A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Last September, we read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And next September, we'll read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Are you picking up on the pattern?
I'm a planner by nature, and Harry Potter is one of those things I've thought long and hard about. I'm not exactly sure why deciding how and when to present this particular series has caused me so much grief. I never finished the series when I was a teenager (I made it to book three), and although I liked the books I read well enough, I definitely never caught HP fever.
So with that kind of apathetic attitude, you would have thought I would have had very little opinion about when and how (or even if!) my kids read the series. But I think seeing the way Harry Potter has become such an iconic figure in the literary world and also such a part of childhood made me realize that I couldn't ignore it. And if I couldn't ignore it, I might as well embrace it . . . and have some control over it.
I was talking to a few friends at the park a couple of weeks ago, and Harry Potter came up. I mentioned that we had just started the second book and that we were just going to read one each year until we finished the series. One of my friends incredulously asked, "So you're not going to read the last book until Aaron is thirteen years old?!" I have to admit that up to that point, I'd never really done the math. I mean, it should have been fairly obvious (there are seven books, and if you start when Aaron's seven years old and only read one each year . . . ), but it wasn't until someone else said it that I realized just how long this plan would take us.
And to be honest, it made me rethink it a little. Was I really going to make Aaron wait until he was in eighth grade to finish a series all of his friends read when they were in first?
But actually, getting older was one of my main reasons for doing the one-per-year plan, so after I got over the shock of thinking about Aaron being so old, thirteen actually sounded just about right. So right now, I'm sticking with my plan, and these are the reasons why:
1. My kids can grow up with Harry.
When the series begins, Harry is eleven; when the series ends, he is seventeen. It's a simple fact that eleven-year-old boys (and their friends) are not thinking about, talking about, or participating in the same things as seventeen-year-old boys (and their friends). And quite frankly, I'm not all that anxious for my seven-year-old to encounter some of those more mature themes. And then of course, the books deal with some really dark, scary, frightening things. No matter how mature a child might be, some wisdom can only be gained by growing up. Reading just one book a year lets that growing up happen in a natural way.
2. Fall is the best time to read Harry Potter.
You all know how much I love seasonal reading, and I'm convinced that Harry Potter was meant to be read in the fall. It just feels right to be reading about the beginning of a new school year, Quidditch matches, and Halloween when we're doing those same things in our own Muggle-lives. Not to mention that the whole book is filled with witches and wizards, which definitely gets us in the mood for October. I love traditions, and I like the thought that these books will always be linked to this season for my kids.
3. Reading these books as a family is beyond enjoyable.
Even if I'm not a die-hard Harry Potter fan, I have to admit that these are some of the most fun books we've ever read aloud. And even though I could just hand them to Aaron and let him read them on his own, I wouldn't want to. This is reading aloud at its finest . . . a completely magical experience. We all huddle together, sometimes physically, sometimes just figuratively, and hang onto every word--tensing up when something scary happens, cheering when something good happens, reliving favorite parts, and predicting what will happen next. Plus, I love doing all the voices (even though I'm not very good at them).
4. There are so many other good books to read.
Since we've loved the first two books so much, I would just hate to feel burned out with Harry Potter. But I'm pretty sure if we read straight through the series, that's what would happen (at least for me). I have so many books on our to-readaloud list. My kids aren't going to outgrow Harry Potter for a long, long time, but they will outgrow some of the other books on my list. I'm not going to devote an entire year to reading Harry Potter and by so doing miss the chance to read some other fantastic books. I'm sure this is partly my own issue since I don't enjoy reading book after book in the same series without a break between, but I also like interspersing our fantasy with other genres.
5. We get to anticipate the next book.
Readers from my generation will remember what it was like before a new Harry Potter book came out: the weeks leading up to it were spent talking about it, rereading all the books that had already come out, and making plans for the book-release party. It was as exciting as Christmas. Personally, I didn't really participate in all the festivities because I wasn't all that interested, but I knew plenty of people who did. If I had to wait for one book each year and grow up a little and read other things in between, what would be so wrong about having my kids read them the same way? After we've read the book together, I'm fine with my kids reading it as many times as they want to by themselves, and I think rereading will only increase the anticipation of the next book. Isn't it so fun to have things to look forward to?
As great as my plan is, we're already running into little snags. For example, Bradley didn't listen to the first one last fall, but he's listening to the second one this year. He's still quite young (he'll turn five in a few days), and if he continues to listen with us, he's going to get to the more mature books before I'm ready. So I'm not sure what to do. Maybe next year, Mike can backtrack and read the first one to him, and then they can go on from there. And then what about Clark? The timing with the younger ones is just as tricky as with the older ones.
