wait between books. :) She started at about 10 as well but finished them all at 10. A little different experience. My other children are not huge fans, although all of them are looking forward to Universal this winter.

[Imprimis]

My 6 yo daughter is reading the first one now, my son read the first one (and the only one so far) at 10. Oldest daughter has never had an interest and hasn't read any of them yet.

[Food4Thought]

Okay, so maybe I'm just weak, but the descriptions of the dementors and of Voldemort scared the bejezus out of me! I still call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named if I talk about him out loud. :eek: :lol: I must have an overactive imagination. My son is the same way, which is why I'll start him on Harry at age 11, the same time Harry starts his schooling.

[NanceXToo]

My daughter is 9 1/2 and we're going to read the first one together sometime this summer (we're currently in the middle of "Mary Poppins" not to mention in the middle of the "Little House On The Prairie" series, but we'll get to it)!

 

(I've read and loved all the Harry Potter books, myself, and I loved them. So I'm excited to go back and re-read the first one with her!)

[calandalsmom]

my kids read them a long long time ago. ds1 was probably around 6 when I read the first to him. My ds2 read it himself at age 6.

[JenneinCA]

My dd read the first one at almost four. That book was the reason she wanted to learn to read. She read the rest as they came out over years.

 

My sons haven't read them at all. Ds9 could read them but isn't interested. He is more into building things than reading about fantasy. Ds6 is too new of a reader. He is intimidated by the size of the print and the size of the books. They will probably read them someday or maybe not.

[Blue Hen]

Well, my ds was in 2nd grade when HP hit the US market. He read the 1st & 2nd book and waited for the 3rd to come out----which he promptly read---and on and on.

 

My 2nd ds started reading them in 3rd grade. He was a bit slower to get into reading anything on his own. I had read them outloud to him when he was 4 or 5yo.

 

Carole

[swellmomma]

Ds11 is reading the series now. He is currently on book 3. I would have allowed it a couple years ago but he had no interest in reading them then. We did however listen to the audiobooks prior to now as a family. I think he was around 8 ish when we started listening to the audiobooks.

[Chris in VA]

I read the first to dd this winter, when she was almost 10. She read the second on her own.

I'm not letting her read the rest until she's more mature, although she could, reading level-wise.

[Cammie]

DD read the first few at age 4 and read the rest as they came out. I think tackling such large books at such a young age really cemented her love for reading. DS (5) is no where near ready to read them but I might start them as read out louds soon.

[Angjune]

My DS started reading HP when he was in second grade so I guess he was around 7 or 8. We were going to read it together but I guess I was busy around the house so he just decided to read it by himself. He has read all the books but now at (almost) 16 does not seem inclined to read them again. DD has not expressed any interest in reading them.

[orangearrow]

My oldest started the series at 11 and I made her stretch it out for a full year.

 

Next dd will start the series in a month or so - right at her 10th birthday. I'll be simultaneously reading the books with my youngest - a 7½ year old. We'll be reading the books aloud together.

 

we're doing a book club with these this year, and I didn't want my youngest to have to wait three MORE years to read them. His oldest sister would have read the books 6 years earlier! :) So, all 3 kids will be reading the series somewhat together. Should be a lot of fun.

[Laurie4b]

I waited until my ds was 10 or 11 because I thought there were some things in the plot that might be too much for a younger child. The protagonist starts out as an 11 year old, and the books kind of grow developmentally, as one would expect. I had all my kids wait that long.

[IsabelC]

My son is 7 and would like to read it. He isn't quite up to that reading standard, but I also think he lacks the general knowledge and emotional maturity to appreciate it at this point anyway. So it's definitely going to be next year before he gets to it, if then.