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Everything About Harry Potter And Other Childhood Classics!


Anny Nym

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I was quite taken about the funny and exciting-to-read Harry Potter discussion, that were sparked on the other threads now.

 

So let´s have a thread about it!

Talk about why you love it or why you hate it.

What´s the best part, what´s the worst part and what a child (or a teen, or a adult!) could gain from it.

 

And what else books are dear to you?

 

What are you reading to your children and at what age? What do you let them read?

 

 

In the Nym household, we keep to the classics, mostly. My oldest is going to be a First Grader in September.

 

That´s our Children´s Book Style:

Grimm´s fairy tales and similar fairy tales, Austrian Folk Tales and similar, Wilhelm Busch´s rhyming picture stories, Mira Lobe ("The little I-am-I"), Else Ury (Short Stories and Nesthäkchen), Paul Biegel ("Tulle Dwarfs"),... you get the picture :).

Waldorf books like a Jahreszeitenbuch/the Year-around-book are also really great!

 

Would you recommend Harry Potter for a under-10yrs-old?

Valerie loves everything with witches, fairies, ghosts and all the like. We already started "That Lovely Mister Devil" from Christine Nöstlinger

And both my girls adore Bibi Blockberg! :lol:

 

Mr Nym says, although he isn´t a fan of Harry Potter character, he likes that it seems to create a quite positive image about Boarding Schools, so he is okay with us both reading the first book together with her, if she would like it.

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Miss GG and I love the books. She's an HP fanatic. IIRC, she began reading them in 2nd or 3rd grade. I found the books appropriate for an advanced reader. I like this coming-of-age hero series because it allows young readers to grow and mature along with the characters.

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My kids won't read Harry Potter and not for lack of me trying to get them to do so. They're just brats. I don't believe in keeping books away from kids, if they have any literary value. I'm not going to hand my 12 year old 50 Shades of Grey, but if she wants to read Slaughterhouse 5 or Brave New World or The Great Gatsby (even though they're above her reading level), she's welcome to do so. Hell, she can even break into my stash of Julia Quinn romance novels if she wants!

My oldest is 12, and loves the Percy Jackson series. She's read them all, and is waiting for the new Rick Riordan series to start. I'd love for her to read A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth and the like, but so far, she's not willing.

Middle kid, 10, just read Mr Lemoncello's Library and thought it was great. Before that, she was reading The Giver series by Lois Lowry. She loved the Ramona books, and the Fudge series.

Youngest is reading the Stink books by Megan McDonald. She's not really a reader. Just got out of 2nd grade, and making her read on her own is like pulling teeth. She's sometimes able to sit still to be read to, but even that is rare.

Edward Eager did some great children's novels. Roald Dahl is a classic source. I must have read at least 50 Babysitter's Club books, and Sweet Valley High books, growing up.

ETA- Mrs Pigglewiggle and the Betsy books by Carolyn Haywood! I read those to my kids, and they were really fun, as they were some of my favorites growing up.

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Oh oh oh oh, oh!!! I LOVE this thread!!! I'll do a huge pile of all things Harry (AND ALL LIT) that I love when I get to a computer, but AHHH I find this so exciting!!!

RAVENCLAW OUT.

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Phantom Tollbooth is still one of my favorites!

Harry Potter too.

I also enjoyed Sammy Keyes and the Alice Series, along with the classics like Ramona, Babysitters Club, Fudge/Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, Trixie Beldon, Chaaalie and the Chocolate Factory, Encyclopedia Brown, etc.

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Oh oh oh oh, oh!!! I LOVE this thread!!! I'll do a huge pile of all things Harry (AND ALL LIT) that I love when I get to a computer, but AHHH I find this so exciting!!!

RAVENCLAW OUT.

Woot! Woot! Ravenclaw roll call. Woot! Woot!

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Woot! Woot! Ravenclaw roll call. Woot! Woot!

Ravenclaw here too. Do we need a password?

On the book front for pre-teens my girl loves Emily Rodda. For creepy/funny she tore through the Scream Street series and The Floods series.

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Ravenclaw here too. Do we need a password?

On the book front for pre-teens my girl loves Emily Rodda. For creepy/funny she tore through the Scream Street series and The Floods series.

Officially sorted in to Ravenclaw on Pottermore over here!

