I started reading the books with my daughter at her request when she was in the first grade (she's in 4th now). After Prisoner of Azkaban and the Dementors I decided to read any subsequent HP books to myself first to see if they were too scary for her. Before we read Goblet of Fire together, I thought it was way too dark and distressing for her. I told her that it began and ended in a graveyard and that someone died and that there were a lot of really bad things in it. She wanted to read it anyhow and I was so cautious, I kept stopping and asking if she was all right.
What amazes me is not the fact that Goblet of Fire is her very favorite of all the HP books, but that each time I read one or listen to one on tape with her, she gets things on an entirely different level from me. What's important to a 7- or 8- or 9-year-old is different from what's important to an adult reader. Do the younger kids "get" all the in-jokes? No, but as an adult reader of these books, I don't "get" some of the more juvenile references.
One of the beautiful things about JKR's writing is that it is appropriate on so many different levels. She tells a great story that everyone can follow, but there are nuances in there for different age groups too.
But both my daughter and I agree that Order of the Phoenix is a really sad book. We read it together twice, but she's done with it. I hope Half-Blood Prince isn't as wholly depressing, because I can barely look at the cover of OotP without getting sad.
So no, I don't think you're snotty, but I do think that, like dancing_kumquat says here, it depends entirely on the reader. Kids are a lot more durable than most of us think.
no subject
I started reading the books with my daughter at her request when she was in the first grade (she's in 4th now). After Prisoner of Azkaban and the Dementors I decided to read any subsequent HP books to myself first to see if they were too scary for her. Before we read Goblet of Fire together, I thought it was way too dark and distressing for her. I told her that it began and ended in a graveyard and that someone died and that there were a lot of really bad things in it. She wanted to read it anyhow and I was so cautious, I kept stopping and asking if she was all right.
What amazes me is not the fact that Goblet of Fire is her very favorite of all the HP books, but that each time I read one or listen to one on tape with her, she gets things on an entirely different level from me. What's important to a 7- or 8- or 9-year-old is different from what's important to an adult reader. Do the younger kids "get" all the in-jokes? No, but as an adult reader of these books, I don't "get" some of the more juvenile references.
One of the beautiful things about JKR's writing is that it is appropriate on so many different levels. She tells a great story that everyone can follow, but there are nuances in there for different age groups too.
But both my daughter and I agree that Order of the Phoenix is a really sad book. We read it together twice, but she's done with it. I hope Half-Blood Prince isn't as wholly depressing, because I can barely look at the cover of OotP without getting sad.
So no, I don't think you're snotty, but I do think that, like