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too early for certain books?
I'd like to hear opinions on this situation:
My son (22 months old now) just loves being read to. Sometimes he'll choose books that I would not have expected to read to him for a few years yet - for example, he really enjoyed _When You Were Inside Mommy_ by Joanna Cole. I'm not trying to push him or teach him anything, but I wonder if it's still not a good idea to introduce him to complicated concepts so young. Or is it okay to share anything if he enjoys the story? What do you think? -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html |
#2
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too early for certain books?
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#3
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too early for certain books?
Wendy,
My son is seven--this is something I've thought about during the last few years. I think I've always read "older" stuff to him than a lot of other kids get, but it hasn't been a problem. A lot of times I'd try something because the lighter stuff we were reading was getting a bit boring for me--and then he'd like it, too. And it always seems to me that if something is "past" him, he pretty much shows it. We were reading The Boggart by Susan Cooper--he loves the boggart's mischief, but we got about 2/3 of the way through, and when I went to pick it up last night, he said, "No, Not the Boggart." So we left the bookmark where we were, put it back on the shelf, and he picked a Narnia book we hadn't read yet (funnily enough, one that we put down after a few chapters sometime last year!). I think, if your child loves being read to, and he loves what you're reading, go for it. My guess is that having you read to him is so much fun that the whole experience is what he's going for. In terms of the concepts, I really think that the kids take in what they can of a concept and let the rest go; if they don't like the material, they tell us. Your son is probably not talking much yet, but I'm guessing he can still make himself pretty clear when he's unhappy or bothered by something! I think you'd see that in your reading, too. There was a great quote from Steven King in a review he wrote of the 5th Harry Potter book. To the question of whether children under 10 should be reading this book, he said what his mother used to say, which was, essentially: If they're enjoying what they're reading and understanding what they're enjoying, let them read it. It keeps them from under foot. Her corollary to that was: If its giving them nightmares, don't let them read it. Have fun! Becky Levine "Wendy E. Betts" wrote: I'd like to hear opinions on this situation: My son (22 months old now) just loves being read to. Sometimes he'll choose books that I would not have expected to read to him for a few years yet - for example, he really enjoyed _When You Were Inside Mommy_ by Joanna Cole. I'm not trying to push him or teach him anything, but I wonder if it's still not a good idea to introduce him to complicated concepts so young. Or is it okay to share anything if he enjoys the story? What do you think? -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html |
#4
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too early for certain books?
In article , Becky Levine wrote:
boggart's mischief, but we got about 2/3 of the way through, and when I went to pick it up last night, he said, "No, Not the Boggart." So we left the bookmark where we were, put it back on the shelf, and he picked a Narnia book we hadn't read yet (funnily enough, one that we put down after a few chapters sometime last year!). Oh, I hope he'll come back to it sometime - such a fun book! I think, if your child loves being read to, and he loves what you're reading, go for it. My guess is that having you read to him is so much fun that the whole experience is what he's going for. In terms of the concepts, I really think that the kids take in what they can of a concept and let the rest go; if they don't like the material, they tell us. Your son is probably not talking much yet, but I'm guessing he can still make himself pretty clear when he's unhappy or bothered by something! I think you'd see that in your reading, too. Actually, he talks up a storm. :-) But yeah, if he were sitting around thinking, "that whole coming from inside mommy thing - what the heck is with that?" he'd probably find a way to show me. I guess what I worry about is scaring him and then not being able to make him understand it's okay. -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html |
#5
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too early for certain books?
