- Age to read HP (was Sirius, casting, owls)

[pbnesbit at msn.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 12250

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
> 
> John, whom we always knew was precocious, wrote:
> 
> >I think it's something about boys in our family. I had a reading 
age 
> of
> >14-16 when I was 8, and was in the top literary percentile all 
> through
> >elementary school.
> 
> The age at which you can comprehend isn't necessarily the age at 
which 
> you can handle the emotional impact, though.  I've wondered about 
kids 
> who can no doubt comprehend HP just fine at age 5 but will be 
> terrified.  I might've been able to read PS at age 6 or 7 (except 
for 
> the small drawback that it wouldn't be written for another 20 
years), 
> but I think it would've scared me at that age.
> 
> Amy Z
> 
> Who hopes that her kids can take HP before they can read it so she 
has 
> a chance to read it to them
> 
> Oh yeah, but first she needs to have some (this IS why people have 
> kids, right?  to have someone to read all the great books to?)
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> "Wow!" said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest 
> dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a 
> storm-tossed, fathoms-deep lake and pushed out of it 
> again by a giant sea monster.
>                        --HP and the Goblet of Fire




I quite agree, Amy.  However, that doesn't explain all those *very 
dark* Grimm's Fairy Tales being read to kids (at least of my 
generation).  Those things deal with a kid's worst nightmares--
beyond, in some cases (i.e. Hansel and Gretel).  I wouldn't recommend 
the books to kids much below the age of 9 or so, unless the kid was 
able to handle the scariness (some kids are, some aren't.  All 
depends on the kid); but I think if they're able to handle Grimm, 
they could handle at least the first three books.   Of course, *some 
kids* actually *like* being scared (never understood that, myself). 

Peace & Plenty, 

Parker
> ------------------------------------------------------