There is too much I love about Harry Potter to even answer all the things OP asked to get conversations going! The books first came out when I was in 3rd/4th grade and obsession just kinda over took me. I've been Hermione for more Halloweens than I can count. The books always provided me with a safe haven to retreat into when I was angry or upset. Harry Potter is just so freaking awesome. And I just love how well planned the entire series is, like in OotP when they were cleaning out Sirius's home JK Rowling briefly mentions there's a locket no one can open and it turns out to be Horcrux. Everything mentioned in the series has a purpose.

Also there was a study that showed kids who grew up reading Harry Potter are more empathetic and don't stereotype as much as other groups: http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... ry-potter/

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Oh, I'm a Hufflepuff.

I'm on Pottermore as RainChestnut983. I don't go on very frequently.

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Okay. Okay. Hey. Hi. Hello, everyone. My name is FundieFarmer, I am am an avid literature enthusiast, and I run a booklr where I write reviews (though I've been slacking lately!). I just love books. Like I'm the type of person who loves book candles and considers books to be an actual decor scheme. Hogwarts was special to me because it was something initially that my ultra-conservative-turned-fundie-light mother prohibited me from reading, though I'd found books in the same vein to be fascinating. After a time, the books became my solace during many surgeries and illnesses. Now, it's a routine that as soon as I'm feeling better, I watch an HP movie! It's my favorite escape. I am a Ravenclaw, and a quick glance to my avatar will tell you that I do feel very fondly toward our founder, Rowena. I wish there were books on her! Anyway, without further ado, here we go!

I was quite taken about the funny and exciting-to-read Harry Potter discussion, that were sparked on the other threads now. So let´s have a thread about it!

Thrilled to welcome you to the fold, my new fellow Potterhead!!!

Talk about why you love it or why you hate it. What´s the best part, what´s the worst part and what a child (or a teen, or a adult!) could gain from it. How much time ya got? Just kidding. One of the main reasons is because I relate to nearly all of the characters on some level. ON a more personal level, I think the characters that influenced me most were Hermione, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore. Hermione and McGonagall are strong female characters who show that it's okay and even cool to be more brilliant than you are popular- and I needed that at the time I was first reading the books. I think the series imparts lessons of persistence, the value of honor and bravery, and friendship. And when you start getting into the little details that Rowling planned out and you start to learn the canon, you discover how much more there really is to the series than you ever thought possible.

And what else books are dear to you?

Oh lorrrrddd. I love me anything by Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel), all things Neil Gaiman (Ocean at the End of the Lane, Unnatural Creatures, the Graveyard Book!). Rebecca has long been a favorite of mine, and I like anything mystical or otherworldly because it is the most stimulating for my imagination.

What are you reading to your children and at what age? What do you let them read?

Nobody in their right mind would give me a child (yet!), so I don't read my kids anything. However, I did just get the entire bound Harry Potter series for my best friend as a baby shower gift, because I truly believe no age is too young to start with these books.

/snip

Would you recommend Harry Potter for a under-10yrs-old? Valerie loves everything with witches, fairies, ghosts and all the like. We already started "That Lovely Mister Devil" from Christine Nöstlinger. And both my girls adore Bibi Blockberg! :lol:

I really don't think any age is too young, especially if your child is already interested in it. If the child is familiar with the original Grimm tales, Wrinkle in Time, Narnia, Bednobs & Broomsticks, etc, they're really not much scarier than that. Plus...I wish my mom had trusted my knowledge that these things weren't real in the fictional sense, instead of sheltering me from them. I was young when the books first came out, and there was hysteria that they were turning kids into witches and wizards. Sure, we played at Hogwarts...but we always knew it wasn't real. If your kid can make that distinction, I'd say it's all a-ok.

/snip

I am 100% sure I'll come up with more things to say as I think about it more but just remember...

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.

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And, I'm just going to put this right here for you, because it's so totally FJ...

post-10965-14452000574852_thumb.jpg

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Aw, so many book titles to check out and so many Potterheads, and most of you are Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff (mmmmh, just remembered, I need to make a meringue pie for sunday), funny :)

I´ll go on Pottermore, when we have finished the first book. I want to know my house too ( I still like the Slytherin crest though, but I am afraid you guys stop to talk to me then :lol: )

It is very interesting to read all your posts, I always love to hear people talking about elaborate book characters , what they mean to them and about the little details in the story they discover. Agatha Christie books are that to me too.