"Wendy E. Betts" wrote: In article , Becky Levine wrote: boggart's mischief, but we got about 2/3 of the way through, and when I went to pick it up last night, he said, "No, Not the Boggart." So we left the bookmark where we were, put it back on the shelf, and he picked a Narnia book we hadn't read yet (funnily enough, one that we put down after a few chapters sometime last year!). Oh, I hope he'll come back to it sometime - such a fun book! I think, if your child loves being read to, and he loves what you're reading, go for it. My guess is that having you read to him is so much fun that the whole experience is what he's going for. In terms of the concepts, I really think that the kids take in what they can of a concept and let the rest go; if they don't like the material, they tell us. Your son is probably not talking much yet, but I'm guessing he can still make himself pretty clear when he's unhappy or bothered by something! I think you'd see that in your reading, too. Actually, he talks up a storm. :-) But yeah, if he were sitting around thinking, "that whole coming from inside mommy thing - what the heck is with that?" he'd probably find a way to show me. I guess what I worry about is scaring him and then not being able to make him understand it's okay. You know--I'm not the best person to ask about this, because pretty much NOTHING seems to scare my son. But I do think your son will let you know if something is scaring him--and then you stop. I have friends whose kids seem to have a lower-tolerance level for scary things (well, ok, all their kids do!), and they do things like get up and leave the room, cover their ears, choose NOT to see movies they think will scare them. One of my son's best friends just didn't want to read Harry Potter at bedtime--then he felt like it gave him nightmares, so they just read it during the day. My guess would be that your son would do something like hit the book or try and get you to close it (if I can remember back that far!). And the other thing is if he is talking up a storm, I wonder if some things are just less scary, because he can, if he wants, talk about them? You know, if he liked that kind of nonfiction, you might look for the picture books that Gail Gibbons wrote/writes (?). She's got a whole range of levels, but whatever topic she picks has interesting details (I definitely remember reading about things I hadn't known) that most books don't see to cover. And they all have illustrations on every page, too. -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html |
#6
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too early for certain books?
"Wendy E. Betts" wrote in message . .. I'd like to hear opinions on this situation: My son (22 months old now) just loves being read to. Sometimes he'll choose books that I would not have expected to read to him for a few years yet - for example, he really enjoyed _When You Were Inside Mommy_ by Joanna Cole. I'm not trying to push him or teach him anything, but I wonder if it's still not a good idea to introduce him to complicated concepts so young. Or is it okay to share anything if he enjoys the story? What do you think? -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html i think as long as there are lots of books to choose from, he'll let you know if he likes it or not? he wont choose that one after a while? or perhaps he is not at the chooseing stage yet? and i dont think they really think much past face value at this stage either. like how in the hell does that baby get there? (my brother used to think women ate babies and as such he was terrified of pregnant women). c |
#7
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too early for certain books?
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#8
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too early for certain books?
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#9
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too early for certain books?
With my girls (now 13 and 10), we let them read, or read to them, pretty
well whatever they wanted, just advising them to wait until they were older to read the occasional scary or inappropriate book (eg Garth Nix's_Sabriel_ , and Jacqueline Wilson's _Girls_ series). This seemed to work well for us. The only _big_ mistake I made was reading _Charlotte's Web_ to my elder daughter when she was a sensitive four year old. She was absolutely distraught about Charlotte's death, and no amount of compensating baby spiders made any difference. She cried inconsolably, and has never wanted to go back to the book. In this case, I wish I'd left the book until she was older. Also, story tapes: abridged recordings of books (eg the BBC's excellent _Wizard of Oz_ dramatization and their Narnia dramatizations) are generally scarier to listen to than the book is to read - lots of vivid sound effects, and all the more reflective bits of the book are edited out so that you are left rushing pell mell through the most exciting bits. Diana Hutchison "Wendy E. Betts" wrote in message . .. I'd like to hear opinions on this situation: My son (22 months old now) just loves being read to. Sometimes he'll choose books that I would not have expected to read to him for a few years yet - for example, he really enjoyed _When You Were Inside Mommy_ by Joanna Cole. I'm not trying to push him or teach him anything, but I wonder if it's still not a good idea to introduce him to complicated concepts so young. Or is it okay to share anything if he enjoys the story? What do you think? -- "I couldn't believe this was a book. It didn't even give me a headache." -- Chris Crutcher on _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Terry Pratchett strikes again: http:www.armory.com/~web/vol11.no5.html |
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