The Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
Age: 11+
Interests: fantasy, magic, princesses, strong girls, dragons, war and violence, romance
The Hero and the Crown
23 Oct 2017 Leave a comment
in Books, books 11+, Uncategorized Tags: dragons, fantasy, Magic, Princess, romance, royalty, strong girls, violence, war, wizard
Fantasia (1940)
27 Dec 2012 Leave a comment
in Ballet, Classical Music, Introduction to..., Movies, movies 3+, movies 5+, Parenting Tags: animals, birds, devil, dinosaurs, fairies, fish, flowers, Magic, music, myths, space, wizard
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Released: 1940
Rated: G
Length: 120 – 124 min. (varies depending on what version you have)
Age: some parts 3+, others 5+ (see below) Commonsense Media sez: 6 +
Scary Factor: Mickey attacks renegade broom with an axe and savagely chops it to bits; battle to the death between two dinosaurs; a gigantic devil rises over a mountain commanding a host of demons, the dead rise from their graves
Also: some modest (dare I say artful) nudity among fairies and mythological creatures; much wine drunk by very tipsy god Bacchus
Interests: classical music, fairies, mythology, dinosaurs, ballet
Next: the movie Fantasia 2000; live symphony concerts for children; Nutcracker ballet live or movie version
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What Age is Right for Harry Potter?
02 Oct 2012 2 Comments
in Books, books 6+, Movies, movies 7+, Parenting Tags: adventure, boarding school, Magic, orphans, wizard
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!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
20 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+, Classics Tags: adventure, castle, Magic, storms, strong girls, travel, witches, wizard
The Wizard of Oz (aka The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
by L. Frank Baum
original illustrator W. W. Denslow
first published 1900
158 pp. (in New York: Sterling, 1999) – 24 chapters
Age: 5 +
Interests: magic, witches, adventure, travel, tornadoes
Also by this author: 14 Oz sequels, of varying quality
Aladdin (1992)
12 May 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 6+ Tags: action, Arabia, castle, desert, genie, Magic, monkeys, Princess, romance, treasure, wizard
Rated: G
Length: 90 min.
Age: 6 and up Commonsense Media sez: 6 +
Scary Factor: villain Jafar is creepy and evil; the huge lion creature guarding the treasure is truly frightening; it devours a thief at the beginning, though this is not seen; in one scene Aladdin nearly drowns; villain’s magic in the climax at the end is pretty scary and huge – turning into an enormous snake and then an even bigger genie
Action: Aladdin is continually fleeing guards with swords – played for laughs but may be stressful; the scene when Aladdin’s in the cave is pretty heavy action-and-danger-wise (Indiana Jones-esque)
Bad Behavior: when the sultan is imprisoned Jafar’s parrot tortures him by force-feeding him crackers – this might be disturbing, or maybe just disturbing for adults!; Genie smokes a cigarette at one point
Sex: all females are scantily clad; a few kisses
Racism: many stereotypes of Middle-Eastern peoples and lifestyle; heroes sound American, while bad guys have Arabian accents
Language: very slangy; also name-calling: “stupid” “dumb” “idiot”
Interests: Arabian legends, magic, desert, folk tales, other cultures
Next: picture books of 1001 Arabian Nights, old movies like The Thief of Bagdad
Ponyo (2009)
13 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: adventure, boats, Fairy Tale, fish, Japan, Magic, nature, ocean, romance, sea creatures, spirits, storms, strong girls, weather, wizard
Rated: G
Length: 101 min.
Age: 4 and up.
Scary Factor: typhoon and tsunami, storm at sea mitigated by sight of little girl happily running on top of the waves!; entire island is submerged in huge flood, but no casualties
Intense scenes: twice Sosuke thinks his fish is dead (briefly); after floods Sosuke finds his mother’s car, eerily empty, and starts to cry, but finds her soon after
Language: mother calls the oddball wizard a “freakshow”; she also calls her husband a “Jerk!”; the wizard calls humans as a species “filthy” and “stupid” (which is justified)
Interests: ocean, sea creatures, magic, nature, spirits, boats, fish, wizards
Next: BOOK: The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen); MOVIES: My Neighbor Totoro, Finding Nemo (a little scarier), The Little Mermaid (a lot scarier)
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