This discussion is getting a little dramatic. When I was a kid I read all kinds of books that dealt with interpersonal situations that were older than where I was in life--I mean I adored babysitters club when I was in second grade, the later little house books deal with Laura and Mary at about 16, and I loved Narnia when I was in kindergarden. My dad also read me a lot of chapter books before I was able to read them myself, and many dealt with themes that went over my head.

I think kids can enjoy books at all kinds of levels, even if some of the interpersonal stuff goes over their head. Some of the later Harry Potter books might be a bit scary for most five year olds, but all kids are different. As long as the kid is enjoying themselves and isn't getting nightmares, I don't see what the big deal is. A lot of younger siblings like keeping up with what their older siblings are reading, and that's fine. I wouldn't discourage reading!

A kindergardener reading Harry Potter is a pretty advanced reader--however, early reading isn't the end all be all, and a lot of kids catch up. And those of you who say it's too "pop culture" sound like terrible snobs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:eh, Harry Potter seems to be the go-to book for parents proclaiming how precocious their young readers are. I don't really get the Potter fixation, there is so much amazing children's literature out there if people took the time to look for it.

Yes, this. Harry Potter? Why would I waste my time having my 5, 6 or 7 year old read this stuff? It's way too mature, and way too pop-culture for my taste.

Last summer we read Treasure Island. Right now we're working our way through some of the Little House books. Next up: The Little Mermaid.

Sorry, how is this a waste of YOUR time?

My Aspie kid was resistant to reading until he fixated on Harry Potter in 1st grade and suddenly became a voracious reader. It was rather astonishing: one day he was haltingly reading simple sentences, the next he was engulfing the first HP book, and then any kind of book he could lay his hands on (or the dictionary, he's not picky).
He had already watched the first movies at 4 years old, and again, they did not scare him because of his particular view of the world.

What is interesting is that now at 9 he is afraid of the last HP books and movies! It's as if his emotional development has a lag of several years compare to his peers, whereas his academic development is way ahead. I was GLAD when he declared last week that the last books were actually pretty scary!

However, just because my kid has Asperger's and approaches reading and movies in this fashion, I would not assume that all precocious readers have Asperger's!

One thing I have learned thanks to my son's innumerable quirks and therapies: don't judge, please. You have no idea what is really going on. Give the benefit of the doubt and assume that parents know what their child can handle, or not handle. Parents of typically-developing children find it hard to grasp that a minority of children, with or without special needs, have unusual ways of growing up. Don't add gratuitous and ignorant criticism into their already hypersensitive world. In the end, the immense majority of children grow up fine.

Anonymous wrote:I had a precocious reader and I would never have allowed him to read Potter at that age. The ability to read a book doesn't translate into the maturity to read a book.

+1

Parents who tell other parents that their children in kindergarten is reading HP yet notice their kids are socially disconnected with their peers should seriously have their kids be tested for Asperger's Syndrome.

Parents are lazy. If we buy books for our older DCs and they're already on the shelves and the younger ones see them and reach for them we're less likely to take the younger one to the library or the bookstore, or investigate to find books for the younger one to read, especially I'd the younger one CAN read the books on the shelf. Maybe I'm the only one guilty of this, but I doubt it. HP isn't appropriate for K or 1. It isn't. We know it's above them. There are lots of other books at the same reading level that are at a much mor appropriate emotional level. Google can help. I've gotten much less lazy lately because it's only fair to my younger DC.

It isthat pop culture aspect that inspired my too young for it children to take on the challenge. They would never touch Little House books..though I loved them as a kid!

Anonymous wrote:eh, Harry Potter seems to be the go-to book for parents proclaiming how precocious their young readers are. I don't really get the Potter fixation, there is so much amazing children's literature out there if people took the time to look for it.

Yes, this. Harry Potter? Why would I waste my time having my 5, 6 or 7 year old read this stuff? It's way too mature, and way too pop-culture for my taste.

Last summer we read Treasure Island. Right now we're working our way through some of the Little House books. Next up: The Little Mermaid.

Keep in mind that if you have different aged children, the younger ones get to things earlier because it is really hard to stop them from reading it too. Also, the Harry Potter series is in (at least my) MCPS ES library so you really don't know when your strong reader is reading it..even if you don't have it at home. I believe that children take what they are ready for. My strong reader read many of them in 1st grade (she has an older brother) and also many many times since. I am sure her understanding has changed over the years.

The first few HP books are not as involved or complicated as the later ones.

I had a precocious reader and I would never have allowed him to read Potter at that age. The ability to read a book doesn't translate into the maturity to read a book.

eh, Harry Potter seems to be the go-to book for parents proclaiming how precocious their young readers are. I don't really get the Potter fixation, there is so much amazing children's literature out there if people took the time to look for it.

The first two Harry Potter books would be fine for a young, enthusiastic reader, but after that, yes, I don't think that k-2 kids can really grasp the interpersonal dynamics.

Once we start a series my 5 yo wants to keep going, so I'm saving HP for when she is at least 7.5.

I read a post on the NYT's parenting board that a mom let her 1st grade kid read the last Harry Potter, but wouldn't let him read A Wrinkle in Time. I've read them both repeatedly and recently, and was bewildered. I'd reverse those. I really don't think I'd let a child under 8 or so read the first few Harry Potters, and then another couple years for the rest. But my kid is still 5, so never say never, I suppose.

Yes, HP is emotionally challenging. Not so much the first few, but numbers 4 and up get increasingly dark. Torture, fear, death, despair.

A number of times I have seen folks mention early readers who are reading Harry Potter in kindergarten. While I have no doubt this is true, and know a couple children with that sort of reading aptitude, it continues to surprise me because it seems like emotionally mature material for children of that age. Now it's been years since I actually read any HP and most of the kids I know best are still PS/PK, so I readily acknowledge I might just be off base or otherwise out of touch. So just wondering i that's the case or if HP is indeed emotionally challenging material.