I am curious about introducing my son (going into first grade this fall) to Harry Potter books and movies. I don't have any of the books, but am considering getting the illustrated versions and maybe a pop up version to start him along. We read together at night before bed, sometimes I read to him, sometimes he reads alone and we need new subject matter.
Ideas? Thoughts?
pomegranate / 3858 posts
Have you read them? Just be aware that as the kids in the books get older, the stories get darker and more mature...you may end up reading them faster than you may be comfortable with introducing some of the themes with your son (if that makes sense).
eggplant / 11824 posts
We love the HP series and have been wondering what an appropriate age to start is as well. We have already purchased the newly illustrated ones that have come out and we were thinking about 6 we would start (?). LO is newly 5 and I think a bit too young for them, but she's not that far away from the right age, I think.
So, I'm not much help but in the same boat so look forward to what others think.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@tinyperson: I have read only the first one, but I have done some reading and it seems that the third book is where it starts to get darker and more intense. I feel as though we can really take our time, and honestly, the real reason why I am curious about introducing it is that we're possibly going to Universal Studios again in the winter and it's a huge part of the parks that my son had zero clue about.
@yoursilverlining: my son doesn't like books that aren't illustrated, which is why I was thinking about going the illustrated route.
pomegranate / 3858 posts
@looch: Yeah, about the 3rd book is where it takes a turn. The illustrated versions look great, and if you take your time, you should be good.
The movies are pretty good/close to books, so you could watch them all (if you haven't) so you have an idea of what's coming up ahead.
I'd love to go to Universal! If you can get through the first one, he'll probably love it 
blogger / apricot / 482 posts
I agree with @tinyperson. My younger brother started with the Harry Potter around first grade because a lot of his friends were having their parents read it to them, but at that time I think there were only three books out. He grew with the series, and the last book didn't come out until he was a teenager. I don't think I'd want to read some of the later books to a child in elementary school, but that's just me.
I am excited to read Harry Potter with the kids, but I want to make sure we have a plan in place as to how quickly we'll go through the series and when each book will be appropriate for them. I wouldn't want to read all seven in a year, for example, if they're in lower elementary.
nectarine / 2180 posts
@looch: As you know, our kids are in the same grade. We began with the first illustrated book around age 5.5 and we read the second one this spring. The third hasn't come out yet, so that is helping us pace ourselves. My rule with them is that I read them with her, so that if something scary comes up we can talk about it. We started at that age because she had been asking about reading them for awhile. She hasn't watched any of the movies yet, but I'm thinking about letting her see the first one this fall. I imagine she will get the third illustrated book for Christmas but I haven't decided yet when we will actually read it.
persimmon / 1023 posts
I second the illustrated ones. They are gorgeous and are being released one at a time around Christmas each year so you can space them out. I've bought the first two and intend on building the library for my son who is nearly 3...who am I kidding, they are totally for me 
As a huge HP fan who has read the books multiple times, I agree with PP about discussing any scary parts as you go. There are definitely parts in the books that deal with death, monsters, violence, etc. But I never find it gratuitous or without reason. I think the other more prevalent themes of friendship, bullying, family, love, making hard choices, etc. Are also conversation starters. I would highly recommend you read the books yourself or check out the plot points online so you are prepared for questions and comfortable with how you want to approach it. I literally cannot wait to start this series with my son as it has so much depth and wonder.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@tinyperson: I am also looking for activities related to it, my son might really like a lego building kit, for example...but I haven't found any that aren't super expensive.
@Mrs. Dolphin: @muffinsmuffins: I think I am going to get the first illustrated one and read it. My son is pretty satisfied with direct answers to his questions, so I think I can handle the content, but it's good to not be surprised.
@Pancakes: how did she get interested in them to ask? Was it from friends? AFAIK, none of my son's friends are into it, which I am surprised about.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
The illustrated versions are gorgeous. At your sons age I would likely stop at book 3. The third illustrated book will be released in October. They have been releasing one a year. If you buy the new illustrated book each year he will grow with the story.
There are older lego sets on eBay.
