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June 05, 2008
say "NO" to age banding!
"From the autumn, book covers will bear a sign stating they are intended for readers aged 5+, 7+, 9+, 11+ and 13+/teen.""I have had letters from children of seven who say they have read all the way through His Dark Materials and they have an astonishing knowledge of it. But not every child is the same. A child of nine might be tentative and unsure about reading, and to give them a book that says 9+ will reinforce their sense of failure. The book should be suited to the individual child."
--(quote from Philip Pullman)
Posted by michele at June 5, 2008 10:46 AM
Comments
Grah. One more way in which parents can rely on outside influences to raise their kids for them. Is it really so tough to just talk to your kids? If they have questions about what they read, maybe parents and teachers could be there to answer them, instead of arranging the reading materials so questions never come up.
I remember when I was maybe ten or eleven, I was reading one of my mom’s books. She got very nervous because it had a realistic sex scene in it and she was worried it would disturb me. So she said, hey, if you want to talk about that scene, we can talk about it. SO EASY.
Posted by: Kris at June 5, 2008 11:15 AM