How to Get Your Child Started on Harry Potter Books

Children all over the world are enjoying the adventures of Harry Potter, a young wizard-in-training who escapes his loveless foster family to attend Hogwarts school for wizards and witches. But how can you tell if your child is ready to start reading Harry Potter books?

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Consider your child's age and maturity level. The Harry Potter books seem to be designed primarily for the 9-to-12 age group, although many younger children also enjoy them, and many adults absolutely love them.
2. Think about your child's tastes. Does he like fantasy and adventure? If so, he may be ready to meet Harry Potter and friends.
3. Get the books in the right order. There's nothing worse than being dropped into book two or three of a series without having read book one. The first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," is really the only place to start, since it contains the background information your child will need to know to enjoy the entire series.
4. Read the books to, or with, your child. That way, you'll be able to discuss the stories together.
5. Brush up on your Britishisms. The Harry Potter books are written in a decidedly British style, with some bits of dialect involved, so you may need to explain some of the terms and pronunciations to your child.
6. Remember that the target age range of the series may change slightly as further books are released. Seven titles are planned, and they should be released at the rate of about one per year ' one for each year of Harry Potter's education.

Tips & Warnings

• "Hermione" is pronounced "Her-MY-oh-knee," not "HER-mee-own." This question comes up often on the online Harry Potter discussion boards.
• Don't worry if you hear people talking about "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" ' you haven't missed a book. The word "philosopher" was just replaced with the word "sorcerer" for the U.S. market.