Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion The joy of Harry Potter- just had to share

...okay, I admit it, I am 42 and have been a Harry Potter Fan for years :-) DH and I have been discussing whether or not DS7 (who is VERY sensitive to watching/reading scary things) would be ready or not to dive into Harry Potter....we started the first book and then he saw the first video at the store tonight and asked if we could get it for Movie Night tonight...well, looks like he is officially hooked as well - there is just something magical about watching a kid become so engrossed in something and then be so excited afterwards :-) DS7 hasn't been much of a reading for fun kid- more of a read for information, I think this may open the door to the fact that books can be really super cool :-)

I, too, am an avid fan of the books and had the same hesitancy over letting my DS8 read them. We started them because the first grader in his gifted pull out was reading them. We are working on book six right now. He reads the books at school and I read to him at night before bed. Book five led to some lengthy discussions on the politics of fear and how it is easier for some people to deny what they are afraid of rather than face it. Actually, all of the books have led to some pretty good conversations about human nature and good and evil (and the grey areas in between.)

**spoiler alert** I am really worried about the final book. He asked me straight out if Dumbledore dies prior to our beginning book six, and I have a policy of never lying to him, so he is prepared for that. He has not asked me about the siblings of Ron and the twins are some of his favorite characters. I am not sure how he will handle that one. He did not seem to have much of a problem with Sirius, but I don't think he was attached to the character like he is with the twins.

Interestingly, we were in Toronto last week and went to the Science Center there and were all excited about a Harry Potter exhibit. It was expensive, but since it was vacation, I happily paid the price and in we went. It turned out to be nothing more than movie props and costumes. I kept my thoughts to myself, not wanting to ruin it for him, but then he turned to me and expressed his disappointment. He was even disappointed by the gift shop - "there is really nothing here worth spending money on." Which, to me was a lesson well worth the price of admission.

Belle,

That's exciting, especially if it opens the door to the possibility of the fictional world.

We, too, love Harry Potter and can't wait for the next movie.

We're Harry Potter fans here, too! My 5 year old son fell in love with them a few months ago. He got my husband and me hooked, too, and for several weeks we were snuggling up near each other and trading the books. (I was worried that he was too young for the scary parts, but I was more stressed out than him!) We're homeschoolers, and our charter gave us some great HP language arts portals which led to fabulous creative writing projects.

We're going to Universal next summer. I hope he's still into HP then, because it looks really fabulous!

We are right there with you! I was the first one in the family hooked. I'm thinking of starting the series again with my kindegartner. We might of going to visit HP Universe next winter and we are typically not theme park vacationers. Can't wait for the movies either!

My DS is particularly sensitive in a similar way but we've taken the leap here too (spurred on by his love of the Harry Potter video game) and he is loving it. We have a rule, he can't watch the film until he has read the book, so he's very motivated lol!

My young one, 8, just finished the final book. Funnily enough the only tears shed were for Dobby the house elf .

He loved the book so much he read in within a week . He's now started it again!

When my dd read the book the day it came out she also cried for Dobby and was not so touched by Dumbledoore. But she really cried for Dobby...

When my then DD7 read the first book, she had nightmares about the Voldemort creature/character slithering through the forbidden forest (curiously she did not find the person with two faces disturbing). She's now 10 and has read many books that I would consider to be much scarier. She has no interest in reading HP to this day even though everyone in her class has read them multiple times. I wish that we had waited because I think she will miss out on a great series. For her, it would have been better to wait a year or two.