So, children series or not?

[stbjohn2]

No: HPFGUIDX 120487


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Mari Lea <lea_petra at y...> wrote:
> 
> Alla <dudumbledore214 at y...> wrote:
> > I went to preorder the book to bn.com and on the
> > advertisement page it still says age range 9-12.
> > 
> > Do you think it somehow supports the idea that
> > JKR orients the books towards the younger audience? 
> > Do you think it is only publishers' opinion?
> 
> 
Sandy
somewhere (I'm pretty sure it was the A&E bio) I saw JKR's cover 
letter she sent out with the manuscript when she was seeking a 
publisher for SS and it specifically gave that age group. It could be 
that some agent told her that was what to do, I don't know. And her 
U.S. publisher is Scholastic, which specializes in kids books.
The books can be read on many levels by many ages, but for actual 
reading level, it might not be as high as you think. The AR 
(Accelerated Reader -- a reading comprehension program they use in 
schools in the U.S.) level ranges from 5.5 for SS to the upper 6's 
for the next 3; and 7.2 for OOTP. (as far as I can tell, the reading 
level is basically grade level, based on median readers for that 
grade level). In my public library, books 1-3 are shelved as juvenile 
lit; 4 and 5 as teen lit.
My third grader and several classmates have read and passed the tests 
on several of the books; the best reader in the class has completed 
all five. (The questions are multiple choice, and I'm sure they don't 
ask the type of things you'd see here -- "HOw does the veil reflect 
the Judeo-Christian view of death" or whatever, which is why I say 
they can be read on many levels, which I think is Jo's ultimate 
intent.)
Elves, please forgive lack of canon.