butterflymommy Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My then 7, 9, and 12 y.o.s all devoured the books. They are unscathed. I warned them beforehand that it might be disturbing and if it scared or unnerved them too much, to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jane Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I think I voted wrong. I read your question in the post if you'd let a 7yo read The Hunger Games and voted no. Now reading the poll question if 7 is to young the answer would be yes. Sorry should've paid more attention! :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I've only just "officially" cleared the trilogy for my advanced 10yo. I wouldn't have stopped her previously, but I did tell her I didn't think she was ready. It's not any more gruesome than a good, bloody mythology book I have to respectfully disagree with this. Greek/Norse/Mesoamerican/etc. myths may be gory at times, but they are obviously supernatural. It's like the original Grimm fairytales (which I have also permitted my DD to read) in that the stories couldn't actually happen. Unfortunately, The Hunger Games and other realistic dystopian novels *COULD* happen if society went to h-e-double-hockey-sticks in a handbasket. That's what makes them so much more frightening. nothing in it made me feel as horrible in a kicked-in-the-gut sense as I did for Lyra at the end of The Golden Compass. I wouldn't let my 10 y.o. read Phillip Pullman's trilogy either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 At 30 years her senior, I'm not old enough to handle the Hunger Games, but that's me. Read about it on Wiki so I'd be culturally literate, and decided it wasn't for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I must be sheltering my kiddos... I wouldn't let either (9 and 11) read this book. Having said that, I know a lot of kids 10 and above who have either seen the movie or read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didadeewiththree Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I accidently answered wrong also! I would not let my 8 yr old read it, nor watch the movie. We have too many other good books to read at this age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 I think I voted wrong. I read your question in the post if you'd let a 7yo read The Hunger Games and voted no. Now reading the poll question if 7 is to young the answer would be yes. Sorry should've paid more attention! :001_huh: Flog me. Flail me. Send me into the arena. I'm horrible at crafting polls! So sorry for the confusion! :tongue_smilie:(I'm the OP.) Thank you everyone for responding though. I had written something about The Hunger Games recently, but also mentioned Ayn Rand at the same time. I heard some strong responses, which is why I wondered if I was off base. I'd be happy for my kids to read any of it at the right age and with a responsible person discussing it with them. I just don't feel right about my seven year old reading whatever when nobody's looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I voted wrong as well! No - I would not let a 7 yo read it. Dd12 and 11 did read all three - actually devoured them. They've reread them multiple times as well. Dd 9 will have to wait though. She is much more sensitive than her sisters. She read Sadako a few weeks ago and sobbed for hours. I can't imagine her and HG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Our DD8 (profoundly gifted), loved the Hunger Games! Just last month after she finished the trilogy, I posted about her request... She submitted a research proposal to study in her words, "The correlation of Utopian ideals in the Elizabethan era to that of the post-communist world and it's effect on modern society." She asked me to find her a few books that may be "light-reading" on the topic. Are you for real!? She's only 8 years old, and I can't keep up now! I voted other, as it completely depends on the child and their maturity/ comprehension level. :iagree: I vote for everyone knows their own child best. My 8 year old picked it up a couple weeks ago (another gifted/accelerated kid) after hearing about it ad nauseum from older brother and his friends and is doing fine with it. 6 months ago I told her maybe after she was 10. She's made a bunch of leaps since then. Parenting gifted kids isn't always as straightforward as I'd like it to be. ETA - I have read all 3 books and discussed them at length with my oldest who discovered them at 10/11. Edited November 6, 2012 by kck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Not applicable. Even if my 7yo could read well enough, she wouldn't be interested in it all all, because the main character is not a horse :lol: I don't think you're out of line at all. I probably wouldn't suggest it either. There are so many wonderful books around, why not encourage your child to read something more educational, relevant and interesting for that age. When she's a teen and gets interested in dystopian lit, there are other better choices imo. Having said that, I don't think I'd outright forbid any book from being read, I tend to just avoid having certain stuff in the house, and if they kids start asking to read things I don't like, I'll try and explain what my issue is. Edited November 6, 2012 by Hotdrink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Flog me. Flail me. Send me into the arena. I'm horrible at crafting polls! So sorry for the confusion! :tongue_smilie:(I'm the OP.) Thank you everyone for responding though. I had written something about The Hunger Games recently, but also mentioned Ayn Rand at the same time. I heard some strong responses, which is why I wondered if I was off base. I'd be happy for my kids to