Actually, my 8 year old does hang out at the public library by himself. It's a one room suburban division housed in the elementary school where he happens to have music lessons, and he goes there after his lessons to wait to be picked up whenever it is convenient for us. In theory, I could control what he checks out when I pick him up, but in fact he is too anxious to be adventurous, and would hardly move out children's nonfiction or beyond the famous five if I did not explicitly encourage him. I have to admit that I'd want to be given a heads up by the librarian if she thought he was checking out anything she considered unsuitable, but of course it isn't her decision, it would make me mad if a school librarian felt it incumbent upon her to enforce grade levels! Isn't this the school that's also houses the districts gifted program his sister is already at?! She should be familiar with out of level readers!