@FundieFarmer and @HarryPotterFan

I don´t get that with the "Harry Potter turns kids into witches and wizards" thing. That is beyond silly. So any folk tale or fairy tale then turns a child into a witch to some people? Bizarre.

FundieFarmer, that was a bit sad to read - your mom didn´t allow you to read at all? Glad you found something to help you through illness and surgeries!

Oh yes, she makes this distinction - I think all kids can, they should just be trusted with it.

I never mind spiritual/supernatural topics in books.

Our concern in "what -to-read-to-the-kids" is always more with social and historical issues, there we keep an eye on.

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:lol: :lol: :lol:

We need to answer to every fundie quoting the Bible like that stand-up comedian. Let´s start with Jill The Grifter.

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I love so much about Harry Potter, it's hard to know where to begin.

1.) The story is a classic, well known archetype that I always enjoy. Child with crappy parents or orphan with crappy guardians finds out she/he's not so unfortunate after all.

2.) The characters. Hagrid the 1/2 giant, Minerva the stern but fair teacher, Snape the mean horrible teacher that seems to have it out for Harry (Hasn't everyone had one of those?),

3.) The symmetry & foreshadowing.

4.) the references to classic myths and history

5.) the fact that Harry actually kind of sucks. Most of what happens to him is "sheer, dumb luck." Not that he doesn't figure out a few things, but he's not the most motivated student, he's more into sport. He wouldn't be alive if not for his friends.

6.) The way the books get progressively more interesting, and the social commentary about politics in general in second half of the series.

Things I disliked:

1.) The WAIT OMG. I had to wait seven years to finish the series. During the same time, this thing that I had been using most of my life, called "the internet" suddenly exploded. Suddenly people were using it to talk about ... "what happens next?" and "did you notice this?" and "take my sorting hat quiz." Prior to this time period, "the internet" had been used (slowly, through the phone lines) for emails, pirating music, and prodigy chatrooms.

2.) This is an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a very big fan of JK Rowling as a person.

3.) You can tell that she wrote the first book while poor and possibly hungry, because she lists all the food at every feast. It's shades of George R.R. Martin, for real.

4.) They really are children's books, but so easy to get sucked into and waste time rereading and rereading.

5.) I don't care for some of the HP community and their... weirdness. But that's kind of thing I have about all "fandoms."

6.) There is some bad writing (lots of adverbs), and the "bad" characters occasionally do things that don't make a lot of sense.

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We would never stop talking to you because of your house!!!

Oh, she really just stopped me from reading anything that was focused on witches/wizards/gossip/teen drama. So no Harry, no chick lit, etc. Then I rebelled in undergrad and read them all :lol:

This is a woman who starches and irons her sheets though, so...

If only I had the time to do that. It feels so good!

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Oh FundieFarmer I love me some Neil Gaiman too. That man's imagination is truly an extraordinary place.

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I am actually rereading all of the HP books right now. I just started book 6 yesterday.

I initially read the first two shortly after they were available in the U.S. because everyone at the Christian school I was teaching at was going crazy about them being satanic and leading kids to practice witchcraft. As the English lit teacher with the most seniority, I was asked to write a review for the parent newsletter in which I was to explain why the books were evil and should not be read by Christian children or teens...

I refused on the grounds that I had never heard of them, let alone read them, but they didn't see that as a problem. Reviewing a book you've never heard of is, apparently, perfectly logical in their world. I went to the bookstore, found them, read a couple of chapters of book 1 sitting in the aisle and got hooked. I bought both books.

I did not write any reviews of them for the parent newsletter and informed the principal that they were clever, imaginative and perfectly harmless. So the 5th grade teacher wrote the review full of warnings about the evil content of books she had never so much as picked up.

After that, I bought every new one when it came out, took my nephew to a release party for the final book and saw every movie!

I have wanted to read all seven back to back for a long time and finally got them for Kindle this summer.

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Oh FundieFarmer I love me some Neil Gaiman too. That man's imagination is truly an extraordinary place.

He is truly a mystical, mystical man. I'm reading the Graveyard book now, and I LOVE it. He's the first author who's really sparked my imagination since JKR, but if anyone knows of others, please let me know!! I also read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but preferred the first over the second.

