What is a good age to introduce Harry Potter books?

[maciascl]

DS1 is 7 1/2 and is interested in Harry Potter because he has friends (older and the same age) that have talked about it for a long time. He really doesn't know much about it I think. He is not reading well so I'd have to read it to him. I've never read it because it's not my kind of thing. The newer movies seem really dark and rather scary/violent for little ones. How are the 1st couple movies?

[Daffodil]

I think the best age to introduce them depends a lot on your kid and what kinds of things he likes and is scared by.  I read all the Harry Potter books to my DD starting a couple of months before she turned 6 and finishing up before she was 6 1/2.  She loved them, and I really enjoyed reading them to her.  (I had never read them before either.)  She has also seen all of the movies except the most recent one.  She found the first book pretty scary - almost too scary.  But she was less scared by the second one, and totally fine by the time we got to the darker ones - #4 and beyond.  She was fine with the movies (which she saw after we had read the books.)  I think they're actually less scary than the books.

[LuckyMommaToo]

I would totally read it to him! I started reading the first one aloud to my son when he was almost seven. A year later, he has finished reading all seven independently. The first book is so magical and wonderful. An introduction to a whole new world. Another option is to get it on cd and listen to it in the car or on an ipod. Our library has all of them on disc for check-out.

I don't know about seeing the movie without having read the book. DS has seen the first three movies, but only after having read the books.

-e

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

My DD discovered Harry Potter just after her 7th birthday. We started reading them (with me reading them aloud or listening to them on audio) in January and finished last week. She is a huge fan. She makes wands and potions and I made her a robe. She wants to marry Draco Malfoy when she grows up.   For her, the timing couldn't have been earlier - the topic would have been too scary. In fact, I'm surprised the movies aren't too scary because they are well beyond the level of scary she would normally watch.

I vote to try them out. And, if the reading is a little much, the audio books are fantastic. Jim Dale reads them and he does an amazing job! We listened to them in the car sometimes and it was nice to have a break from reading ;)

[meemee]

i would try the movies. only the later ones are more scary than the first.

dd had watched the first ones at 5. however seh had chosen HP by the time she was 4 because her dad is a LOTR fan and so they had already read the hobbit and circle/ring. i am not a fantasy fan so her dad would read to her not me.

however i am a huge Lemony Snicket fan and dd still hasnt gotten interested in it. 

however dd's fear in movies is suspense. she can handle violence and sudden noises. 

i will say there was a difference between 5 and 6 in handling fearful things. 

[LynnS6]

This is a 'it depends on the child' kind of thing. Ds didn't want to try Harry Potter until this year, when he was 10 -- he was too afraid it was going to be scary. He spent last summer reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, which isn't so much scary as it is gruesome in places. But ds really appreciated the dark humor. So, I figured if you could make it through 13 books of Lemony Snicket, he could do Harry Potter and I was right.

Meanwhile, dd (age 7) overheard me reading Harry Potter to her brother (the kids read a bit on their own and then we read a chapter or so out loud to them at bedtime). She became fascinated and started to read Harry Potter one month after her 7th birthday. She's up to book 3 now. She's decided to only read them during the day time because they are a bit scary. But so far, she's made it past the Dementors and survived.

I actually won't let my kids see the movies until they've read the books. It's  not just that I'm a snob and think that the books are almost always better than the movies, but I think there's a real difference in visual imagery that you create in your own head vs. visual imagery from a movie. The movie imagery is much more intense, IMO, and more apt to scare my kids.

[velochic]

I agree with many pp's, except that I *do* think that all of the movies are scary.  Being able to handle the language and being mature enough for the content are two entirely different things (whether the book is being read to you or reading it yourself).  This is based on the individual and their own personality.  Dd was ready language-wise to read Harry Potter a few years ago.  She is only recently emotionally ready to read them.  Even if I had read them to her when she was first ready to read them to herself, it would have scared her.  She's 9 now, the later books still scared her... and the one time she watched the movie, she said, basically, "never again".  Still, she has some kids in her class (going into 4th now) that read them a few years ago and didn't have any issues... and they loved the films, too.  With HP and other darker-themed books, IMO, you have to go with your kid's individuality.

[A&A]

It depends on your child, really.  My dd started reading them at age 5.  My ds is 9 and still has no interest in them. 

[JudiAU]

As the characters grow older, they experience more adult emotions. The stories get darker and more complex as well. Personally, I'd rather wait until I though all the books were more or less age appropriate. I think my nephew just started reading them at around 9. As PP said, I wouldn't watch the movies until I've read the books. Part of the great joy of reading is imagining your own worlds.

