Happy birthday to....

[author_by_night]

prettyveela! Eat lots of cake. 

[Unknown site tag] OT, but I have a question; is it snotty of me to think, when I hear of seven year olds reading all the HP books, that few of them are likely to actually really get them? I mean, I just can't see myself letting a seven year old read OoTP. Ten, yes - they are kids books, like it or not - but seven? Then again, maybe its that they wouldn't quite see how some of the really disturbing things (the Dementor's Kiss, Harry's almost hexing Bellatrix) were so.

But still... I just think seven is way too young, and I feel a bit snotty for thinking they might not even understand, when really, what does it matter?

 

Comments

[scionofgrace.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. Even ten can be too young for some of the things addressed in the later books: not that they're "inappropriate" for kids at that age, but that they won't get it, not really. I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time at the age of eleven, and I really think I was too young. The depth of the HP books is lost on anyone who is not at least a teenager.

For instance, if you ask anyone over the age of sixteen what they thought of Harry's attitude and actions in OotP, they say, "Man, Rowling got it exactly right!" They remember being like that, and feeling that the whole world was out to get them, that everyone they love or care for is abandoning/betraying them, and that their emotions held sway over everything. But you ask anyone under the age of fourteen about OotP, and they're confused or put off by Harry. It's all about perspective and experience.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, through I do still tihnk JKR is fine with the ten year olds reading them - she just hopes someday they'll catch the deeper meanings, if they don't already. But I think emily anna has a point, too; she probably is a bit bewildered by all the six year old fans.

But I will say even people under sixteen understood Harry's emotions - and a lot of people over didn't. (I, however, remember being through those years - it really does seem like even your family wants to ruin your life at times).