Also, I should probably mention that so far, my kids have been completely fine with this plan. They haven't begged to go onto the next book or continue with the series on their own. If they were chomping at the bit for the rest of the series, it would certainly make things more complicated (and I'm curious to know how those of you with voracious, fantasy-loving kids handle this).
Of course, reading the books in this long, drawn-out way means that certain key plot twists will almost certainly be spoiled for the boys before we get there ourselves. But I'm pretty sure we crossed that bridge long ago, when Aaron was in first grade and all of his friends were reading the series on their own. Six-year-olds don't really know how to give the"spoiler-free version."
I'm very curious to hear your opinions on this modern parenting dilemma. When did you let your kids read Harry Potter, and what were your thoughts and reasoning behind it?
Good luck! I had a plan to slowly introduce the movies, and it failed. We watched the first movie before the release of the illustrated book for Sorcerer's Stone because I wanted my then 5 year old to be interested in the series. He enjoyed the first book, and then we started watching more movies and about a year later now (about 3 weeks ago), we finally watched movies 7 and 8. I still plan to read the books every year as the illustrated versions come out because I agree about the subject matter getting more intense. The movies gloss over some of it a bit because you're not getting Harry's thoughts and feelings. We'll see if we can stick to the schedule for reading. The second illustrated book comes out next month, and I already have it pre-ordered. I want him to understand how much more magical the books are because of the details.
ReplyDeleteI think the newly illustrated editions are a great way to pace yourself through the books since they're releasing just one a year. Great idea!
DeleteJordan is doing something very similar to your plan. We saw the illustrated version of the 1st book this summer and we got it thinking the boys were probably old enough to start. Jaxon is 9 and Kodee is 7. We didn't start before now because we didn't want them to read the mature material before they were teenagers. Jordan read to the boys over the summer and they finished the 1st book a couple of weeks ago. We aren't waiting a year for the 2nd book though. They have already started and are eating it up! They will 8 and 10 in a month so I think they can handle the 2nd book. We will wait a little bit more until the 3rd. Jaxon gets scared very easily. While Jordan reads to the boys I read to my girls in another room. They are 5 and just barely 3. They don't like sitting still to listen to books without pictures just yet. Although Gemma has heard a few chapters from the first book. We'll just have to start again when she's older. I do like your plan about waiting a year in between each book so the boys can grow up with Harry. They will be able to understand the last books more if they are older.
ReplyDeleteYes, your plan sounds very similar to ours, and I love that other parents are doing the same thing! I think if you have a large family, it's probably impossible to read the entire series all together just because of the age differences in kids, but I'm glad Mike will have a chance to read the series too since he'll do it with our younger set. Maybe you'll be the one to read it to your girls! :-)
DeleteWe let christopher read the first 3 books when he was 8. But he wasn't really interested in them until this summer, right before 6th grade. When he was 8 I worried abt him reading g the dark stuff. We let the kids watch movies 1-3 all the way through, but we watch the rest with them to edit out parts (in many movies it leads to alot of boring talking.)what's ironic is in 4th grade I wrote a permission slip for him to check out the 39 clues books from the school library. But then I read them & thought they were darker than HP. Whoops.
ReplyDeleteThat is SO interesting to hear your opinion on the 39 Clues books! Aaron hasn't gotten into them yet, but I don't think I would have given them a second thought. Now I'll definitely be previewing them. Thanks for the heads up!
DeleteI love your plan! And if your boys are patient enough to wait a year between books, that's probably the perfect way to do it. The first books start out at a pretty middle grade level, which is fine for younger children, but yeah, Harry gets older and the material gets older with him. I definitely think it's best to wait until kids are a little older for those later books (I just can't imagine a first grader understanding the emotional nuances of those later books at all). I haven't really made a plan about introducing Harry Potter to my boys (it feels like something that is pretty far down the road at this point), but I do know I want it to be a family read-a-loud. I'll definitely consider your one-a-year plan when we get there, see if that works for us.
ReplyDeleteI think patience is the key with this plan. :-) We'll see if it lasts.
DeleteWe've been determined to read the books before letting our daughter (now 6 1/2) see the movies. We've tried the first book a couple of times, most recently with the illustrated edition, but she just hasn't been ready. This last time she was having nightmares before we were through with chapter 1 (though they might have been unrelated - it's hard to say). And so, we'll have to wait a bit. I don't know that I would spread them out quite as much as you are, but I do love the idea of letting your boys grow up with Harry. The books get much darker as the series progresses.
