I can't tell if Hunter is a girl or boy from the letter. But the first piece of advice I plan on giving her is to go ask her teachers what they mean my "age appropriate", and what their suggestions are. Then I'm going to ask her what her parents think. Because yeah, my Dad was also all "She can read whatever she wants" with a side of "Look, she's developing research skills, looking for spells and charms to ward off the monsters in the closet! I'm so proud!"
You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle. Like woman, I'm a mystery.
Mal ,'Our Mrs. Reynolds'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Atropa - May 18, 2010 11:20:06 am PDT #11517 of 28344
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
Strix - May 18, 2010 11:33:43 am PDT #11518 of 28344
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Good. As a teacher, if I saw a student reading, I didn't give a flying fuck if it was "age appropriate" at all; I was all "Get on with yer bad reading self!"
I had a coworker who really wanted to ban Zane novels from classrooms (high school) and I was flat-out "No. You can do what you wish in your classroom, but if they're done with work, and reading a novel (I DID ban manga with nudity), it is up to their parents to determine what is appropriate."
Books that I knew were glorifying gang life and violence, espcially with kids I knew were mixed up with gangs, I would read, and talk with the student about what was and was not realistic and/or biased, and had some great talks with kids on some very tough subjects. Same with the Zane novels. I had a 17 y.o. girl use one as a book report and she delivered a really thoughtful analysis of relationships.
erikaj - May 18, 2010 11:46:24 am PDT #11519 of 28344
Always Anti-fascist!
I think I was twelve when I started with true-crime and I turned out...well, never mind. Although I also read a lot of Lois Duncan.
Kathy A - May 18, 2010 11:47:56 am PDT #11520 of 28344
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Me, too, erika. For my 7th grade history class, I wrote my term paper on Leopold and Loeb.
sj - May 18, 2010 11:52:20 am PDT #11521 of 28344
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
At that age I was mostly readinf trashy romance novels, and I was never told not to.
Strix - May 18, 2010 11:53:40 am PDT #11522 of 28344
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
sf, see that's what my 6th grade teacher wigged the hell out on. @@
erikaj - May 18, 2010 11:59:18 am PDT #11523 of 28344
Always Anti-fascist!
I got into my mother's Wambaugh novels and freaked her out with homely little nuggets like "Do you know people try to get high off pencil lead? Of course, it doesn't work."(I really should have changed more, don't you think?) Kathy, considering Law&Order still continually dips in that well, you've got decent taste in mayhem. When I was thirteen, I think I read "Wifey", sj. More women's fiction than romance as such, but...
Strix - May 18, 2010 12:01:24 pm PDT #11524 of 28344
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Heh, at 10 I was all up into "Clan of the Cave Bear." At 12, it was "Valley of Horses" and I was EXTREMELY popular for being able to turn right to the sexy parts and do dramatic readings by the pool in our apartment complex that summer for the girls.
Strix - May 18, 2010 12:03:12 pm PDT #11525 of 28344
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
IOAmazingLiteraryN, Edna Ferber just sent me Cialis spam.
Huh.
flea - May 18, 2010 12:03:26 pm PDT #11526 of 28344
information libertarian
I can vouch for the Spiderwick Chronicles being fine for a 5 year old. They are pitched a little older than that (protagonists are 8-10) but my 5 year old was not scared (beyond a little happy-scared), and there's nothing for normal parents to object to. (Parents who object to anything supernatural on principle would have trouble, but if you're okay with fairies, you're good.)