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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 5:46am | IP Logged
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My children are always required to read a book before they see the movie. It has been a great motivator for them to start more difficult books like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
But, my dd, who hadn't read the books yet stayed the night at a friends and they watched the first movie. My dd is alot like me in that some movies are just too much for her and this is one of them. (I only watched the first movie in that series with my dh and I wont watch the rest. Too intense for me.)
The problem is, to this day I can't get her to read those books. She's afraid of them. I feel like she's missing out on so much. She wont even read the Hobbit. This dd is in 8th grade. Maybe I should just let this go since there are so many great books to be read. I just really wish she had read the Tolkien books first. I think she would have handled them just fine but the movie brings up creepy images she just can't get past.
I guess this is more of a comment than a question. Just rambling...
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leanne maree
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 6:04am | IP Logged
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Hi Becky,
I remember wanting Lord of the Rings at the movies. I was horrified as it wasn't want I had imagined in the book.
We have this same rule in our house regarding movies. I think nearly everyone on this board would agree with you there.
Its also hard isn't it when our dc say overnight and they see movies we wouldn't agree with.
leanne
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Mimip
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 9:11am | IP Logged
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Becky,
While my daughter has not seen the LOTR movies, she has been too scared to read the books. All of her friends have read the books AND seen the movies. (She is in 7th grade and the majority of her friends are homeschooled boys because of the ages of the homeschooled kids around us.) They have all tried without it doing any good to get my daughter to read the books but she has said no to each attempt.
Hubby and I talked about it and realized that there is such a wealth of other books that we should let this one go until she is comfortable and ready for them. She too is extremely sensitive to scary scenes and just this past moth started reading The Ranger's Apprentice, a book that I feel most 9-11 year olds could handle. 
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Maureen
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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Personally, I think the LOTR books should be read when the children are old enough to glean the beauty and the catholic images from them. My oldest read them her freshman year in college; although, I think high school would probably also be a good age. So much is missed when these "rich" books are read so young.
Maybe she'll be ready to take a look at them a few years down the line. 
Maureen
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 11:54am | IP Logged
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Yeah, those books have so much to offer, that reading them early is really only an introduction.. For me these were a read them early and read them often series  I attempted to read them in 6th grade and got bogged down in all the names. Then I read them in 7th grade and every year after that for about 10 years. Read them every couple of years for another couple of times had a large break, reread them when the movies came out, and then just recently read them again. 
But some people never particularly care to read the books. AND even without having seen the movie there's parts of the book that are REALLY CREEPY.. so that if you're sensitive to it, reading the books can be just as bad.
BUT the Hobbit is a GREAT read aloud if you feel you just must introduce some Tolkein.. or how about the Father Christmas stories?
And mostly I just wouldn't worry about any one particular book as being a must be read by everyone, way to many choices to be that limited.
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Oct 24 2012 at 3:04pm | IP Logged
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Well, I've never been a fan of this type book. Honestly haven't ever read any of the books or ever seen the movies (just have had no appeal to me).  Anyway, I say that because now DS (hence me) is reading The Hobbit in his 5th/6th grade co-op class. We've been doing it as a read aloud but I.can't.get.through.it. I don't recall ever struggling so much with a book in a long time but the details, the length of the chapters and the type of storyline just doesn't appeal to me. The sad part is that I think if DS were up to this reading level he WOULD prob. enjoy it. Not sure though b/c I think the vast amount of details might be too overwhelming for him although he would prob. enjoy more of this genre than me.
Kind of like your comment...maybe I'm just rambling...
I was going to let him see the movie in Dec when it comes out but now I'm rethinking that. Someone keep us posted on that movie.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 25 2012 at 6:58am | IP Logged
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Thanks for all the comments ladies. Maybe I should just let this go. Not sure why I'm so worried about such things. It's not like I don't have anything else to do! She does read and she really enjoys certain types of literature... Little Women, Pride and Predjudice, etc. I should just be thankful for that I guess.
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Becky Parker
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But I would like to know what the HObbit movie is like. Ds really wants to see it!
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Oct 25 2012 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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I didn't read LOTR until I was 25 and the reason dh and I picked it up was because we wanted to see the movie. I have the same rule around here -- no watching a movie until you've read the book. I agree that I'd let Tolkien go with your daughter. She may grow into it someday...or maybe not. She is obviously reading great literature and there is soo much out there! When we want the kids to read something that might be "too much" for some, dh and I read aloud so that we can edit as necessary.
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Mackfam
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I just thought I'd be completely scandalous and say that we let our kids (11, 15) watch the movie (with us) before they read the books. I can't say I disagree with ANY of the reasons NOT to do this (movie before book)...it's just not been a hill we wanted to die on. So, we let them! Dh and I both really enjoyed the movie and thought it very well done which probably factored into us agreeing. AFTER they watched the movie they BOTH picked up the book series starting with The Hobbit and then moving through LOTR and were completely enthralled. I found they enjoyed telling us about the areas where the LOTR books were different from the movies and they really enjoyed the differences as well as the extra detail in the books.
