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Regardless of whether you yourself are a Potterhead, you may now find your child mentioning Harry Potter to you and expressing an interest in reading the adventures of the boy wizard.
If you’re concerned about whether your child is too young to read Harry Potter, then this guide is for you.
We aim to give you reassurance and clarity on what age your child might be ready to read Harry Potter, so they can enjoy this iconic series to the fullest!
When Should You Read Harry Potter To Your Children?
Many Potterheads will remember a time when they had to wait for new installments, and while the buzz around a new book coming out was very exciting, it left many readers itching to get back to Hogwarts.
For young readers today, they not only have the entire series at their fingertips but different editions to choose from and a handy pronunciation guide for the vibrant vocabulary of the wizarding world.
Plus, if you’re looking to introduce the Harry Potter series to the children in your life, you can now read the entire series to them if reading the books themselves is out of the question.
Reading to children provides numerous benefits to both them and you.
Not only is it an excellent way for you to bond and reignite your love for the series, but reading aloud to children has been proven to improve reading comprehension, literacy, vocabulary, and even social skills.
If you’re looking to read Harry Potter aloud to children, we recommend the illustrated editions of Harry Potter.
Not only are the illustrations beautiful to look at, but totally engaging and sure to amaze. The big pages make it easy for children to follow along and immerse themselves in the wizard world.
Listening to audiobooks is also a great way to introduce the series to younger children, and may make this admittedly mammoth series a little more manageable for young readers.
Why not listen to a chapter in the car on the school run, or in the kitchen? Listening to Harry Potter on audiobook is sure to liven up a long car journey.
Based on the content of the books as a whole, we think reading Harry Potter aloud to your children at the ages of 7-9 is best.
When Should Your Child Read Harry Potter For Themselves?
Harry starts the books at 11 and by the end of the saga he is 17 years old.
Naturally, this means the books take a darker turn as the stakes get higher and the main child characters age.
As the series is now finished and the books are readily available, this may naturally cause some concern among parents and caregivers whose children might tear through the series and stumble across themes and events in the books that might be upsetting for their age.
However, as long as you stress to your child the differences between reality and fiction, and encourage them to come to you if something in the books upsets or frightens them, then you can’t really go wrong.
But below we’ll go through each book in the series, and what the appropriate ages are to read these books based on both reading comprehension and the themes and topics present in the books.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
Recommended reading age: 7-9
While the first installment is decidedly the lightest of the series, this novel does contain some scary creatures such as a troll and a three-headed dog, as well as a haunting hooded figure hunched over a dead unicorn.
There are also mentions of blood in this book, and a few mentions of characters getting drunk.
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
Recommended reading age: 7-9
This second installment ups the ante with our main characters in perilous situations, including near-death experiences and comatose states (i.e. being ‘petrified’).
There are also more scary creatures such as giant snakes and spiders, not to mention snake bites, venom, blood, and underage driving.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Recommended reading age: 9-11
This is where one of the scariest Harry Potter creatures make their first appearance. We’re talking of course about the dementors.
These are hooded, flying creatures who can suck the happiness out of people and even kill them.
There are also discussions of serial killers, as well as instances of stalking and even being ‘marked for death.’
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
Recommended reading age: 10-12
Some Potterheads consider this installment to be where the series took a hard serious turn, as it features the death of a teenage character.
There are also mentions of blood, imprisonment, torture, possession, a severed hand, and underage drinking.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Recommended reading age: 10-12
Like the previous instalment in the series, this book also contains the death of a favorite character who Harry is very close to, violence, a large snake that attacks a character, and also an adult character abusing minors, which could be triggering.
This novel also features underage drinking and swearing.
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Recommended reading age: 11-13
The penultimate installment also features the death of a major character, blood, violence, more scary creatures in the form of zombie-like monsters, as well as conversations around murder and missing people.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
Recommended reading age: 12-14
The final epic installment in the iconic series contains the death of major and minor characters (including a pet), as well as murder, violence, and blood.
Final Thoughts
While the novels become increasingly darker as the series goes along, we don’t believe that Harry Potter is inappropriate for children.
In fact, the novels are filled with positive messages regarding racism and discrimination, bullying, grieving, and the goodness of humanity, which are excellent messages to impart on to children.
We hope this guide has helped you decide whether Harry Potter is suitable reading for the children in your life.
After all this is a general guide, and whether the series is appropriate for children will all come down to the individual child, and how you help children grapple with the darker themes of the series.
I first had the idea for Seeking A Good Book when I was in college and everyone would come to me for book recommendations. More often than not, everyone I recommended a book to would always come back with a glowing review of it.
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