we (I and my DD6) were reading that book this weekend, she did not have any problem in reading, but subject of single parent, loneliness and other 'world full of aching heart' subject, by the end of penultimate chapter she was telling "this is kind of boring, I think we should finish this book soon" we finished by 9PM. I can tell she did not enjoy that becuase of the subject. Then she picked up geronimo stilton book, fieldtrip to niagara and she read that book completely by 10.30- 11pm and slept. She seemed enjoyed reading geronimo book so much

I felt that it was either age thing (just turned 6) or maturity thing (she is born as adult, we feel), or lack of illustrations (she prefers) just putting it here to hear comments and similar experiences from forum

My dd has never liked that author. I think she finds the emotions in them overwhelming. So yours isn't the only one.

It's hard to find books that are both academically appropriate and emotionally appropriate. We own Because of Winn Dixie, and it went on the "probably too old" stack when DD was 6. I think she was capable of reading it, but even at 8, I don't think she'd enjoy reading it.

Same thing here with DS 5, he is capable of reading way older than he is emotionally ready for. But we have had to accept some issues simply because he is so bored with material on his emotional level. Like, I have noticed that almost every interesting fantasy book has orphaned kids and its the losing of parents which produces the interesting mystery or opportunity - I was worried this would make DS upset and he would relate it to losing his parents. From his point of view -its the scary factor - but its hard to know what he is becoming emotionally comfortable with as the growth isn't as evident as other development!

DeHe

I still find books of that sort emotionally overwhelming, so it's not just kids.