Harry Potter Books & Movies Age Guide

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As promised, I shall tackle the most commonly asked question from the parents of Gracepoint Berkeley church: “At what age is it ok for my kids to read Harry Potter?” One resource I check for age recommendations for books and movies is Common Sense Media, which is pretty fair. However, I’ve learned that I need to read more carefully as to the reasons for their recommendations. And in the case of Harry Potter, we diverge quite considerably, as you will see if you compare my thoughts with their Harry Potter Age-By-Age Guide, which has them starting at 6 years old.

Going by straight reading levels, some kids might be able to read them starting in 2nd grade, but the question is regarding the themes and content. You know your child the best, so you’ll need to exercise judgement, and consider their reading level, their temperament, how scared they get, how comfortable you are with some mature themes, and so on.

So please regard these as general guidelines to help you in making those decisions.

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#1 – Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone: 3rd-4th grade (8-9). This is mainly because it’s a slippery slope, and once a kid starts the series, they’ll want to devour the rest!  Harry and his friends are 11 years old in this book. (Each book covers the duration of the school year.)

 

 

 

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#2 – Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets: 3rd -4th grade (8-9). Again, this recommendation is mainly because once a kid reads #1, they will immediately want to read #2, but I would caution every parent to be mindful of book 2. While the book overall remains magical and wonderful, the fact remains that Tom Riddle possesses Ginny, and that’s super scary. Parseltongue can scare kids too. I’ve surveyed some of the older kids, and one said, “I actually thought book 2 was the scariest of all of them.”

 

 

harrypotter3#3 – Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban: 4th grade (9-10). More of the same, thematically. The Marauder’s Map is nifty. On the scare alert, dementors make their first appearance in book 3. In general, I encourage you to talk with your kids often about fantasy books they read, so they get a clear sense of what is fantastical (i.e. shape-shifting) and what is realistic.

 

 

 

harrypotter4#4 – Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire: 5th grade (11ish). Harry and his friends are now 14 years old. So while the main plot centers around the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the series takes a decidedly “teen” turn in this book. Harry has a major crush on Cho Chang, and Rowling does a good job describing the overall awkwardness of adolescence. But there’s a whole lot of excitement about who’s going with whom to the Yule Ball, and people getting in trouble for kissing and stuff. And while there are deaths in each of the Harry Potter books, this book has the first death of one of the friends. It’s different from a nemesis being vanquished; this death is really sad and upsetting for readers as well as for Harry and his friends.

 

harrypotter5#5 – Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix: 6th grade (12ish). As I vented about last week, this book has 15-year-old Harry in the throes of of some teenaged angst and anger. This is also the book where Dumbledore’s Army starts, and the kids get serious about fighting Voldemort. Harry has his first kiss in this book.

 

 

 

harrypotter6 #6 – Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince: 6th-7th grade (12-13ish). Harry and his friends are 16, so expect teen drama. There are “love triangles” and lots of “snogging.” (Which the movie makes the primary focus, rather than the entire story line of the half-blood prince, but I digress.) There are two super sad deaths of beloved characters in this book. And you learn about horcruxes and soul-splitting, so that’s pretty scary, and also an opportunity for interesting conversations with your kid.

 

 

harrypotter7 #7 – Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: 7th (13ish). Similar to book 6, except more. More deaths. More romance. (And a very memorable, directed swear word that is used to communicate the ferocity of a mother’s love.)

 

 

 

I know that realistically, once a child starts the series, it’ll be hard to stretch it out for five years, if you go according to my age suggestions! So it’s really up to you as a parent, and I strongly recommend having conversations with your child about the books throughout. NOT quizzing them on the books, but just talking about characters and what they’re like, or interesting plot devices — would you want a time-turner? What about Felix Felicis? What do you think about the patronus thing? You could talk about any of the myriad themes around friendship, loyalty, honesty, loneliness, revenge, home, and more.

As for the movies, bear in mind that movies #1-3 are rated PG, and #4-7b are rated PG-13. But I would recommend 3rd grade and up for watching even film #1, since there are frightening elements from the get go. There are adults I know who couldn’t watch any of the films because they would keep replaying some of the scarier scenes, and have trouble sleeping. (Personally, I can’t quite look at Voldemort straight on without cringing. The no-nose thing.)

Again, every child is different, so I hope that this helps a little.

I’d love to hear from some of the parents. How did you determine what age was appropriate for the books and/or movies for your child? 

Educational Resource: PBS Parents

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I’ll be the first to admit that I am no expert in reading or in child development. I’ve always made it a priority to apportion some of my reading life to books and websites on education and reading. And now, in a more official position of being the librarian and children’s educator at Gracepoint Berkeley church, I plan on using this space to share resources I have found helpful, and hope they’ll be of use to parents, and adults who are working with our children.

