Harry Potter IS bad for kids!

[zakur]

Harry Potter and the Reader's Poundage Headache

Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest Washington, was alerted to the peril when three patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that they had been suffering from headaches for two or three days.

"In each case, the headache was dull and the pain fluctuated throughout the day," Bennett wrote in a letter published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

One child also complained of neck and wrist pain, but none had a fever or any other symptoms that would suggest he was suffering from something serious, such as an infection or neurological problem, he said.

"On further questioning, it was determined that each child had spent many hours reading J.K. Rowling's latest book in the Harry Potter series," Bennett wrote in the letter, which journal editors titled "Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles."

In Rowling's series, Hogwarts is the name of the school for witches and wizards that the bespectacled Harry Potter attends, and Muggles is the name applied to humans.

"The presumed diagnosis for each child was a tension headache brought on by the effort required to plow through an 870-page book. The obvious cure for this malady -- that is, taking a break from reading -- was rejected by two of the patients, who preferred acetaminophen instead," Bennett wrote, referring to the painkiller sold as Tylenol and other brand names.

 

[Charles Livingston]

Harry Potter is the devil.

 

[CFLarsen]

Somehow, I feel good about kids getting a headache from not being able to put down a book...and that book is not the Bible...

If reading Harry Potter will get kids to read more, then a few Advils or Tylenols are quite OK. Just remember that the kids themselves are driving them. Not their parents, not their teachers.

They plow through an 870-pages book by themselves? That's dedication. That's the drive we need in kids.

If only a few of these kids get the feeling that reading a book to learn new things is not a debilitating obstacle, then it is worth it.

870 pages?? Jeebus Jehumping Jehova...

Wow.

 

[Tricky]

Harry Potter is the devil.

I guess that means Lord Voldemort is God.

 

[Mr Manifesto]

I read Stephen King's It when I was 13 in two days. I don't remember getting a headache. I sniff post hoc reasoning.

 

[rdaneel]

I started reading Stephen Kings "Christine" around the same age. No headaches, but some sleeplessness. First because I couldn't put the book down, then because I was afraid to turn out the lights (finished the book at dawn)

 

[Ed]

Somehow, I feel good about kids getting a headache from not being able to put down a book...and that book is not the Bible...

If reading Harry Potter will get kids to read more, then a few Advils or Tylenols are quite OK. Just remember that the kids themselves are driving them. Not their parents, not their teachers.

They plow through an 870-pages book by themselves? That's dedication. That's the drive we need in kids.

If only a few of these kids get the feeling that reading a book to learn new things is not a debilitating obstacle, then it is worth it.

870 pages?? Jeebus Jehumping Jehova...

Wow.

Agree completely. HP has gotten lots of kids to read where before there was no interest. Two of my daughters, for example. The older on, 35, (just kidding) decided that she likes fantasy and isready to give LOTR a whirl.

Thank you harry potter.

BTW, they turned me into a newt, but I got better

 

[Ove]

My son (11) just finished the translated version in record time, my daughter (15) has read all the book in English, we got the last one in England this summer. I AM IMPRESSED.

Hail JK (Rowling not Christ) you gave the gift of reading back to kids.

 

[Flame]

Agree completely. HP has gotten lots of kids to read where before there was no interest. Two of my daughters, for example. The older on, 35, (just kidding) decided that she likes fantasy and isready to give LOTR a whirl.

Thank you harry potter.

BTW, they turned me into a newt, but I got better

Our 8 &1/2 year old daughter has read (and reread) all five HP books on her own.
Just yesterday she asked me if I would allow her to read LOTR yet.

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

I think it's great that kids are reading, so long as it's age appropriate.

Toni

 

[zakur]

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

LOTR, yes. Still a bit young IMHO. She might enjoy The Hobbit though, if she hasn't already read it.

The Children's/Teens Dept. here at my library has prepared a list of recommended fantasy titles for the legions of kids who have finished Harry Potter and want more. PM me if you're interested and I'll send it to you.

 

[Mark]

Our 8 &1/2 year old daughter has read (and reread) all five HP books on her own.
Just yesterday she asked me if I would allow her to read LOTR yet.

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?



Toni

Perhaps too young, simply because of how complicated everything is the first time you read it. That said, I was 11 the first time, and have read it 20-30 times since. I do have a life, though. No, really. I do. Honest. Stop giggling.

 

[DrMatt]

Every time I see references to HP books here, first I stop myself and say "no, they're not all reading Lovecraft's schlock". Then I stop myself and say "no, they're not all reading the technical documentation for PCL 6."

 

[CFLarsen]

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

Have her try Astrid Lindgren "The Brothers Lionheart". Very very good story. A bit sad, too.

 

[Chaos]

Our 8 &1/2 year old daughter has read (and reread) all five HP books on her own.
Just yesterday she asked me if I would allow her to read LOTR yet.

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

I think it's great that kids are reading, so long as it's age appropriate.

Toni

I agree with Mark and Zakur. I´d wait until she is 12 or so before I let her read LOTR. The Hobbit is fine, however (it was actually meant to be a children´s book, after all). Or get her the "Chronicles of Narnia".

 

[Flame]

I agree with Mark and Zakur. I´d wait until she is 12 or so before I let her read LOTR. The Hobbit is fine, however (it was actually meant to be a children´s book, after all). Or get her the "Chronicles of Narnia".

Madison owns all of the Narnia books (she hasn't made the religious connections).
She actually has near one hundred books I'd say and she's read them all more than once!
Always happy for suggestions for more reading for her though !

Toni

 

[Ossai]

She might like the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)
The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book 2)
The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3)


Besides the Disc World series, Terry Pratchett has written quiet a few childrens books.

Ossai

 

[epepke]

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

Maybe, but you should let her try anyway, if she wants to. Certainly she should be able to handle The Hobbit.

At 8.5, I think my favorite book was To Kill a Mockingbird. I also got into some of the Agatha Christie mysteries.

 

[Abdul Alhazred]

My son (11) just finished the translated version in record time, my daughter (15) has read all the book in English,

I'm curious. Other than Danish (I assume) what languages has it been translated into?

I'm hoping Arabic. Won't that be a flame war!

we got the last one in England this summer. I AM IMPRESSED.

Applause to your kids!

 

[sorgoth]

Our 8 &1/2 year old daughter has read (and reread) all five HP books on her own.
Just yesterday she asked me if I would allow her to read LOTR yet.

I think she's too young for LOTR what do you think?

I think it's great that kids are reading, so long as it's age appropriate.

Toni

Something by Tamora Pierce, maybe. She might enjoy relating with the main characters.



I am not embarrased to say that the fifth Harry Potter book captivated me. It's not just good writing for kids...it's good writing, period.

 

[Terry]

Madison owns all of the Narnia books (she hasn't made the religious connections).
She actually has near one hundred books I'd say and she's read them all more than once!
Always happy for suggestions for more reading for her though !

Toni

Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy was pretty good. I think it's recommended for 12 and up though, so probably a bit scary right now.

--Terry.