Would you let your 8 yo DD listen to an Agatha Christie audiobook?

[aggieamy]

The question is pretty self explanatory but I will add some background. Tonight DD and I were driving around and she fell asleep in the backseat so I turned on the Agatha Christie audiobook I had been listened to when I drive alone. Death on the Nile - a Hercule Poirot mystery in case anyone is wondering and I'm about 3/4 of the way through it. I thought she was still asleep but when I got home she was wide awake and listening. She asked me what story that was and said that it sounded really interesting. I was kind of shocked because the part I think she heard was a murder and a communist that turns out to actually be a Duke. I would have thought the whole thing would have gone over her head. That got me thinking that maybe she'd like them herself. She's a huge mystery fan and loves audiobooks. She's listened to a lot of the Sherlock Holmes stories already.

 

Would you feel comfortable letting her listen to an Agatha Christie story? Which one would you start with?

[*Michelle*]

I read a few around her age. Murder on the Orient Express, of course, and And Then There Were None spring to mind. I thought they were thrilling. My biggest concern was that I would die from cyanide poisoning if I ate too many almonds. :lol:

[mumto2]

Dd and I have been reading them together for a couple of years. So since she was 11 or 12. Generally I read first then her. She has always been great about remembering which ones I said she should wait on -- can't think of the name but the Piorot on the Egyptian dig that was too hatred filled imo. She read it a couple months ago. Tommy and Tuppence and Miss Marple are her favorites. I think listening together would be fine. The old Marple movies are fun too.

[Lucy the Valiant]

My 9yo kid who's into mysteries and intrigue and mental puzzles and is totally non-dramatic? Yes.

 

My other 9yo kid who's sensitive and sometimes fearful and tends to blur the distinctions between fact and fiction sometimes? No.

 

Heh. (Same for Sherlock, though, at least for me. I was TERRIFIED of those hounds as a child!)

[Snow]

My DS is only 6.5. He's very sensitive...he wont watch Disney movies. Nemo? No way, the sharks and the little girl at the end are too scary. Beauty and the beast? Too scary. But, one night he couldn't sleep and my mom was watching an old Ms. Marple and he was totally into it. I think it just depends on the child.

[Unicorn.]

I read a few around her age. Murder on the Orient Express, of course, and And Then There Were None spring to mind. I thought they were thrilling. My biggest concern was that I would die from cyanide poisoning if I ate too many almonds. :lol:

 

These are the first ones I read, too. And Then There Were None was my favorite.

[plansrme]

My child who would not read Nancy Drew at 6 and 7 because of the ghosts (which were never real, of course) devoured Agatha Christies at that age.

 

Terri

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I was just thinking of listening to this with dd. I don't have a problem with the AC books. DD has heard the Amelia Peabody mysteries on audio so the AC would be mild in comparison, also dd has no problems with sensitivity.

[crazyforlatin]

I was thinking of Amelia Peabody until another mom warned me that DD7 is too young. Now I'm eager to listen to the audios with her - no sensitivities about violence to people, just to animals.

[JuanitaL]

Sure. The only problem I usually have with older books, movies, etc. are how they sometimes portray minorities. (I actually can't think of something specific in AC, but maybe? That immediately jumped to mind. It's been a while since I've read any of them.) We actually started watching Breakfast at Tiffany's a few weeks ago, and I was so disgusted at Mickey Rooney's portrayal of a Chinese man. We turned it off.

[BigMamaBird]

Absolutely. They're interesting, not gory, not explicit and I always get stumped, it's fun!

[stripe]

I was thinking of Amelia Peabody until another mom warned me that DD7 is too young. Now I'm eager to listen to the audios with her - no sensitivities about violence to people, just to animals.

I think Amelia Peabody had more dramatic pursuit scenes, plus all the wink, wink love scenes and going on and on about blue eyes and whatever else of her husband, which I personally find obnoxious because it's in every single book, worded identically.

 

I think I was 9 or 10 when I read Miss Marple's last mystery, whatever it's called, and I will never ever forget the "monkey hands." It still gives me the shivers! When I was 10, I used to read Edgar Allen Poe, which is much creepier than Agatha Christie.

 

Sure. The only problem I usually have with older books, movies, etc. are how they sometimes portray minorities. (I actually can't think of something specific in AC, but maybe? That immediately jumped to mind. It's been a while since I've read any of them.) We actually started watching Breakfast at Tiffany's a few weeks ago, and I was so disgusted at Mickey Rooney's portrayal of a Chinese man. We turned it off.

I can't think of any such scenes in AC, but it is a concern. I had an absolutely identical reaction to Breakfast at Tiffany's so I never watched the rest either. However most of them were made pretty recently, such as David Suchet as Poirot, so they are not outmoded and weird in that way. In fact, in that case, he is the minority; he must endure stupid comments about himself as a result of his outsider status, some of which he deserves as he is such a bizarre character. ;)

[weddell]

I think Amelia Peabody had more dramatic pursuit scenes, plus all the wink, wink love scenes and going on and on about blue eyes and whatever else of her husband, which I personally find obnoxious because it's in every single book, worded identically.

 

 

 

I love Amelia Peabody, but I totally agree with the above. The series went on a little longer than it should have. But overall Amelia Peabody is pretty clean.

 

I'd probably let my 7 year listen to Agatha Christie in another year or two. She likes more sophisticated things than I sometimes give her credit for.