read any of it at the right age and with a responsible person discussing it with them. I just don't feel right about my seven year old reading whatever when nobody's looking. Have you read the Hunger Games? I ask because I had a very distorted view of the book—knowing it involved children killing other children, and not much else. But there are far deeper ideas in the book; ones that did not go over my 7 year old's head at all. Instead we had really rich discussions about ethics and duty to others. The Hunger Games was the opposite of Ayn Rand's vicious brand of "selfishness as virtue." In this youth novel the heroine risks her survival to save her beloved little sister. Is the morality of the whole situation "complex?" For sure. But life is often complex. I think the book gets a bum rap. Bill Edited November 6, 2012 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Shoot, I also answered the poll backwards because I read the post question instead of the poll question. I think 7 is too young for the concepts in this book, and I'm a liberal parent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have to respectfully disagree with this. Greek/Norse/Mesoamerican/etc. myths may be gory at times, but they are obviously supernatural. It's like the original Grimm fairytales (which I have also permitted my DD to read) in that the stories couldn't actually happen. Unfortunately, The Hunger Games and other realistic dystopian novels *COULD* happen if society went to h-e-double-hockey-sticks in a handbasket. That's what makes them so much more frightening. We will have to agree to disagree. IMHO the violence in the novels is in line with what kids would read in a gory volume of mythology, but the themes are indeed dark and I wouldn't want a child to read it who isn't mature enough to recognize this. As far as readiness, it depends on the person: there are some grown women here who couldn't make it through the first book. IMHO there's nothing wrong with being frightened or even feeling like you've been kicked in the stomach after reading something. The Hunger Games is bleak -- not because of the adrenaline-driven plot, but rather for its take on collective human nature; hence the reference to its philosophical nature you edited out of my post. My child will be more disturbed by this than the violence, and, as far as I'm concerned that's the point of the series. I wouldn't let my 10 y.o. read Phillip Pullman's trilogy either.I can't say I'm surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Well, drat, that's what i get for answering too quickly. I responded "no," thinking the question was if I would take my 7yo to see the movie. I would not. Please consider one "no" vote relocated to the "yes" category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I wouldn't let my ten year old read it yet. For point of reference, he has read all of the Harry Potter books, including the last few darker ones, which also involve kids killing kids. But for me, the difference is that in HP, the lines between good and evil are pretty clearly evident. In The Hunger Games, I think it would be easy for a young child to miss the underlying themes and comments on modern society and "reality" TV and the complex causes of warfare. Without understanding these issues, the book is just a senseless bloodbath. I don't think my son is even aware of many of these issues, certainly not in a meaningful way, so the book would be pointlessly violent for him. We have friends who are adults and saw the movie without reading the book, and came away thinking the movie glorified the violence rather than satirizing it, so if adults can be confused without proper context, so could a young child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Have you read the Hunger Games? I ask because I had a very distorted view of the book—knowing it involved children killing other children, and not much else. But there are far deeper ideas in the book; ones that did not go over my 7 year old's head at all. Instead we had really rich discussions about ethics and duty to others. The Hunger Games was the opposite of Ayn Rand's vicious brand of "selfishness as virtue." In this youth novel the heroine risks her survival to save her beloved little sister. Is the morality of the whole situation "complex?" For sure. But life is often complex. I think the book gets a bum rap. Bill I've read all three books several times, and seen the movie twice. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Sorry, I voted wrong: I voted "no" becasue I had read THIS question: but did not read that the poll was asking the exact opposite. ETA: I just saw that many others made the same mistake. I do not consider this an appropriate book for a 7 year old, even a strong reader, so YES, I think 7 is too young. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I've read all three books several times, and seen the movie twice. :) Then my vote is for...you know your child best. Like mine doesn't get to read Ayn Rand till he's 40 :D Bill (who liked your blog post BTW) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) My DD wouldn't be able to handle it. She'd be able to read it without trouble, but can't cope emotionally with characters she cares about being killed in books. She can't handle the later HP books either. Edited November 6, 2012 by dmmetler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I think I goofed my vote, but my thoughts are that 7 is too young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 OOops. I voted backward. No, I would not let a 7 year old read it. The themes are waay too mature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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