CCBC-Net Archives
[CCBC-Net] Kids reading Harry Potter
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Ryan, Pat <PRyan>
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 11:57:08 -0700
Well said, AND we could not keep the books on the shelf for years before the first book came out as a film.
Patricia Ryan, Children's Librarian Union City Library 510-745-1464 ext. 19
________________________________
From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu on behalf of Almagor, Lelac Sent: Mon 5/8/2006 10:19 AM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: [CCBC-Net] Kids reading Harry Potter
I confess that I don't quite see the problem with younger readers who are enjoying the Harry Potter books only because they're hearing them read aloud, or who are reading the books and only fuzzily understanding them, or who are watching the movies and then reading the books. If they are loving story and loving language, is it important to question whether they are "really" "reading"?
This post seems to begin by doubting whether children of any age are actually reading the books. I'm sure there are some kids who own the whole set and have read none -- but my experience in both my current
(affluent, independent) and previous (inner-city charter) school has been that elementary-age children read these books enthusiastically, repeatedly, and cover to cover. There's something about their rhythm -- episodic, repetitive, yet steadily suspenseful -- that welcomes readers at a variety of ability levels, and they are great "gateway" reading to harder novels!
My fifth graders quote confidently from the entire series (with the possible exception of Order of the Phoenix, which was a bit too dense for them) and they do mention a childhood nostalgia -- "I loved these when I was little!"
(And going back to our previous discussion: Harry Potter has been a useful reference point for learning about fascism. They were thunderstruck when they began to notice Rowling's deliberate allusions...)
Ms. Lelac Almagor Grade Five English Writing Center National Cathedral School for Girls www.ncsforgirls.org/lalmagor/ lalmagor at cathedral.org 202-537-2312
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Mon 08 May 2006 01:57:08 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 11:57:08 -0700
Well said, AND we could not keep the books on the shelf for years before the first book came out as a film.
Patricia Ryan, Children's Librarian Union City Library 510-745-1464 ext. 19
________________________________
From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu on behalf of Almagor, Lelac Sent: Mon 5/8/2006 10:19 AM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: [CCBC-Net] Kids reading Harry Potter
I confess that I don't quite see the problem with younger readers who are enjoying the Harry Potter books only because they're hearing them read aloud, or who are reading the books and only fuzzily understanding them, or who are watching the movies and then reading the books. If they are loving story and loving language, is it important to question whether they are "really" "reading"?
This post seems to begin by doubting whether children of any age are actually reading the books. I'm sure there are some kids who own the whole set and have read none -- but my experience in both my current
(affluent, independent) and previous (inner-city charter) school has been that elementary-age children read these books enthusiastically, repeatedly, and cover to cover. There's something about their rhythm -- episodic, repetitive, yet steadily suspenseful -- that welcomes readers at a variety of ability levels, and they are great "gateway" reading to harder novels!
My fifth graders quote confidently from the entire series (with the possible exception of Order of the Phoenix, which was a bit too dense for them) and they do mention a childhood nostalgia -- "I loved these when I was little!"
(And going back to our previous discussion: Harry Potter has been a useful reference point for learning about fascism. They were thunderstruck when they began to notice Rowling's deliberate allusions...)
Ms. Lelac Almagor Grade Five English Writing Center National Cathedral School for Girls www.ncsforgirls.org/lalmagor/ lalmagor at cathedral.org 202-537-2312
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Mon 08 May 2006 01:57:08 PM CDT