ETA: I've already bought the first two illustrated copies for my daughter and she isn't even 2.
pomelo / 5573 posts
My kids are 1.5 and 3.5 but you guys have got me feeling like I need to own the illustrated versions NOW.
pineapple / 12566 posts
I read all of book one with my DS when he was 4.5/close to 5. I think some of the finer details were lost on him, but he would randomly talk about HP/ask questions for months after. We read the first two chapters of book 2 and then stopped (can't remember why). I agree that book 3 is where it starts getting scarrier and more complicated. I don't think I would want to read beyond book 3 with my LOs, as I think it's so exciting to discover it for yourself. We are nowhere close to watching the films. My son is still extremely sensitive to movies and he would most likely freak out.
honeydew / 7504 posts
D will be 5 in January, and I got him the first illustrated book for Christmas and will likely start reading it to him then, if he's interested. He's already seen the first 2 movies, but we don't plan to let him see the 3rd one for a while. The 3rd movie/book is where things definitely get dark, as others have said. That's when the dementors are introduced, and in the movie they are REALLY creepy! I'd imagine the illustrations will be, as well.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
@Mrs. Pickle: DH is on the second to last book. He has been reading to them at night. We thought he could finish the whole series before they are 2 but they are really interested in picture books, so I'm considering getting the illustrated ones. The books are getting more and more dark and scary. DH might quit soon.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Mrs. Pickle: I did look at the lego sets on ebay, and still way more than I want to spend...do they not make any current ones? I feel like Pottermania is alive and well and the kits would totally still sell!
@erinbaderin: I totally wish I grabbed 1 and 2 when I saw them at Costco!
@lamariniere: Do you plan to pick them back up again at any point?
@littlebug: Do you feel like your son got the story line from watching the movies?
@bluestriped bee: I feel like with small children, you can totally skip the sections that get too dark...once they get a little older it will be harder, and once they start to read, it becomes impossible!
pineapple / 12566 posts
@looch: I would love to since I'm a huge fan of the series. Not sure when we will have time to though. Since my DS doesn't read in English (yet) I have to read everything.
pomegranate / 3980 posts
My oldest daughter will be in the 3rd grade this year and that's when I started reading them so we will be reading them together. I thiink the illustrated would be great for first graders though!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
@looch: the only current ones they make are for the Lego Dimensions video game. My MIL and I spent a good amount of time hunting for some recently for a Harry Potter loving 10 year old. I wish they would rerelease some of the old sets.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Mrs. Pickle: Right? I would think it makes sense to develop new sets, especially given the Harry Potter lands at Universal Studios. There's a whole new market.
honeydew / 7622 posts
My only concern would be all the made up words. I bought the first book in Spanish to help improve my skills and it was a poor choice because it was so confusing. I think reading aloud would be fine. I understand this is not exactly what you are asking-but perhaps something to consider.
That said-DD is 2.5 and loves Star Wars- she does not watch the whole movie and not all the scary parts. But she is really into movies- last night we watched the new Beauty and the Beast all at once. I will probably introduce her to Harry Potter by 4/5.
nectarine / 2180 posts
@looch: I'm actually not sure how she became interested. Maybe she heard me talking about them? I don't think any of the kids in her class are into the books; as far as I can tell they're all obsessed with Star Wars. Her BFF's older brother is a big HP fan and I feel like there is still a lot of HP merchandise that she's probably seen out and about.
honeydew / 7504 posts
@looch: Not entirely. Like I'm pretty sure he doesn't get the whole Voldemort concept yet, but Voldemort isn't really a "person" in the first 2 movies yet. But he likes the spells and the creatures (he thinks the Mandrakes are hilarious). I think once we read the books it'll sink in a little more.
pomelo / 5573 posts
@youboots: I had this same problem with trying to read it in French! It didn't help that all the magic words are different in French than in English - it isn't Muggle, it isn't Hogwarts - and I had a hard time figuring out which were real French words I didn't know and which were made up French magical words. I had to switch to French Hunger Games, which taught me a lot of hunting words (not super helpful to the business French that I really need for my government job. I can't say conference call, but I can say arrow).
grapefruit / 4361 posts
There's so much depth and complexity to the stories (especially book 3 on) that I would feel weird introducing before 3rd grade.... I would want to do it justice, and I think you can only get the broad strokes with a younger child. The first two books are written at a 5th/6th grade reading level and I read them for 3 years with my 5th grades as a novel study. I'd probably like to do a chapter a night, though some need to be split because they're too big. And take mini-breaks between books.
