Now, if that were the end of the story, I probably wouldn't be blogging about it. Not because I don't think my son is awesome - I do! - but because that type of behavior has become par for the course. He has even gone on to read a couple of the books twice. None of this surprises me. He gets tunnel vision when he finds a book he really loves. And he loved all seven of them.
But here's where it gets exciting for me. Inspired by the privilege her brother has been enjoying, my oldest daughter started reading the first Harry Potter book. I promised all the kids that when they were old enough to read the books by themselves, I would assume they were old enough to watch the movies with mom and dad. With a desire to be a big girl and stay up late to watch a movie, she has been reading a chapter each night as she lays in bed. I would have thought that the book is a bit beyond her reading ability, but I've asked her questions about the story and she knows what's going on, so I know she's comprehending what she reads at some level.
When Harry Potter first became a phenomenon, I remember a lot of discussion about the books' ability to inspire children to read. How satisfying to see that inspiration benefiting my own children several years later.
Our kids are enjoying Harry Potter also right now and we have been reading/listening to them as a family. After watching number three, and midway through four, I'm starting to remember that they deal with some fairly heavy material only to get deeper and darker as it goes on.
ReplyDeleteI'm battling how we're going to let our daughter watch them (9). The dementors in three were incredibly spooky, it reminded me that what we imagine when we read the books isn't likely what they come up with for the movies! :)
Thanks for the insight and it's probably wise that if they can read it on their own, they're probably old enough to watch with mom and dad.
The movies are pretty freaky. I definitely wouldn't let my kids watch them without us there to give them a sense of comfort. He has been ok with all six movies. No nightmares, no expressions of fear. I think it helps that he knew how they would end, having read the books beforehand.
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