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing your experience, Jen! Every child is different, and I really believe it's up to the parent to know when the time is right for a particular book.
DeleteI find this interesting because my 10 year old just asked me to start reading him book one. I myself never read any of them, I tried and couldn't get in to them. But reading aloud now to my son is different, better even. He asks me every night to read a chapter or two. I love his excitement especially since getting him to find reading fun on his own has been a challenge. I echo your thoughts on the plan. (Sadly, he has seen some of the movies, already but we're just going to start from book one and see how it goes!)
ReplyDeleteI agree! Even though I didn't love the books when I read them on my own, there's something so fun and magical about reading them with my kids!
DeleteI love your #5. Delayed gratification is so important for kids (and adults). And always having things to look forward to is one of the joys of life to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't really chime in on the series, though, having only read the first one and being unsure if I'll go on. I think it's fun that you're making the books a family bonding experience. Your boys will always have good memories of the series and "reading" it together.
Me too, Carrie. I love having things to look forward to.
DeleteI love the plan. I am a die hard Harry Potter fan! I resisted until after college when James insisted that I read them. I listened to one on a trip years before and hadn't loved it. But there is so very much to love. I cried, laughed, pondered, and imagined so much while reading these books! There are so many lessons they teach and topics to discuss as a family. I'm so excited for the joy they will bring the next 6 Autumns of your family's life! We're trying to do the same, like I was telling you the other day. But here's a fun idea...Let's have a big Hogwarts dinner party in 6 years to celebrate the end of the adventure! Butterbeer, chocolate frogs, and all!
ReplyDeleteOkay, deal! With you behind it, I know it will be epic. You just tell me what to do. ;-)
DeleteI have a voracious, insatiable, prodigious fantasy-loving 10-year-old on my hands. It is marvelous to watch her go. And I'm so glad that she has the skill, focus and good judgment to find hours and hours of enjoyment reading books! This translates though into an incredible number of books being consumed. It also translates into her having grown a brain and opinion of her own of what her preferences are and the timetable on which to explore them. You go girl! Proud of you! I've learned to respect and celebrate that with her so that I have hope of maintaining a healthy influence in guiding when it really matters. There have been times at school when she reads 800 to 1000 pages a day-- just at school, then she comes home and does more. We spend a lot of time finding new books and vetting them. A couple of years ago we started to encounter material that was truly objectionable and age-inappropriate. Not all teachers/school-libraries screen the titles in their collection or are fully aware of their content. And your kids have full access without any direct oversight from you. Harry Potter is just wholesome fun compared to some of the other themes that are being subtly and not-so-subtly slipped into kid lit. And now we're getting into YA. Awesome! and also a new can of worms.
ReplyDeleteI guess my main message is to prepare to be flexible as your very capable and maturing children begin to form their own preferences. Give and take where maybe the stakes aren't as high so that when it really matters you can stand together like a rock.
As usual, some excellent insights, Jayne! (Although, can I admit that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed just even reading that your 10-year-old is reading 1000+ pages a day? How do you ever keep her in books?!) I agree that HP is an excellent choice when compared with so many other books for grade-schoolers. If my kids were reading as voraciously as your 10-year-old is and really wanted to go on in the series, I think I would be flexible with my plan. (But since they're content, I'm SO glad we get to read the series together!)
DeleteMy experience with the books was that the first four make good read-alouds, and the last three not as much. I know parents who made it all the way through, but I found Harry's mid-teens voice authentic but really whiny to sustain for hundreds of pages. And with book five, they don't even get to school for 100 or so pages (and they drop out for book seven), so the whole seasonal thing falls away.
ReplyDeleteWith my kid, I started leaving the fifth book lying around and my son read ahead and that worked better for us. It was still our bedtime book, but I'd pick up from wherever he left the bookmark. I think he read the last two by himself -- he might have gotten them with his dad, and his father stopped reading aloud much earlier than I did.
But for your situation, it might mean that you restart the series after the third or fourth book (the fourth book is the one that starts boy/girl dating in a big way, and also the page count goes up and never comes back down) which would give the younger boys a chance to hear them at the right time.
Anyway, I recommend that you read Goblet of Fire (book 4) for yourself after you read Prisoner of Azkaban aloud next year, and then you can decide whether you want to keep reading through the series one at a time or if you want to make a tradition of starting over again, which gives the older boys a chance to revisit it (maybe while the next book on their own) while the young ones get a chance to start. Play it by ear to see how it works out.
As always, some very good tips and advice, Beth. Since I haven't read the entire series, I didn't realize that the later books might not work as readalouds as well as the earlier books.
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