Conspiracy Theories

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 96660

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Meredith" <msmerymac at y...> 
wrote:

Potioncat:
> > And that is what has happened.  My oldest started reading it at  
> > 10(I think) and now he's 15. He's right up there with Harry. He 
> > certainly wouldn't be interested any more if Harry was still 11. 
> > When I decided to re-read the series after OoP, I was very 
> surprised 
> > at how different SS was written compared to OoP. Even the style 
> > grows up.

Luckie:
> I agree HP is made to change as children grow. Perhaps 
intentionally, 
> but perhaps not. JKR started out simply, remember, and writes 
> everything from Harry's perspective. It's expected a 15 year old 
> would be a little more worldly than an 11-year-old. SS/PS and CoS 
are 
> easy enough for probably an 8-10 year old to tackle (I'm guess on 
> this, since I don't have children). The SS/PS American paperback 
> version is 308 pages I believe - definitely not the shortest 
> children's book, but manageable. I would think OoP, at over 800 
> pages, would be more appropriate for at least a twelve year old, 
both 
> sheer volume wise and subject-matter wise. 

Geoff:
I can never understand why the US editions seem to be so long. My PS 
and OOTP copies which are fairly standard Bloomsbury UK editions are 
223 and 766 pages respectively. 

Just in passing, one of the younger children of a church family was 
steaming through OOTP a couple of days after publication and seemed 
to be taking everything in at the age of 8.

Luckie:
> I was discussing with friends today that I believe some of the best 
> children's literature appeals to adults as well as children. For 
> example, the Chronicles of Narnia, which I read when I was 12 and 
> again last summer, obviously picking up more meaning upon a second, 
> adult examination. To put it more simply, shows like the Simpson, 
or 
> the Muppet Show also appeal on several levels, hence their 
popularity.

Geoff:
I might add Winnie-the-Pooh to that. The humour operates on two quite 
distinct levels.