[intentionalmama]

Hi there, I started reading Harry Potter to my son at 7 1/2 as well.  I also had a lot of concerns as from my understanding the author had written the first  book for her son who was 11 at the time (same age as Harry in the first book). But my sons friends were all into it and they loved playing "Harry Potter." So I decided to read the book first myself.  I wasn't looking forward to it as I thought I would not be interested in it. Well, I was hooked. I couldn't believe how I was pulled into it.  I think the book appeals to children but also as a mother -  I couldn't help but feel for this child who lost his mother so young.   Then my husband started reading it and he loved it. We actually just finished reading book four a few nights ago  with our son.   It does get darker, and I still have concerns over whether or not it will be too much for him. So far he seems to be handling it. I am not sure how much he is taking in (it seems like quite alot - but I am sure some of it is going over his head). He  just loves playing "Harry Potter" with the other kids.  They all have their wands and are always doing spells. We actually just last month had a Harry Potter birthday for him (he just turned 8) and it was a blast. Kids and some adults in costume. We even had a quidditch game in the back yard.  I also work at a shelter for street youth up to the age of 22. A couple of nights ago when I went into work, while we were eating dinner I announced that I had finished reading book four.  You wouldn't believe the talk in the house.  The youth began to share stories of how important the Harry Potter books were to them. One shared how when he was 8  he had read the first book, and back then they had to wait for about over a year for the next one to come out. How when it came he would get it he would stay up all night and read and read. How his friends would talk about what the next book would be like. The last book he read was when he was 17, the character of Harry was also 17.  This youth told me he cried after he finished it.  He grew up with Harry and was very sad when it ended. It had been 10 years of reading these books.  While we were discussing this, 2 other youth went and brought out some of their Harry Potter books.   For me, I wanted my child to read it when he was the same age as Harry; but I realize that for him, the time seems to be now.  His friends are into it, and he just loves it.  We are going to hold off on the movies. Im like other posters, love the imagination that comes with books.  I will be watching how he is with the books. and I have no problem in slowing down on them; if they seem to scary for him.  But I am so amazed by these books (so far). I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the author.   I just can imagine  the love she has for her son; and what a gift he is to her and what a gift it is;  that she wrote this series.   I love how so many children are  drawn to these books; and how the other night; it brought a connection between me and the youths I work with; as they relived the importance of growing up with Harry in their own lives.. 

[NZJMama]

I just started reading the first book to my almost five and almost seven year olds. So far they seem to like it. The books get scarier and darker as the series progresses and the characters mature. I'm not sure how far into the series we will get right now, it will just depend on what they think of it. 

[Linda on the move]

because he is interested in them, I would read the first couple of chapters of the first book to him and then just talk about it and see what you both think. I agree that it depends on the child, but I also firmly believe in letting kids have access to the literature that appeals to them.

I read the entire series to my kids, and some of the books I read outloud twice because we re-read them when the movie was coming out. It was different for us because not all the books had been written when we started -- we had to pace ourselves! We had long breaks between the books when we read other things, and we didn't know where the series was going.

I think that the movies are far less scary to kids who've read the books (or had them read to them). The story is forced to unfold over weeks instead of two hours, and it's easier to remember that it's just a story.

Even if it isn't "your kind of thing,"  the characters are interesting and fun. The relationships between them and how they unfold are wonderful. The books are FAR better than the movies because of the details about the characters. I recommend either reading the books or listening to them on CD rather than jumping in with the movies.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by LynnS6 
I actually won't let my kids see the movies until they've read the books. It's  not just that I'm a snob and think that the books are almost always better than the movies, but I think there's a real difference in visual imagery that you create in your own head vs. visual imagery from a movie. The movie imagery is much more intense, IMO, and more apt to scare my kids.

Me, too.  I actually feel the same about the books.  These are not books I'd ever read aloud to a child unless they COULD read them independently and it was more of a bonding experience.  I think my DD read them all when she was 7 and zipped through them . . .but even so, it was awhile before I let her watch the movies.

She was watching some show about the filming of HP, and one of the things the author discussed is how she was depressed/going through a dark period of her life during certain times.  This is what I mean-- why are we exposing young children to the "burden" of an adult's depression and them using their writing to work through it?  At the same time, I know I can't really stop my DD from reading . . .so there it is.  She's also read other things I wouldn't want her to read, but I have let go. 

[maciascl]

DS and I are actually racing to finish. He is listening to it on CD and I am reading it. I am absolutely amazed that I am managing to read it since thanks to soem thyroid and chronic fatigue issues it has been MANY years since I have been able to read more than a couple pages of a book AND actually retain what I've read. I read 100 pages last night. I am enjoying it. DS listened to the 1st 3 CDs (of 9) yesterday. We will not be watching the movies for a long time and as far as moving to the next book, that may be a while too. 

I decided that anything that is going to increase his love of books and desire to read I am going to allow, even if it means those Captin Underpants books I can't stand. We are homeschooling and he is starting 2nd grade this Sept but he is not reading yet. I am not concerned except that he doesnt seem to really have a huge desire to read on his own yet. So I am working on fostering that desire and love of books.

Thanks all for the suggestions! If nothing else coems from this I have been able to read for the 1st time is so long and I am so grateful for that.

[intentionalmama]

I am so happy for you that you have been able to read and enjoy the book so far,  in spite of your health issues.  It is also great that you will be able to know what your son is talking about; and can share the magic of it together.    Just a warning though, I had intended to  wait awhile before moving to the next book, it proved to be impossible. We stalled a bit as my husband overheard some of the story and wanted to read it from the beginning. So we got to hear it again before we moved onto the second one. My son is one year older than your son, and has not been very interested in reading.  He is interested in listening. We trust he will get there as he does with everything else. We also homeschool.  Enjoy the experience!

[bandgeek]

I started reading them to my DS right around when he turned 6.  We just finished the 3rd book.  I'm not sure if I'll start the 4th one right away or wait a while. I'm not worried it will be too scary, it just took us a looong time to get through #3 since he can't sit through more than 1/2 a chapter at a time.

His dad has already let him watch all the movies so oh well.  He didn't seem scared by them.  I'll probably take him to see the last one since he's begging to go.