Twilight

[kmmmom]

I second the recommendation of the Pendragon series. My son loved them and they are somewhat on the same level as the Harry Potter series. The important thing is to continue to give him lots of options so you don't squelch his love of reading. He is going to be the loser of a power struggle between the adults in his life.

Do kids still read the goosebump books? I know my daughter loved them at that age.

[puakinikini]

Latte - I forgot to add that I appreciated your disclaimer at the end of your message. I, too, am aware that I was not a normal reader - I had read everything by John Steinbeck by the 8th grade (including the Grapes of Wrath). I talked my parents into vacationing in Monterey, CA so I could see his house and the places he wrote about. Yes, I was a book worm from early on!

[Berrykarrie]

I read the whole series -- and I would think that they are very clean. I would say they are a great read! LOVED THEM!!
True there is mention of the word sex there in the last book a few times...but its not like they go into any details...plus they were married -- (and what kid today doesnt here the word sex at school, YKWIM?) The last book says something about she meets him outside...and then they wake up in each others arms..notice the bed broken..ect... there are no major details...
Plus the vampires in this book are not as gory as I would think other vampire books are.. just my opinion..
These books are GREAT!! I am sure you will LOVE them!!

[billig]

pookinikini, do you every just take the kids and hang out at the library for an hour? I recommend going all together as a family and just let the kids look at what they want in the kids section.
The librarians are pretty knowledgable about what kids are into reading for their age or match up interests with books the kids have already enjoyed.
Sometimes just the freedom to look at whatever they want encourages their self power for decision making.
And when they each get a library card...talk about empowerment! Their own library card! How cool is that? And lessons on the responsiblity...being able to check their account online, etc, etc.

I LOVE going to the library...and I found out a little while ago that the Mpls library has a membership to ancestry.com and allows members to use it for free for 2 hours at a time so I can head down there this winter to do some family research.
Our county library service is huge, and includes the other counties around it. When I'm searching for a book I can't find, I can search on a database for the entire state of Minnesota and request books.

At my last family reunion, a section of our ancestry is from the Czech Republic. I took out two JR. High level books about the Czech republic and it's history. I brought them to the reunion and just left them on a table to see what would happen. I saw atleast 25% of the people at the reunion had looked at the books and discussed the contents with other family members.

Can you tell I think books are amazing???

[MrsPinecone]

Originally Posted by ladywaterwind I gave my opinion without having read the books. But if there is sex in it? No way in hell.

There are many adult themes in the books that 10 year olds should not be exposed to. I was a voracious reader, and my mom would not have let me read these at 10.

The first 3 books are pretty tame, sexually, but there are some fairly violent scenes that I would not let a kid under about 13-14 read. The last book is pretty blatantly sexual. The description of the wedding night results in a broken bed. Unless you are willing to have a deep "talk" with your preteen, I'd rethink allowing them to read the books.

There are also some very adult themes running through all of them. The main characters repeatedly talk about how they would die rather than be apart. Bella's attitude of 'I am going to pout until you turn me into a vampire' can be disturbing. Overall, not messages that preteens could cope with.

I STRONGLY recommend that you read the books you buy for your kids before you let them read unsupervised. I doubt that any librarian would suggest the Twilight series for a 10 year old.

[couponnewbiemich]

Originally Posted by MrsPinecone There are many adult themes in the books that 10 year olds should not be exposed to. I was a voracious reader, and my mom would not have let me read these at 10. The first 3 books are pretty tame, sexually, but there are some fairly violent scenes that I would not let a kid under about 13-14 read. The last book is pretty blatantly sexual. The description of the wedding night results in a broken bed. Unless you are willing to have a deep "talk" with your preteen, I'd rethink allowing them to read the books. There are also some very adult themes running through all of them. The main characters repeatedly talk about how they would die rather than be apart. Bella's attitude of 'I am going to pout until you turn me into a vampire' can be disturbing. Overall, not messages that preteens could cope with. I STRONGLY recommend that you read the books you buy for your kids before you let them read unsupervised. I doubt that any librarian would suggest the Twilight series for a 10 year old.

I am in no way a prude, but I completely agree with you about there being some very adult themes within the book. My daughter is going to be 12 next month, and even then I was a bit reluctant to let her read these.

The only reason why it didn't bother me that much is because the school has already spoiled the "birds and bees" talk for me, as my daughter came home not too long ago with homework detailing what vaginal, oral and anal sex was.

The rant that followed is another topic but as far as the book series, I suppose it's really up to every parent to determine what's appropriate for their children. Read the book yourself, and then decide whether it is something you want your child reading is always the best course of action.

[isaiahsmom21]

I would not let a 10 yr old read it. Thats just my opinion. I will also have to deal with a similar situation. My son is only 4, but his father has already told me he doesn't want ds to read Harry Potter. Too late, he has already seen the movies and I will let them read him while he is with me if he want to.

[purplefdu]

Whats the movie rating (has it been rated yet? last I saw an ad it hadn't been rated)? If the movie comes out tamer than the book you can probably pick up the book based on the movie with the scene pics instead of the original novel or something more appropriate. I know we did this with Narnia for my oldest niece, who got peeved but was told she wasn't old enough for the full book. Barnes and Noble had at least 5 differnt versions of Narnia for different age levels.

I read LOTR before I was in middle school and have always read horror novels. I turned out just fine, but it doesn't mean I would allow my kids to do the same. I often had the librarian to help me pick appropriate books out. I gave the one a run for her money trying to keep ahead of me once I read through the entire kids section. Luckily I like animal non-fiction books too.

I'd have DH try to discuss why he can't read the book but can watch the movie with the other mom. There need to be some better consistent ideas as far as suitable reading and viewing material.

[sns4063]

I work pt in a public library and the we just don't have enough copies of those Stephanie Meyer books! They are very popular right now, but I really haven't seen any kids under say 13-14 checking out those books. My coworker has a daughter that is almost 13 and she is barely letting her child read them (and that's after my friend listening to the entire audio book first to preview it).

Personally, I don't think I would want to tick off the mom here, especially since the book isn't even age appropriate for the child. Just because it's in a juvenile fiction section of the book store/library, it doesn't mean it's appropriate for all children. I agree though, that all parents involved need to sit down and have a discussion on which books are ok for the child. If either parent feels uncomfortable letting the child read certain genres, I think that should be respected, since I'm sure that the other parents wouldn't want things done behind their backs that they wouldn't approve.

[isis]

The movie is rated PG13 for violence and a scene of sensuality.
S.Meyer had alot of influence over the script and said she wouldn't see it herself if it was rated higher.

I think 10 is a bit too young for the books. Twilight is a very quick read, and even though its a YA novel, the underlying themes are more adult as the series progresses.