[quote=HowlerKarma][quote=ultramarina
[i]Madame Bovary was apparently "on level" for my then-8yo.
That brings up matters of emotional and social readiness... [/i]
These are all good points and something I personally struggled with in 2nd grade when they were only allowing the kids to check out books from the school library that were in their Lexile (AR) range. My DD brought home a book entitled Eggs (ironically right around Easter time) and I told her I wanted to read the first chapter. When I read it, I decided the content was too mature for a 7 year old (a boy who lost his mother was hallucinating that he found a dead body covered by leaves in the woods and then he befriended a girl who was kind of dark and creepy). I am sure the book would be fine for her to read now, but at 7 it was not OK.
