Just Kate Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Which would you recommend as a read-aloud for an 8 year old? Obviously, I have not read either. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rieshy Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 The Hobbit. Which of course wasn't in your list. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 The Hobbit. Which of course wasn't in your list. :lol: :iagree: But if you've already done that, I'd say LotR. Harry Potter is fun, but... My kids at 8 and 10 got way creeped out at one point in Fellowship and would not go back for a while. Your child may be different, of course. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Harry Potter. I only allowed the first 3 when dd was that young, as they grow pretty dark. LotR was too wordy and complex for my 8yr old--fantastic story, tho. Have you done the Narnia books? They are like "LotR light." :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'd go with the first 3 Harry Potter books. I don't like LotR so I'm trying not to be biased, but I do think it's a bit hard for that age. The Hobbit would be good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datgh Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I think LotR would be too wordy for an 8 year old. The Hobbit would work. I agree with another poster about the Chronicles of Narnia. Very similar to the LotR but more on an 8 year olds level. I have only read the first book of Harry Potter and think that would be good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'd agree with Hobbit. My son adored it and went on to read LOTR on his own after the Hobbit. We've done HP but only a book a year. In book 4, characters start dying. I'm not quite sure how my son is going to do with the death at the end of book 6...we're about halfway through it right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friederike in Persia Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 :iagree::iagree: I think LotR would be too wordy for an 8 year old. The Hobbit would work. I agree with another poster about the Chronicles of Narnia. Very similar to the LotR but more on an 8 year olds level. I have only read the first book of Harry Potter and think that would be good too. The tricky bit with Harry Potter is that they do get so much darker and whilst my ds 9 was allowed to read the first one, I don't want him to go further yet (the second one will be ok, too,...). However, they are so addictive, that I find it hard to say no, I read them all through as soon as they came out. I know I'm a grown up and he isn't, but I so hate hypocrites!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks everyone! Ds has the Narnia books on audio and has listened to each one multiple times. He also has watched all the movies and LOVES them. I am sure that he will enjoy LOTR and Harry Potter as well. I just wasn't sure which to do first. I actually have the first Harry Potter book on my kindle (borrowed from the library) which I am going to try to read. Maybe I will buy the Hobbit and give it a try as well. Still interested in others' opinions. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks everyone! Ds has the Narnia books on audio and has listened to each one multiple times. He also has watched all the movies and LOVES them. I am sure that he will enjoy LOTR and Harry Potter as well. I just wasn't sure which to do first. I actually have the first Harry Potter book on my kindle (borrowed from the library) which I am going to try to read. Maybe I will buy the Hobbit and give it a try as well. Still interested in others' opinions. :) I agree with Hobbit or Harry Potter. My kids like Narnia read aloud, but The Hobbit was a bit too much for them at the moment. Harry Potter is about the right level too, for my oldest, but she doesn't like read-alouds much, period. :tongue_smilie: LoTR is so, so very complex and detailed that as a read-aloud it would take a mature and patient mind (for the listener and the reader). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 ITA with the others, start with The Hobbit. I plan to let my boys start reading Harry Potter at age 9-ish and they will be restricted to 1 of the books each year so that they don't hit the more mature themes too early to really understand, appreciate, and handle them. So I'd do Hobbit this year, Harry Potter book 1 next year and proceed with HP one book a year until 15-16. Then he'll be ready to tackle Lord of the Rings, possibly with a quick fun re-read of The Hobbit, which he should breeze through at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piraterose Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) While everyone has mentioned The Hobbit, I don't think anyone was clear on the why and since you said you were unfamiliar with the two series, I thought I would mention this... The Hobbit is part of the LOTR series, it was the first book written, but is seen today as the "prequel" the the storyline in the later books. So many posters are giving you a vote for LOTR, but making sure that you start the first book. Personally, for my vote, I vote for Harry Potter, based on your child's preference to characters. If your child has listen to the Narnia series, he is used to children being some the main characters. LOTR doesn't have children as main characters, though Hobbits may seem like children. My 8-yo daughter was throughly bored with The Hobbit, but is obsessed with HP for a year now (we just finished book 3 this week and she was in a HP "club" at school). But I know she prefers children as her connection to the story. I hope to steer her away from HP, and over to Narnia, this next year, as to not get into the later HP books so fast, but she might mutiny on me ;) Edited July 23, 2012 by piraterose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 My boys are nearly 9 and nearly 12 and we have done HP books up to 4, watching the movies after each book. I'm holding off on the rest of the series until they are a little older, especially the younger one. We are currently working our way through the LOTR books. We read the Hobbit first, then the Fellowship. If you choose to do anything but the Hobbit as a read-aloud, be aware that they are very long and wordy--I found them difficult to read aloud so we have purchased Two Towers and Return of the King on audiobook--much better! My older boy is very into them. The younger one is kinda in and out with the actual listening to the details (and there are plenty of them), but he likes the characters and the story. So my recommendation (because it's what we've done) is HP 1 - 3 (or 4), then The Hobbit, then the LOTR books in order. Then they can re-read the earlier HP books and continue with the series after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Harry Potter. It's a simpler read with easier vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Harry Potter. But then, I am not a huge fan of LOTR so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma_Bear Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Harry Potter. But then, I am not a huge fan of LOTR so... :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 My kids liked The Hobbit as a readaloud at 4 and 7, but they'd seen the LotR movies shortly beforehand. Then DD read The Fellowship of the Ring to herself at 7 or 8, and she liked it, but I think part of the reason was that she had seen the movies and knew the basic plot, characters, etc. We've tried listening to it as an audio book, and the younger kids (now 3 and 7, though they've seen the movies) don't really get into it, as it's very wordy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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