My quandaries that make me unsure:
If we read them together when they are younger, grades 2-3, would they want to re-read when older? I hope!
What if the child wanted to speed-read them on their own?
kiwi / 556 posts
As a bookseller we used to tell people that Rowling wrote them with her kids in mind as they grew. So in terms of age-appropriateness we generally recommended starting at age 7-8 and then reading one book per year. I'd just watch out for signs of anxiety while you're reading them. I had so many parents who told me their younger kids would want to be read the books because the older siblings were, but they just couldn't emotionally handle how dark it got.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/harry-potter-age-by-age-guide
I honestly want to visit the Wizarding World of HP super bad!!
nectarine / 2085 posts
We'll probably circle back to them closer to age 8. (I listened to all of the audio books while my son was in the room and playing when he was 4. He doesn't remember much beyond some of the names of the main characters and that's primarily because we listened to book 1 twice. ETA: I'm not sure he listened to any of the last two books, now that I think about it... He seemed to be tuning out, so I listened to those using my headphones while washing dishes. 
)
I don't really see a rush to read them. They're tremendously good fun, but I don't put them in the category of books worth reading over and over and I think the later books are much better suited to older children. I definitely plan to hold off on the movies for a year or so, probably until he's a bit closer to the age of the kids in the book. And I will never, ever tell him that "Cursed Child" exists.
nectarine / 2280 posts
My daughter's Pre-k read through the first two books at rest time.
coconut / 8079 posts
@erinbaderin: I read the first 5 HP books in French when I was studying abroad in college. My host family was shocked I hadn't read them! Definitely learned a lot of vocabulary. I'm giggling at you learning hunting vocabulary with the Hunger Games. I remember learning words like sparkling in French from HP, which I have never had an occasion to use! Haha
nectarine / 2821 posts
@erinbaderin: lol at your hunting word French vocabulary. And I totally was thinking I need the illustrated one NOW just from reading this thread. I didn't even know about it!
Gosh I remember how exciting it was each year when the new book came out!
nectarine / 2636 posts
I had no idea about the illustrated versions until this thread and I'm probably going to start collecting them for myself! Lol. My neice is starting 3rd this year and I'm going to see if her mom is ok with her reading over book per year if I get her them. Or maybe I'll just let her borrow mine. I'd love to discuss it with her! I can't wait until my own kids are old enough to read them together.
honeydew / 7488 posts
I had no idea that there was an illustrated version, definitely going to look into that! Several of my DD's friends were reading (or had read) the books last year in 3rd grade. I knew my DD is way too sensitive to have been able to handle the themes and emotions in the books so we didn't even try, maybe we will try with the illustrated ones this year. I really suspect that much of the books were beyond their reading comprehension. It really does depend on the child. But they can still get a lot out of it and really enjoy the world of Harry Potter (I have heard the 99 second Haryy Potter Song way too many times in car pool).
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@honeybear: would it make a difference to your schedule if you were perhaps visiting Universal Studios? They've got a huge amount of things to do there and while walking through, it was totally lost on my son. I think he would get a kick out of having read a book about something and seeing it visually represented in such a spectacular way...that's really my motivation, not because I think they're literary masterpieces or anything like that.
nectarine / 2085 posts
@looch: Ha! Well, I'm not a theme park person at all, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but if you really wanted to do one of the books now, I'd get the audio version and listen to book 1. Jim Dale could make the phone book seem like highly compelling reading--there's no point in my view in trying to compete with him. I think that the best options are having a child read the books himself (but they're probably a bit much at this point due to the Latin-ish spells, dialect (specifically, the way Hagrid talks), and mythological names) or using Dale's audio. If you stop at book 1, you miss out on butterbeer and Hogsmeade, which I gather are part of the theme park, but you get the flavor of the series while still preserving nearly all of it for him to read later.
I'd still hold off on the movies, but I am firmly team "read the book before the movie."
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@honeybear: Ha, the movies aren't even an option right now! I think making the connection between a book and the theme park is enough.
I will look into the audio version, thank you!
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