Parents: How young is TOO young to read Harry Potter?

Question

How old was your child when he/she first read Harry Potter?
Could your child comprehend?
Was the writing too advanced?
Was it too scary?
What age is too young?
What is the best age to start?

Thanks!

I heard the books were written for adults, so I'm mostly looking for information on comprehension levels - What young age allows the child to get the most out of the books? The writing style must be higher than a 6-yr old...right?

Answer 1

When I taught fifth grade, Harry Potter was one of the first books I read aloud to my class. It was facinating for that age group. Then I taught a Harry Potter class every summer for several years and opened it up for anyone of age 8 and up. I found this to be a great age to begin book 1. By the time he/she would get to the 7th book (coming out tomorrow), their reading level would have advanced right along with the books (as well as their maturity).
I'm also a big believer in the importance of book discussions. Read the books with your child and discuss the topics in the books. Not only will that be a wonderful bonding experience for the both of you, it's a great way for you to form your own opinion of the stories. The first book has a few scary parts, but for an 8 year old, they've seen/heard scarier things in their short lifetime.
Hope this helps and enjoy the books! They are wonderful!

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

I believe that below nine years old is too young to start reading Harry Potter- but all children are different so it also depends upon their maturity level. It starts getting very scary for children in the fourth book so children should be on the maturity level where they can deal with death when they reach that book. If lets say they were to start the first book or two at 9 or 10 years old and got to the fourth at 11 or 12 then they would probably be ok with it.

Answer 4

I would say that around the age they actually develop the ability to read long chapter books like that then they can read it.

My godsons read the first book around age 7. The first 3 book are not that bad at all. As far as the more mature topics in the later books, well I would say if they can read it then go for it. If they can actually read 700 pages worth of book then they can probably grasp it.

Reading about these topics will give kids a chance to encounter things (like loss, importance of choice, good/evil, violence) in a controlled way. Kids will learn about these issues in life and gaining some knowledge through the characters in a book is a neutral way to learn. Not everything in the world is good, or comforting. Sometimes, situations are beyond you and everything about it is horrible. Harry has things that keep him awake at night, he deals with unbelievable stresses in his life that were just sort of heaped upon him.

If your child is still young (under 10) when reading the later books you guys should talk about some of the issues. If nothing else the complex characters make for interesting conversation topics as you figure out bloodlines and how peoples choices have affected the whole story. Regardless of birth or predisposition, the choices they made mattered.The biggest issue with kids is probably the loved characters being killed off by the Voldemort. But this can bring interesting chats on tough topics.

Answer 5

Harry is 11 in the first book. He gets a year older with each book, and not only does the writing style advance, the themes advance. The later books are DEFINITELY written for teens. But the rule of thumb is that the kid in the book is around 2 years older than the age group the book is written for.

So, the HP series is designed to start for kids about 9-10 years old and then to be read one book each year.

My son on his 7th birthday was reading at the 4th grade level, and we let him read the first HP book after I read it and figured it wasn't too advanced for him in terms of concepts. He loved it.

The agreement was that he would read one book a year. However, the school librarian and his teacher were encouraging him to read above grade level (which really is a good thing - he finished 2nd grade reading at the 6th grade level). So he started checking them out of the school library and leaving them in his desk to read between assignments. I found out when he brought the 5th book home to read over fall break. It starts out with a triple murder and was really very dark, so I took it away from him. Even though he can read and comprehend the story, my feeling was that it covered issues that were just beyond where he is at 7 years old. I had to speak with the school librarian about it, of course.

Anyway, he's just about to turn 8 and he still only owns a copy of the first book. As per our original agreement, I'll get him a copy of the second one for his birthday. Actually, I'll probably get him a new first one, too, because his old one is so dog-eared from the many times he's read it.

They do get scarier and scarier. You have to gauge your child's own sensitivities to determine when they are ready. Read them yourself first!

Answer 6

Geez, it is just a book. I read it when I was like 7 years old, and I am not scarred for life. All this stuff about being scary is just junk. And all those sites about helping your child cope if Harry Potter dies are simply ludicrous.

If the kid wants to read it let them regardless of age.

EDIT

Well I tried to start reading them when i was like 5 but I only read the first book and I didn't get most of it. Then I reread it when I was 7.

While I may not have been able to get most of it, it was still a big accomplishment for me and I'm glad I tried it.

If the kid doesn't get it then they will stop if they want to.

EDIT

Well, of course I started school in England (before coming back to America) and learned to read at LEAST a full year earlier than Americans did, so that is probably why I could read it at age 5.

Answer 7

I have read the first 3 books and saw all the movies. I don't feel that this is for children under 13. The last 2 movies were very dark. As an adult we see things one way. Children have a very vivid ed imagination and I do not feel a story about a boy who's parents are dead, his aunt and uncle do not want him, he is locked up all summer, and is trying to be killed though out the 6 books is a very nice story for a kid.

Answer 8

I started reading it when they first came out, i believe i was 10 (has it really been that long??) I'll be 21 in a few weeks, i think that would be a good age to the read them, you know and understand words better and won't get scared at all, i don't believe that the books are scary at all tho, i think that age is good just cuz of the words in there, they are pretty hard to pronounce.

Answer 9

i am a big harry potter fanatic! i began reading it when i was about 17, but i would not reccomend it for younger children i would at least want mine to be about 14 before they began reading it. it is VERY long and some of the jargon is hard to comprehend. there are also some scary parts to it, some people die, and they fight a lot. i would reccomend the child being very mature and that's up to the parent to decide what the child can handle!

Answer 10

Can he pronounce ABC? There are many books the child should have read prior to getting to the Harry Potter level. Each child will be different with their own level of tolerance. HP is not designed for younger children. I would let the child choose this one if you dont know already. There is nothing there that will warp his little mind.