Adventures in Harry Potter

[przed]

In the wake of Ros' Harry Potter obsession, I picked up the first book this week. We're now three chapters in, and I have to say I'm enjoying reading it aloud far more than I did reading it to myself back when it first came out.

Having an appreciative audience probably helps. Ros giggled through the entire chapter of Harry getting all those Hogwarts letters. And she let out a long dismayed "nooooo" when the chapter was over.

Comments

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

That's how it starts, you know: one innocent little chapter...

[przed.livejournal.com]

I don't expect to become a full Potter fan myself, but I suspect Ros is heading that way.

[asilia.livejournal.com]

That's how it started with me... My little sister read the books pretty early on (before book 4 was released and way before the movies) and I just wanted to know what all the fuss was about so borrowed the first one... and in the end, whenever a new book came out, we had to buy two so we both could read them at the same time ;)

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm amused how Ros has gone from being adamant that she doesn't like Harry Potter to full-on obsessed by the books. We shall see how it progresses.

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

I read the first two books aloud to my boy and enjoyed them a lot, and then halfway through Azkaban (still my favourite) he wanted to finish it by himself \o/ these days he doesn't read anything unless it's scientific/academic but back then he always had his nose in an HP book.... happy days!

[przed.livejournal.com]

They really do seem to lend themselves rather well to reading aloud. (My chief complaint from when I read them myself was that they have "and then" narrative construction, where it's one damn thing happening after another but with apparently thought to building to a proper climax. Which is okay when you're 8.

I'm hoping this will be Ros' gateway drug to reading. And I suspect, based on the movies, that Azkaban will also be my favourite.

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Ros and my grandson are about the same age (I think she's slightly older) and funnily enough I was wondering whether to start reading that first HP with him sometime soon. The answer, from your experience, seems to be a resounding *yes!*

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ros is 8 1/2, and is enjoying it immensely. I think a few of her friends started reading them last year, so your grandson is probably at a good age to start.

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

You know, I rather think the first couple of HP books are particularly well-suited for being read aloud. They flow, they have emotion (without being particularly in-depth), they have funny bits that you don't actually want to think too deeply about. So, yay! What a great experience for you two! \o/

[przed.livejournal.com]

I was surprised how well they read aloud. As an adult reading for pleasure the structure of the first book made me insane. (It's all "and then this happened" with little to no build to a payoff at the end.) Reading to a kid, a chapter a night, that's perfectly okay. And so far, judging by Ros' reaction, it's far funnier than I remembered. A definite yay!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

That's how I got into HP - read the first book aloud to my class because the previous teacher had started it and then ended up borrowing the rest of the series from one of the kids. Bought my own copy of the final volume because I'd retired... And then went for HP fanfic which of course 'exploded' when the films took off. I have all the films. I read a lot of the fic. I've even written some, but only as crossovers with Spooks, and Lewis.

Incidentally, The Hobbit is a good readaloud with that age group too.

[przed.livejournal.com]

You wrote a HP crossover with Spooks?! I'm off to find that now. (I'm stuck at home for the day for a stupid/nasty medical test and need distraction from the tube down my throat.)

HP does seem to work rather well as a read aloud experience. I've been debating trying The Hobbit soon. (I was about Ros' age when my mom read it to me.) But Ros has been resistant on the grounds that if her parents like it, it can't be good. *g* (The teenage years are going to be sooooo interesting.)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

A Season's Magic, on my AO3. Enjoy!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Just found it. Yay!

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

My brother used to read them aloud to my mother as part of his reading improvement. That was how we all learnt that 'Hermione' is not pronounced Her-moyn *g*

The books do age with Harry - the first few are really great for younger children, the latter ones get longer and darker, as you probably know. I was 11 when the first one came out, and read the last one on the day of its release when I was about 21. I do wonder what it would be like to read them all close together, and at the same age...

[przed.livejournal.com]

That was how we all learnt that 'Hermione' is not pronounced Her-moyn *g*

Hee! I knew Hermione from The Winter's Tale long before HP came out, but the computer science major Sweetie thought it was pronounced Herm-Me-Own until he saw the first movie. Which of course, I cannot let him forget because I'm evil that way.

I've been wondering about what we're going to do if Ros keeps with the books and wants to read the later ones. This is the kid who made me stop reading The Wizard of Oz because she was convinced the lion died in the poppy field and wouldn't be convinced otherwise. It will be interesting.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

In terms of reading the later ones, whether an 8 year old can put up with 300+ pages is another aspect, I suppose? You could try a lateral move to similar books more firmly in the 'children' genre like 'The Worst Witch' books by Jill Murphy (which were sort of the Harry Potter of my earlier childhood) or the wonderful Eva Ibbotson, whose 'Secret of Platform 13' reminds that there's been a long pre-Rowling tradition of mystery magic platforms at Kings Cross *g* (Ibbotson is INCREDIBLE, in my view. Her YA novels are fun, but her stuff for children is the best, especially 'Which Witch')

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

It's going to be such a great memory for the pair of you anyway. My mother always read to us but what sticks in my mind are the books where we got to the "chapter a night" ones.

[przed.livejournal.com]

So far it's been a blast. Especially last night, with her giggling hysterically as the Dursleys go to more and more insane lengths to avoid the Hogwarts letters. *g*

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Now you have to take her to Universal! Get multi-park tickets and stay on site so you can get their equivalent of a FastPass.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling we'll be doing Florida again next year (Ros and Don want to be on the every two years to Disney plan) and I suspect Universal will be a necessary visit.

This year she'll have to be content with the London Potter studios and a visit to the 9 3/4 platform at Kings Cross station.

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! I tried reading Potter to my daughter back when but she wasn't interested. She now owns the movies, but doesn't really watch them. I recall tearing through the first couple books with enthusiasm--yes, not the best written, but a wonderful blend of boarding school books (one of my fave genres) and magic (another fave). So win-win. What was also fascinating was getting the British versions because there really are differences.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I was sooo looking forward to reading the first one, because boarding school + magic sounded awesome. But it just didn't do it for me at the time. (Diane Duane's Young Wizard books and Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising cycle mine similar territories so much better.) But seeing them fresh through Ros' eyes, when she doesn't have other similar narrative to filter them through, that's making it work for me completely.

Fortunately, in Canada we always get the British versions! Benefit of being part of the Commonwealth. ;-)