Wondering if your child is at the perfect Harry Potter age for starting the books? Reading the illustrated Harry Potter series out loud together is the perfect way to introduce Harry's magical world to your family.
Last Christmas Santa brought one of my very favorite gifts: the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I've been a huge Harry Potter fan since the very beginning and I've been DYING waiting for just the right time to share him with my girls.
But Oh the agony! What is the perfect Harry Potter age for reading the story with your kids? Should kids read Harry Potter by themselves or should it be a read-aloud book as a family? Should they read Harry Potter in hardcover or paperback? What happens if your kids are different ages and one is ready for Harry but one isn't? What about the amazing Harry Potter audio versions narrated by Jim Dale, where do they fit in?
Is there any other book series in the history of the world where parents fret over these kinds of questions? I see them asked in my Facebook newsfeed all the time so I know I am not alone. It shows the intense love we feel towards Mr. Potter that we want that experience to be just right for our kids.
What is the perfect Harry Potter age??
At age 6, I know that Little Pea is nowhere near ready. But. . . the Peanut at age 9 is a different story. Many of her school classmates have read the whole series (which actually still sort of shocks me for how intense the later books get.) She has seen the books on her school library shelves as well as my personal one here at home. Santa's gift of the illustrated version really piqued her curiosity.
When I vowed to read the illustrated Harry Potter as part of my 40 Before 40 list this summer, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps now was a good time to share it with her. Though she is particularly prone to nightmares and avoids overly scary movies or books, my thought was that we could read through it slowly together and talk about the pictures in the book. We could discuss anything even mildly upsetting as it came up before it had a chance to fester in her imagination.
Why you should absolutely read the illustrated Harry Potter books with your kids:
The Harry Potter illustrated version offered countless places to pause and slow down to gaze at gorgeous illustrations. Every single page has subtle visual texture to it in the form of splatters, ages spots, and pretend rips. Then there are the breathtaking figure studies and double-page spreads sprinkled throughout the remainder.
If you want a sneak peek at even more details of the illustrations, you can see many pages in the customer photos here but I purposely avoided sharing the best ones because I think it is better to be surprised during your read-through of the book. The portrait of Harry himself is one of my very favorites and really captured just how sweet and young he is at the start of the series.
It took the Peanut and I about a month to finish our read-aloud session together since we broke it down so slowly. We had to wait for pockets of time where Little Pea was preoccupied to avoid jealous and hurt feelings that she wasn't allowed to share this special story time.
The Peanut did great and avoided all nightmares. She fell in love with Hogwarts just as I knew she would and has been begging me to read Chamber of Secrets with her. Thankfully, the illustrated version is just as good as the first!
But what surprised me most of all is that upon finishing the book, she begged to be able to read it again on her own. I've sat with that realization for a few weeks now and finally have my thoughts on how to read the Harry Potter series for the first time.
How to introduce the Harry Potter series to children:
Step 1: Read the Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone together out loud, stopping to really absorb the illustrations and chat about the book as you go.
Step 2: Allow the opportunity for your child to re-read book 1 in a non-illustrated version on his or her own. The complex vocabulary will have better context, you've already discussed the plot and it's implications. Now they can absorb it all over again on their own with better comprehension.
Step 3: Repeat with books 2 and 3, both of which are now available as illustrated books. Find Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets here and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban here.
Step 4: Let go and allow your child to finish the series on their own. The Peanut already knows that by book 4 terrible things start to happen. She's not ready for that yet but perhaps she will be by the time she finishes book 3 in the next few months. Be prepared to step in and hit a virtual pause button at any point if you feel your child is getting to the intense books a little too quickly. We had to wait YEARS for the series to finally be published, a little anticipation won't harm your child.
If the experience is going great as a family, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out in the illustrated version in November. You can get your copy here.
Our Favorite Harry Potter editions:
- The Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- The Illustrated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- The Illustrated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- The Illustrated Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- The entire series on audio book as narrated by Jim Dale: perfect for family road trips and are so completely well done that they deserve a listen no matter how many times you've read the book
P.S. Now that you've created a raving PotterHead fan, you'll want to check out these other great Harry Potter related activities for kids:
Easy Harry Potter activities for kids:
Want to extend the Harry Potter reading into real life? Don't miss these fun and easy Harry Potter activities to enjoy with your kids:
- Harry Potter Potions Lab: Dragon's Blood
- 5 Magical Harry Potter Snacks: For when you watch the movies together!
- Harry Potter Butter Beer Cake in a Mug
- A simple Treacle Tart recipe for Harry Potter fans
- How to make an easy Harry Potter cake that your kids will love
- The easiest Harry Potter scarf kids can help make
Randi Tisdall
Thanks so much for sharing my Harry Potter Scarf post! Yes, I think it's important to pace yourself when it comes to reading this series with kids. For my girls, we read one book each school year, so it's stretched the series out and given them time to mature before we take on the really dark stuff. We also discuss the books as we go along, so I can hear their thoughts and how they feel about characters changing and story progression. I think it's a good opportunity to have an open discussion with your kids. Thanks again for the share!