How old to read Harry Potter books?

[dhano923]

My 7.5yo DS has been asking to read the Harry Potter books. I have them all, since I bought them for myself, so that's not an issue. I'm just wondering if he's at an appropriate age to read them. If you let your child read the books, how old were they at the time? I'm just trying to get a feel on whether I should let him read them now or wait a little longer.

thanks!

[essnce629]

DS1 will be 8 in August and just recently finished the entire series (it took him about 10 months). He loved them!

[ellies mom]

I think it really depends on the child and what they can handle rather than a set age. You know your child better than we do. What do you think?

I know I would be OK with my 7.5 yo reading the first three but I'm not sure about the fourth and I'm pretty sure I'd like her to be older to read the fifth.



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[egoldber]

I agree that it varies by child. My older DD had no real interest until she was 8.5 and then she read them all in about 2 months.

[klwa]

*sigh* DH started reading HP1 to DS(5) this weekend. I've told him he can't go past 3 at this point.

[LBW]

Originally Posted by egoldber

I agree that it varies by child. My older DD had no real interest until she was 8.5 and then she read them all in about 2 months.

Exactly that!

I did not let him see any of the movies past the first one w/out reading the books first. I was so happy he finished them all in time to see the last movie with me in the theater!

[TwinFoxes]

I think there's a big leap in scariness from the first to last. Because JK Rowling wrote them and the fans grew up in the years between books. I think the first one is a kids book, but the last couple are more young adult. I agree with pps, it's definitely a YMMV thing.

[*myfoursons]

DS (6) is pretty sensitive, but LOVES the whole series. It's the only thing he wants to read, and he's just finished re-reading the whole series. He knows all the minute details, and has taught his brothers all of the spells. We have little wizards throwing curses and spells around the house. Even my 2 year old has a wand and shouts out "leviosa"! And then he gets corrected that it's "wingardium leviosa, silly"

In comparison, Percy Jackson scared the crap out of him. Not sure why he viewed them differently, but he did.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We tried when he was 5 but he didn't have the attention span for them. We tried when he was close to 7, iirc. We didn't tackle book 4+ till he was 8 but he has been perfectly fine with them. I read them to him even though he could read them on his own.

eta- we got 1/3 of the way through book 7 when he started reading Percy Jackson at school. We are now through 4.5 of those books and HP is on hold. He loves PJ. They do make a more fun read aloud, that's for sure!

Beth

[brittone2]

We've been holding off our 7.5 yo from reading them.

DS1 is an advanced reader, but still gets worked up over things with super suspenseful content or anything scary. He managed to get through the first 5 books of Lemony Snickett but that was too scary to read before bedtime.

I think he'll get more enjoyment out of them if he holds off a bit longer. He's a sensitive kid. I can't wait though, because I've never read the HP series. I've been holding off so I can read it for the first time with him. I have 2 copies of the first few books so we can each have our own