My six-year-old is loving stories about magic and strange creatures, and it occurred to me that we might be ready to wade into Potter-mania. Maybe. I think. Or maybe I should wait. Isn’t it too scary? Too violent? Too intense?
Fortunately I’ve come across this succinct bit of advice on Commonsense Media re. what ages are best for all the Harry Potter books, movies and games.
Here’s the gist of it… At age 6 or 7 it’s fine to read first book to them aloud (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and maybe watch the first movie.
After that the books and movies ramp up pretty quickly, agewise. You should check out the link for greater detail, but the last book, and the movies from Goblet of Fire onward are more appropriate for age 11 or 12.
Also included in the article are recommended ages for the various Harry Potter video games.
There really shouldn’t be any rush to put HP into your child’s hands, after all there are many, many fantasy books and movies out there more suitable for ages 5, 6, or 7, titles that are tamer, less violent and scary, and just not so grim. I’m working on a list of these right now, to be posted soon, I hope!
Let me know if you have any suggestions!
Rarest Kind of Best 
Oct 02, 2012 @ 14:15:31
Hi – I love the premise for your blog! Just weighing in on the Harry Potter topic – my son read the first Harry Potter book when he was 7 – and he loved it! There were words he didn’t understand, but he derived some meaning from the words around the one he didn’t understand (or he would ask mom!) This was when the books first came out and there were no movies yet. He still likes the books much better because his imagination created its own vision. It is actually one of the proudest memories he has of his childhood. So – gauge your child’s interest in the book and go from there!
Oct 02, 2012 @ 14:58:28
Thanks for the comment, Laura. I remember tackling too-hard books myself when I was first reading – I think adults forget sometimes that word meaning can often be gleaned from its context. And I agree, I’d definitely prefer her to read the books long before seeing the movies. Thanks for visiting my blog!