PBSParentsEducationThe PBS website has a section for parents & education. In the Reading & Language section, they have a section of “Reading Milestones” broken down into Talking, Reading, Writing, and Activities/Games by age groups, starting from “Baby” to “Second-Third Grade.” They also have sections for Mathematics, Science, Learning Disabilities, Going to School, Music & Arts.

When parents ask me questions, I’m often synthesizing different tips I’ve read about and incorporated into my own reading philosophy. Rather than regurgitate what I’ve been reading on this site, I’ll refer you to just a few of the articles I have found helpful.

 

Three Strikes Against Arthur

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Having taught primarily in high school and then in middle school, I’m in a self-paced crash-course on books for younger readers. This summer at Gracepoint Berkeley church, I’ve been hosting different groups of kiddos for reading hour each day, and so I’ve been getting to know a lot of different picture books and books for early readers.

I received a generous donation of three big boxes of picture books, and among them were a bunch of Arthur books. Even the older kids got so nostalgic and would read and reread them. So I didn’t think too much about them.

I didn’t grow up reading Arthur books by Marc Brown, though apparently they’ve been around as long as I have. And I definitely didn’t watch Arthur episodes on PBS, because I was a senior in high school when they started airing. (Two clues about my age, which is actually no secret, but it’s fun to solve even the smallest puzzle!)

Last week I had the chance to read my first Arthur books. I read them with a particular 6-year-old boy on the T-Rex team (1st-2nd boys) at our Zootopia Summer Camp. I’m sad to report that each book got successively disappointing. Hence the title of this post. Here’s a recap:

ArthursThanksgiving

First up, Arthur’s Thanksgiving (1984). Arthur is in charge of the class Thanksgiving play, and he can’t find anyone to play the turkey. This is the main conflict, because as they state in the play, the whole point of Thanksgiving is turkey. Without turkey, there can’t be Thanksgiving.

The lesson: Arthur learns the skill of problem-solving in his leadership position, and he ends up doing whatever it takes to make sure the play goes on.

My beef: Maybe it’s my years of teaching inference, but the message of the play-within-the-book that Thanksgiving itself hinges on a turkey struck me as problematic. Nowhere in the book is there a mention of…giving thanks.

Strike 1.

ArthursChristmas

Next was Arthur’s Christmas (1985). While Arthur’s sister, DW, has a mile-long list of all the presents she wants, Arthur’s dilemma is trying to figure out what to get for Santa. Arthur figures out the “perfect” gift, which is rather funny, but DW realizes Santa might actually get repulsed by his gift, so she helps “solve” the problem.

The message: DW is a great sister, because she solves the problem in such a way to spare Arthur’s feelings from being hurt, and will still manage to get all her gifts from Santa.

My beef: I *think* we are meant to find Arthur’s focus on what to give rather than receive as admirable, but it’s stated too implicitly for a children’s book.  So what we are left with is the message that DW is thoughtful and even sacrificial. But she only does what she does because she wants presents from Santa. DW’s greed for presents is dealt with only tangentially and through a passing comment from Grandma when she visits.

Strike 2.

ArthursBirthday

Last but definitely not least, Arthur’s Birthday (1991). It’s Arthur’s 8th birthday (remember this fact — 8th) and he’s going to have a party. But it’s the same day as Muffy’s party. OH NO! Arthur figures out a way to solve this problem of two different parties going on at the same time.

The message: Oh, that Arthur. He’s so clever and so kind, that he figured out a way to include everyone!

My beef: Francine, one of Arthur and Muffy’s classmates, is super excited because they can play Spin-the-Bottle. (Quiz: how old is Arthur turning again?) In separate conversations during the rising action, the boys decide to just go to Arthur’s party, and the girls to Muffy’s, but the boys say, “It won’t be fun without the girls” and vice-versa.  And then the last page is Arthur opening one of his presents, and guess what it is? Yes, a bottle labeled “Francine’s Spin-the-Bottle Game” — yay!

Strike 3.

You might think I’m being too hard on Arthur, and they’re just cute stories after all. True, I’ve only read a few of the books. But my main problem is the Arthur books and television show are touted as educational, in the good PBS way. And they do educate, but what are they teaching? We need to be aware of the implicit messages our kids get from all media.

It’s subtle and might seem harmless enough, but I was surprised to find the 6-year-old boy I was reading the book with already knew what Spin-the-Bottle was. Even with limited screen time, our kids get all sorts of education from their friends, teachers, and just through walking around in our world. If you’re looking for books that are explicitly teaching lessons on how to treat other people (or the point of certain holidays), I recommend bypassing Arthur.

What’s your take on Arthur? Should I give him another chance? Did you read Arthur books or watch the show while growing up?