That was just for scandal purposes!
In terms of your question/concern about your dd, Becky, I think you're wise not to push it or worry about it. Different children have very differing sensitivities and they just seem to inherently *know* their own sensitivity level. I remember knowing mine at that age - and someone trespassed on it (group thing...horror movie) and I was very scarred from it. It sounds like your dd has a very healthy sense of her sensitivity and is observing it. I think that's FANTASTIC!
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JodieLyn
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Jen, I've found that with my kids I don't use that rule either. They love or hate the books and movies as seperate entities and they love comparing without malice movies to books. So they can love the movie and still point out where the book is different and love the book and still enjoy the movie whether it follows along well or not. WHICH also means that if you see the movie for a difficult book first it can help you through the book. I did that myself with The Hunt For Red October. DH read the books and I simply couldn't manage (too many new things to remember in the way of acrynoms and such) but after seeing the movie I was able to plow my way through the book, because I had the movie helping me keep straight who was who. And then once I'd read the book, I could read another similiar books because I'd started to get familiar with the nomenclature.
The ones I really care about them reading first I will often do as a read aloud. We did that with Narnia. That is one of my favorite memories because I can so clearly remember my oldest two literally on the edge of their seat hanging on every word as I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe..
And the reverse I let them see Percy Jackson before reading the books and it helped boost my son into reading those on his own.
And so I'll do something like last year for Christmas we gave the girls the Anne of Green Gables books and movie and let them do whatever they wanted.
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pumpkinmom
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Mackfam wrote:
I just thought I'd be completely scandalous and say that we let our kids (11, 15) watch the movie (with us) before they read the books. I can't say I disagree with ANY of the reasons NOT to do this (movie before book)...it's just not been a hill we wanted to die on. So, we let them! Dh and I both really enjoyed the movie and thought it very well done which probably factored into us agreeing. AFTER they watched the movie they BOTH picked up the book series starting with The Hobbit and then moving through LOTR and were completely enthralled. I found they enjoyed telling us about the areas where the LOTR books were different from the movies and they really enjoyed the differences as well as the extra detail in the books.
That was just for scandal purposes!
In terms of your question/concern about your dd, Becky, I think you're wise not to push it or worry about it. Different children have very differing sensitivities and they just seem to inherently *know* their own sensitivity level. I remember knowing mine at that age - and someone trespassed on it (group thing...horror movie) and I was very scarred from it. It sounds like your dd has a very healthy sense of her sensitivity and is observing it. I think that's FANTASTIC! |
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 What Jen said! The rule for the book first and movie second was a must when my oldest was smaller. Now each movie/book is a different call in our family. I have never read this series and I don't know if I will. I wouldn't push books that my kids have no interest. Of course I would mentioned it regularly to see if their interest changed (which happens all the time here) and I may do some stewing to encourage reading it.
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CatholicMommy
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Short story - if she's not into them, don't push them. She may come around later and she might not. Either way is fine. It's not the Bible we're discussing here ;)
I personally LOVED the Hobbit when I was younger (middle school before I got into it, really; but I was reading far above that reading level since I was 7). But all through high school I could never make it more than half-way into Fellowship of the Ring. It's not that I didn't like it, or found it scary - I just couldn't keep reading.
So I finally set it aside and skipped to the next book. LOVED it. Read the 3rd. Love it MORE! Tried to re-read Fellowship and got NOWHERE fast.
Then I saw the first Jackson movie in college and was able to go back and read the book - and even enjoy it!
Flash-forward several years; I did not intend for my son to watch the movies until he was much older, but somehow it happened. He'd found the books on the shelf, had started to read them, skipped some chapters or sections (the Long Expected Party bored him to tears at first; Tom Bombadil held no interest for him) - but then he read them a second time and filled in the skipped sections. And he LOVED them all. He was 6 1/2 to 7th birthday at the time. Ever since he started his second time through HE has been identifying Christian symbology to ME, so the little ones don't necessarily miss out on it!
So we watched the movies. Then he started saving up his money to buy the extended editions. And now he is in an online class of other middle schoolers, with one of my favorite college professors.
So for HIM, it is a great series of books. For ME, I could do the Hobbit but needed the movies to really get the first book.
I didn't really find any of it scary and I was a sensitive child too, but perhaps in a different way. I grew up with violence in my home, so violence in a book that had a guaranteed happy ending was perhaps a balm!
My son - he just likes adventure. The typological possibilities are icing on the cake ;)
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Sensitive child wont read Tolkien
