[HPFGU-OTChatter] HELP! Any fellow parents of young Potter fans out there....

[Vivamus]

> Andromeda:
> 
> HI everyone, I have a bit of a dilemma.  My six-year-old 
> daughter has gone and become a Harry Potter fanatic, which 
> naturally thrilled me at first.  I've really enjoyed reading 
> the books out loud to her.  My problem is that we've just 
> reached the last part of GOF and Cedric is going to die 
> (tomorrow night, yikes!) and OOTP lurks in the near future.  
> Has anyone else out there read Books 4 or 5 to their young 
> children?  I'm tempted to put off OOTP indefinitely, if I can 
> get away with it.  I've done a little judicious editing of 
> language now and then, but not cut much out, and now I don't 
> know what to do with the heavy stuff that's coming.
> 
> Anyone have any ideas, recommendations, anecdotes that might help...?
> 
> Thanks much!
> 
> Andromeda

Vivamus:

I don't know if this will help, but my kids were very much into the HP
stories at a young age.  Let's see, we first got introduced to it when CoS
was new -- that would have been summer of 1999.  My daughter was five then,
and my son was three.  I read the first two books to my daughter that Fall,
but not to my son until about a year later -- although he listened in on
some of it the first time.  I definitely did edit as I read, cutting out and
jumping over language and scenes that I thought were too old for them.   By
the time PoA had come out, my daughter (still just barely six) had snuck off
to read the first two books by herself, although it took her a few tries to
get through the basilisk scene, because it was too scary for her.   

By then, she was telling the stories to her brother (who was four), so I
decided to try to regain a little control by reading them to them both
again.  I still skipped over a lot of stuff, but it didn't bother either one
of them.  I think, at that age, they were more interested in the experience
of the story than the logical flow of anything, and it didn't matter what
was cut, skipped, or chopped, unless they had already learned and were
expecting it.  Even though my daughter had read the stories by then in their
entirety, she still didn't mind my jumping around.

So, if the graveyard scene is more than you want to do, just jump over the
parts you don't like.  E.g., when LV and PP come out, don't read the part
about "kill the spare" and how built up the monstrous thing in the blankets
is.  (I didn't read those at all, because kids at that age are so concrete,
they will see and absolutely believe in anything like that you describe.)
I just skipped from Harry and Cedric arriving and PP coming up, to a quick
summary.

In fact, I told them I wouldn't be reading that chapter.  As I recall, I
said something like, "we're not going to read that chapter right now.  I'll
give you a summary of what happens, but the scene is too scary and grown-up
for you until you're older."   I think the synopsis I gave was something
like:

As soon as they touch the cup, Harry and Cedric are transported to a
graveyard in back of the Riddle House -- a long ways from Hogwarts.  Peter
Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort come out, Cedric is killed by PP, LV gets his
body back, all the old DEs return, including the parents of Malfoy, Crabb,
and Goyle, and they give Harry back his wand so he and LV can duel.  Then I
would read from the beginning of the duel, because that's exciting,
understandable to the younger ones, and Harry actually defeats LV in a
direct contest of magical strength, which is pretty important.

They never liked the summary very much, but since we couldn't find out what
happened in the duel until they got past it, they took it pretty well.
Burying the death of Cedric in the midst of all the other things that happen
in a quick summary also seemed to take some of the scare out of it for them.

That was my experience, so take it for what it's worth -- every family is
different.  (BTW, when PoA came out, my daughter read that one within a week
or two of our getting it, as I didn't think it was nearly as scary as CoS.
When GoF came out, I kept that book locked up for quite a while, until my
daughter had heard the abridged version several times.  Then she was allowed
to read it through by herself.  My son, who is now eight, has listened to
the Jim Dale recordings of all five books, but only started to read them by
himself last week.  He is now about half-way through PoA.)

Vivamus, who wonders if parents are ever really in control, or if that is
just a myth fostered by Kids' Pravda