Reading level

[flying_ford_anglia]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C6504
From: flying_ford_anglia
Subject: Re: Reading level
Reply To: [Yahoo! #6455] Re: visual vs literary
Date: 8/10/00 2:01 am  (ET)

Re: reading level etc..

<<As a member of the IRA (International Reading Association), I can
speak about this.>>

I am *so* glad you expanded that acronym, Ebony...

<<I've said it once on another HP list, and I'll say it until I'm blue
in the face if I have to. Just because a kid can READ it, doesn't mean
that the kid is READY for it. 'K? K.>>

K! I think there is a difference between books written for 9-12 year olds,
and books suitable for 9-12 year olds. The HP series could be defined as
being for 'age 9 upwards', since so many adults read the books and some
unsuitable elements are starting to creep in. I agree with the consensus,
that some element of 'parental guidance' (as a UK cinema classification
would describe it) is required for those under 9.

Some teen child/literature can be completely crass and therefore has a
specific target readership. Looking in the 'teens' section of my local
bookshop, I see Harry Potter and the Narnia books alongside the Animorphs
and Goosebumps spinoffs. I know which I'd rather read!

On the subject of revisiting childhood favourites, many books work on
two or more levels. As I child I read the Narnia series and spent hours
imagining myself diving into wardrobes, fighting with swords or being
drawn into seascape paintings. I think I decided it 'could' happen. As
an adult, re-reading the books, I could see the religious allegory and
appreciate the stories in quite a different way.
Neil