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He is truly a mystical, mystical man. I'm reading the Graveyard book now, and I LOVE it. He's the first author who's really sparked my imagination since JKR, but if anyone knows of others, please let me know!! I also read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but preferred the first over the second.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series (40 books out, the final book will be out in August. RIP TP). Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic are the start of the series, but I honestly wouldn't start with them unless you're a sci-fi fan. Guards! Guards! Mort, Wyrd Sisters, or Going Postal are more casual reader friendly places to start. The Discworld books generally do not need to be read in order. There are multiple websites out there who will give you different orders to read them in- The Rincewind Cycle, the Witches, The Watch, Death, etc. Since you already like Gaiman, you should read Good Omens, a book that he and Pratchett wrote together.

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-snip-

@FundieFarmer and @HarryPotterFan

I don´t get that with the "Harry Potter turns kids into witches and wizards" thing. That is beyond silly. So any folk tale or fairy tale then turns a child into a witch to some people? Bizarre.

-snip-

I WISH!!! I'm still pissed about not getting my hogwarts letter. When I was a kid I tried to make a potion in the sink (because I didn't have a cauldron) with various soaps :lol: I actually made Hogwarts letters for a couple little cousins when they turned 11 since they got into Harry Potter because of me.

As for the age appropriate thing, I got into the books when they first came out in the U.S. (I was 8). I've also seen kids around that age and younger seem into the books. The later books might be scary for younger kids, but I had the advantage (and disadvantage of having to wait) of literally growing up with Harry. And as I stated in the other thread my friend is reading the books to her baby. And apparently another one of her friends already sorted the kid into Gryffindor. Clearly I need to befriend this person.

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@louisa05

I am curious, how does that school you work(ed?) for, handle Classics ?

While we are at teachers:

What I personally noticed in a good way is that the Hogwarts teachers are all called "Professor".

I know it´s a very minor detail, but you see, especially our german neighbours like to give us the :wtf:- look because in Austria a middle school/high school teacher could legally demand to be called Professor (there was also a teacher´s union/government legal suit to extend it to elementary school teachers a couple of years ago).

It is just nice to see this tradition embraced by other peopl/countries too in a popular book! :)

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We would never stop talking to you because of your house!!!

Good to know! :D

Oh, she really just stopped me from reading anything that was focused on witches/wizards/gossip/teen drama. So no Harry, no chick lit, etc. Then I rebelled in undergrad and read them all :lol:

Ah, I already was a bit worried you were only allowed Moody Books :shifty-kitty:

This is a woman who starches and irons her sheets though, so...

If only I had the time to do that. It feels so good!

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I WISH!!! I'm still pissed about not getting my hogwarts letter. When I was a kid I tried to make a potion in the sink (because I didn't have a cauldron) with various soaps :lol: I actually made Hogwarts letters for a couple little cousins when they turned 11 since they got into Harry Potter because of me.

As for the age appropriate thing, I got into the books when they first came out in the U.S. (I was 8). I've also seen kids around that age and younger seem into the books. The later books might be scary for younger kids, but I had the advantage (and disadvantage of having to wait) of literally growing up with Harry. And as I stated in the other thread my friend is reading the books to her baby. And apparently another one of her friends already sorted the kid into Gryffindor. Clearly I need to befriend this person.

You must be a favored babysitter then! :wink-kitty:

And yes, I think we just see how she likes the first book.

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@louisa05

I am curious, how does that school you work(ed?) for, handle Classics ?

They used A Beka Literature. It includes some longer works and teaches them from very strange viewpoints. Examples: the theme of Eliot's Silas Marner is, according to A Beka, "sin will find you out". And The Scarlet Letter depicts the Puritans unfairly. Romeo and Juliet died because they disobeyed their parents...and I could keep going but that is probably enough for you to see how absurd it all was.

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They used A Beka Literature. It includes some longer works and teaches them from very strange viewpoints. Examples: the theme of Eliot's Silas Marner is, according to A Beka, "sin will find you out". And The Scarlet Letter depicts the Puritans unfairly. Romeo and Juliet died because they disobeyed their parents...and I could keep going but that is probably enough for you to see how absurd it all was.

Wow...wow. I wonder what they'd say of Harry!

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