New Topic: Reading HP books to chilldren

[thebookandtherose]

No: HPFGUIDX 154148

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Pamela Rosen <pam_rosen at ...>
wrote:
>
> --The day after finishing COS, he had another run-in with the
stock-character class bully. Before reading COS, my son reacted to
bullying by punching the kid.  The day after hearing Dumbledore talk
about choices, the bully did the ultimate--he insulted my son's
mother (me).   This time my son simply walked away, even though the
urge to take action was great. He later told me, "I wanted to hit
him. But I could choose to be a bad guy or be a good guy.  I want to
be a good guy."  I don't think that would have happened without
Dumbledore's words fresh in his mind.
>
> So that leaves me in a  quandary--if he's getting a lot more than
birthday-party themes from the books, how do we approach the rest?
What have been others' experiences?
>

Thebookandtherose:

It's refreshing to find someone who actually acknowledges that the
Harry Potter books have a positive effect on children.

They are too many people who claim the books are 'too scary' or have
become 'too adult'. Although I appreciate people want to protect
their children I personally don't have much patience for them.
I grew up reading Harry Potter. Only once in that time have I been
so scared I put the book down. I was about ten, probably a bit
younger, which is easily still in the 'impressionable age' and I
took the book PS/SS back to the libary and got it out again when I
was ready to finish the story. No psychological scars, no
nightmares, no 'corruption of innocence'. I think it's part of the
series's charm that the themes of the book mature along with the
main character.

What's worse is the people who believe the books are some sort of
satanist propaganda. I've even heard of HP books being burned,
(which always brings out the Madam Pince in me). I don't want to
bring down the wrath of the List Elves while I'm on mod status so
I'll only say this; the Nazi's burnt books.

Too get back to the topic, I've found myself absorbing a lot of the
Harry Potter philosophy unconciously. I always thought I was a
coward before I read to the end of PS/SS and read the section where
Neville stood up to the trio. Since then I've understood the
distinction between bravery and bravado and it's one of the lessons
I value most, (which is maybe because of my Luna-esque tendencies).
Harry's social status in books 2-5 also made me feel a lot better at
being a bit of an outcast. I aspire to Lilly, take Hermione's SPEW
side as a dire warning, and strive to avoid becoming a young Peter
Pettigrew.

I think people will find what they're looking for in books. It was a
harsh wake up call when I read in an archive (overanalysing the text
by Elkins) about connotations of muggle rape by deatheaters at the
Quidditch World Cup- in my defence I couldn't have been more than 10
or 11 (when the campsite owners wife is turned upside down to revel
her underwear). I think thats a strength of JKR, a lot of the darker
themes are implied, and younger children are unlikely to see them as
what they are.

After answering the question I'd like to add one of my own. How many
people here either checked the post for a Hogwarts letter on their
11th birthday or caught their children/siblings etc doing the same?

BookishRose.....who answers 'No Comment' to her own question.