Age suitability of canon

[dradamsapple <dradamsapple@yahoo.com>]

Richelle replies;

> It depends on the seven year old.  Whether the issues are suitable 
for seven 
> year olds is not the question.  I teach first grade, most of my 
students are 
> seven.  None of them could come close to reading HP.  So, read it 
aloud, you 
> say?  Tried that.  We didn't make it through a chapter.  They were 
clueless.  


Richelle,  I totally agree.  My neice was almost 3 months shy of 10 
yrs when she started reading The Hobbit, and then moved onto LOTR: I 
had to read both The Hobbit and LOTR in high school, and barely got 
through half of LOTR. 


> 
> My point is, HP is fine for an above average seven year old, one 
with a fourth 
> grade or higher reading level.  For an average seven year old, 
maybe, with it 
> being read aloud.  For a below average seven year old, not a 
chance. Been 
> there, done that, doesn't work.
> 
> Richelle
> 


I also believe the childs' interest stems from the parents' interest 
in reading.  As a child of immigrants, my parents never really read 
many *english* stories to me, mainly because they didn't know of 
them.  They told me stories and fables from their country (Italy), 
but when it came to reading for pleasure, I never really saw much of 
it.  My father would get a subscription to a couple of Italian 
newspapers and magazines and that would be it.  So I never really
developed an interest for reading, and I'll tell you I can probably 
name on one hand the books that I remember enjoying.  (John 
Steinbeck's *The Pearl*, for one stands out).  I did always enjoy 
reading encyclopedia's and science books though. I loved discovering  
things about science.  Maybe that's why I majored in biology???;-)
just my two knuts . . .

Anna . . .


d]