It sounds to me like you are really leaning toward telling her she is too young and too sensitive to read this book right now, but are struggling with censoring her. My two cents - I have a really hard time with many of these subjects as an adult, particularly current events. Things stick with me and upset me for a really long time after learning about them. I have had to stop reading books as an adult because I couldn't handle the content, and sometimes I just have to turn NPR off, because I know I will relive a certain story in my head for months if I don't. If your daughter has that sensitivity to injustices in the world, she could read this book and carry its feelings around inside for a long time.
I've told DS7 and DD4 that some books are just too old for them right now (we're talking later Harry Potter books, not Anne Frank, but it's a similar concept). They can read them at a later time, but for right now, we need to let them rest. I think everyone's suggestions to talk about the book with your DD and let her make her own decisions are good, but she also doesn't have the context to know how disturbing some of what she might encounter may be. My DD4 thinks she can handle "anything" because in her mind, Scooby Doo is as scary as the world gets. My point being, their perspective is thankfully much more innocent.
More responses came through as I was writing, and I really like the suggestions people have on talking to children about difficult subjects and providing ways for them to make sense and feel some level of empowerment about what they're learning.
Last edited by Coll; 02/09/12 11:00 AM.
