[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Age suitability of canon

[Richelle Votaw]

Melpomene wrote:

> And that's funny because I remember one--Time Magazine upon release 
> of GoF where JKR herself was quoted as saying she would NOT ALLOW her 
> daughter to read the books at her (at the time) age.

And Rhiannon wrote:

> And I'd like to point out that, although JKR may feel that the books were 
> not appropriate for her own daughter, that doesn't mean that they are 
> inappropriate for all children of that age. IMO, no one knows what's 
> best for a child like the parents *of that child* (for clarification, 
> I'm not referring to abusive or otherwise unfit parents, I am 
> referring to the run-of-the-mill parent). 

Okay, this is interesting.  I have two quotes here (that I can put my hands on, I've read others but don't have them here at the moment) where JKR refers to her daughter, at seven, reading Goblet of Fire.  First the CBC interview:

Question: "Is this book as suitable for the six-and seven-year-old who loved Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?"

JKR's answer: "It depends on the kid, but I have to say that from the word 'go', I have never said these books were . . . you see, I knew what was coming.  So I have proud mothers saying to me 'He's six and he loves them,' and I'm thinking, I personally wouldn't have said 'go for it' with a six-year-old.  I personally wouldn't, because I knew what was coming, I knew they would get darker.  The story is about a world that's getting darker.  So it depends on the child.  My daugher is coming up to seven.  She absolutely adores them.

Question: "Even this one?"

JKR: "She's not all the way through it yet.

Now from the Yahooligans chat with JKR October 20, 2000 (a good bit after the interview quoted above), some of the questions are very repetitive, so here are several quotes:

Question: "What did your daughter, Jessica, think of the fourth book?  Was it too much for her to take?

JKR: "My daugher loved the fourth book.  She wasn't scared at all.  As long as Harry was okay she didn't seem to care.

Question: "Is your daughter now old enough for you to read the books to her?  If yes, is she enjoying them?

JKR: "Yes, she has now read all four books.  She loves them, which makes my job loads easier.  She is nagging me for book five already, you will be pleased to hear.  'Get in your office and write!'"

And on another note, with the age issue:

Question: "Are you going to get more mature themes as your books age or are you going to keep it geared toward younger kids?"

JKR: "I think an eight or nine year old will be able to read all seven books.  That's my intention.  However, Harry is growing up, so obviously he will face certain issues an eight year old won't.  I don't think, however, that that will be uninteresting for an eight year old."

I am also absolutely convinced that I read an interview somewhere where JKR said she had wanted to read the graveyard scene of GoF to her daugher, but she wanted to read it on her own.  And did.  And was fine with it, because, after all, it wasn't Harry.

Richelle






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