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Cheryl
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| Posted: Dec 15 2007 at 3:23pm | IP Logged
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My ds 7 has asked for this for Christmas. I don't know much about these books. What do you think of them? Are they appropriate as read-alouds for ages 5-9?
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Cheryl
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lapazfarm
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Perfect for that age. Actually, a 9yo could easily read them independently.
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Theresa
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Waverley
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Ok, I hate to be a prude BUT - Cheryl, I would read at least the first book before I gave it to a 7 year old. There were several things I did not like about the books for such a young reader. First, the books discuss the parents divorce and the children's feelings of abandonment by their father. Nothing necessarily wrong with this for some children and ages but you should know it might not be what you would choose to discuss with your 7 year old.
Second, I personally did not like the relationships between the siblings. There is an older daughter and a set of younger twin brothers. One brother is labeled as the trouble maker and his family frequently does not believe him or blames him for all the things that go wrong. Again, not necessarily a big big deal. It's just that there are so many other good books for kids this age that are better. I'd be happy to share a few favorites if you need some suggestions.
Hope I'm not raining on anybodies parade.
Waverley
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folklaur
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We've only read the first so far (ds is 9, but a young nine)....we thought it was fun. Maybe start out with one and see what you think, instead of getting a set?
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Cheryl
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Thank you all for your input. I actually ordered the whole set as a Christmas gift. We saw the artwork from the books at a museum and my ds 7 was begging for them. This week he told me he didn't want them anymore.  I think he's hoping for more toys for Christmas now. I'll figure out what to do when they come in.
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Dawn
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Cheryl, my oldest (12) has read them over the past few years, and liked them. (Loved them, he just corrected me.  ) He said he thought the first was all right for a 7yo, but they get a bit dark in the latter books (with a wizard trying to kidnap the parents, for instance). I have not read them myself. He is going to read them aloud to my 8yo after the holidays.
Fyi, there's a movie coming out in February ...
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KC in TX
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Dawn wrote:
I have not read them myself. He is going to read them aloud to my 8yo after the holidays.
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It just warms my heart to read about an older sibling read to a younger. It's such a beautiful sight to behold, isn't it?
Sorry--so completely off subject, but reading that just made my day.
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Waverley
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Ok, because I was feeling like a prude, I asked my teenage daughter who read them when I did and she said the first 2 books are good, its the third book where it starts to get a liitle dark. Seems she agrees with Dawn's son on that one.
It will be interesting to see how the movie is.
Waverley
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Cheryl
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I don't think you're a prude, Waverley, if you have a different opinion about the books. I'm glad to hear what everyone has to say. Thanks for the movie link, Dawn. I knew it was coming, but didn't know when.
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lapazfarm
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Waverly, I also do not think you are a prude. Plenty of folks don't like this kind of book and you are certainly entitled to express your opinion.  We all have our standards about what we think is appropriate for our children and I love that we can share them here without fear of being bashed or ridiculed, but supported and encouraged. That is what we are here for!
As far as the Spiderwick books being "dark" I don't consider them any darker than many classic fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red, etc, and in fact are quite lighter than many of the original versions of those stories. True, the kids don't get along perfectly, but we actually found them laughable and were able to find similarities within our own family 
But, our family isn't your family, nor Cheryl's family, and I am likely more lenient than many others with what I let my kids read, so take it or leave it as you wish!
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Martha
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in the first book, the kids aren't getting along and the parents have just divorced, leaving the mother in financial straits which force her to take the generous offer of living in her aunts riggity old house.
however, in future books, the family pulls together much better. kind of a banding together against a common enemy or for a common good kind of thing, kwim?
no the books do not portray the ideal, but they do portray identifiable characters, imho.
I completely agree that disagreement doesn't make one a prude or otherwise. It just means one has a different opinion. 
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Dawn
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I wanted to share my 12 yo son's review of the movie.
I liked to too, but it was a bit scarier than I expected!
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Mary Chris
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Thanks for the review Dawn. I have been meaning to ask if anyone has seen it.
Do you think an almost 8yo who has seen all the HP movies and Star Wars 1-6 would be able to handle it?
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lapazfarm
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JBug (6) saw it and loved it. She got a little scared at the end, but not too bad. She would definitely see it again if given the chance!
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cathhomeschool
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Mary Chris wrote:
| Do you think an almost 8yo who has seen all the HP movies and Star Wars 1-6 would be able to handle it? |
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Definitely. It is not nearly as dark, and the ogre and goblins aren't nearly as evil and awful looking as some of the Star Wars guys (like Greivous). I haven't seen HP movies.
My 12 and 13yo loved Spiderwick. It would have been too scary for my 5 and 6yo. (Adding that my neigbhor's 5 and 6yo thought that it was great, though they were scared at first at the climax of the movie.)
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folklaur
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My ds9 and dd5 went with DH while he was home for the weekend. They all liked it .
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mama251ders
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My husband and I took our 9yo ds's to see it and we all really liked it. I made them read the books first (I always do, it's a pretty hard and fast rule here) and my VERY reluctant reader plowed through them in 5 days! My other son was reading until we were about 1 mile away from the cinema! I am at the point with my reluctant reader that I will let him read almost anything if he really wants to! Whatever it takes and right now that is Astrix comic books. Sigh.
Blessings,
Betsie
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mariB
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I loved the movie and the boys got a kick out of that. I usually don't like this sort of thing, but I was on the edge of my seat.
We took our 11 year old for his birthday and he listened to the first 5 books of Spiderwick on CD along with his brothers and sisters first. (He got them for his birthday, too.)
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Dawn
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Mary Chris wrote:
| Do you think an almost 8yo who has seen all the HP movies and Star Wars 1-6 would be able to handle it? |
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Yes, I should have said, my 8yo is pretty sensitive to violence/scary images.
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MacBeth
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I saw the film, but I really didn't like it. The bickering drove me crazy!
Good story line...but the family relationships were miserable.
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Spiderwick
