Book 3 is now in my hands, still a relatively standard chapter book size, but we sit in the shadows of the much larger, heavier books to come as Books 4, 5 and 6 loom over us from a nearby bookcase. In Book 3, the threat to Harry is much increased, as is the general feeling of foreboding. We are introduced to characters called “dementors” which suck all of the happiness out of things. These creatures can cause people to become soulless and evil recalling only the worst, darkest most horrible parts of their own lives. Of course, in Harry’s case, this is plenty dark and we learn that when they are near he can actually hear his mother being murdered. Obviously this is quite upsetting to Harry. Would it be upsetting to your kid? Would a student in your class be upset at the idea of someone hearing their mother being murdered? It’s a pretty weighty thing. Definitely something to consider. Also, Harry is continually seeing what he believes to be an omen of death and therefore he is quite afraid for his life (as are most people he knows). But he does not tell people that he is truly afraid. It is something you might want to address with young readers. Ask them who they would feel comfortable confiding in if they were truly scared. Make sure they know that fear and dangerous situations are not to be kept to themselves and that they know who are the trusted adults in their own lives. Another key plot point comes when the word of Harry, Ron and Hermione is put up against the word of a teacher. They are told that no one would believe they are telling the truth with such a powerful person giving another account. While this is often true, that children with difficult stories to tell are not believed, it is another scary thing that should be discussed. One adult does believe them and it might be good if your reader knows who they can go to with the truth, no matter how unbelievable it might seem.
It’s interesting, I remember being consumed with excitement and curiosity the first time I read this series. I remember the urgency with which I devoured each additional installment and the tingling anticipation when a new book was set to release. Which means I am not in the least surprised when students just do not want to stop reading the series. This is a really key point to understand, that once readers have begun, they are often loathe to set aside the series.* So questions are raised. What would be the right stopping point if there were such a thing? Should you let your child start if you don’t mean to let them continue? Exactly how big a tantrum will you be up against if you call everything off in the middle? The final two of these questions are really for you to determine and do depend largely on the personality and reading style of your own child. The first point? Well, that one I’ll try to help you with.
*True story, I once had a student tell me in complete and total seriousness that he would be unable to complete a mandatory assignment for my class because he was reading Harry Potter. Despite the impression of him you might have given that single fact, he was actually turned out to be an incredibly studious and dedicated worker and someone who impressed me greatly.
Age Recommendation: In part because of the nightmarish dementors, I’m recommending this as best left to fifth and sixth graders and up. Certainly, some fourth graders will be clamoring for it and if they have the reading ability, then it is really case of whether or not an individual reader would be upset or disturbed by the content. Now might be a good time to consider the words of actual fourth grade students on whether or not they can judge content for themselves.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Ron’s older brother has a girlfriend. Girls find a Quidditch player good-looking.
Profanity – “damn” used more than once, “bitch” in a purely female dog context, “git,” “moron,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Harry’s parents died when he was a baby. Although Harry was initially told they were killed in a car accident they were murdered by the most powerful dark wizard in over a hundred years. An owl kills a mouse for food. Ron sees mutant skeletons in Egyptian tombs. Uncle Vernon claims that hanging is the only way to deal with certain criminals. Harry’s uncle raises a fist to him and threatens to beat him. Another Dursley relative feels that Harry has not been beaten enough and goes on about how thrashing is what’s needed. A woman advocates drowning runts. A man carries a gun. A man supposedly killed 13 people with one curse. According to the stories, he laughed after killing them. A man says he’d blow himself up before going to a prison. Ron has an uncle that saw a death omen and was dead within 24 hours. A magical beast cuts a student with his talons, causing lots of bleeding. Ron threatens to injure Draco. A pet baby rabbit is killed by a fox. Harry hears a woman screaming, begging someone to spare his life and kill her instead as another person laughs (he later realizes that this is how his mother died). So essentially, despite the fact that he was too young to remember his mother’s death, he hears his mother being murdered. Harry falls from a great height; some of his friends believe the fall killed him (it did not). Harry keeps seeing a black dog which is he told is a harbinger of death. This means he spends quite a bit of time wondering when he is going to die. A boy “nearly lost an eye” due to an aggressive tree called a whomping willow. Fred and George were threatened with disembowelment by the the janitor. Fred’s mother once walloped him with a broomstick. There is a lengthy discussion about a man who turned against his closest friends, causing their deaths. We learn that he blew a man to smithereens, a man who had been his friend. That man’s mother received his finger in a box, because it was the largest part of him that they could find. Hagrid indicates that a friendly animal will be killed. A professor says that the first to rise from their table will be the first to die and another professor jokes about a “mad axe-man” lying in wait. There is reason to believe (like blood) that a pet cat ate a pet rat. Ron believes that a dangerous person entered their room armed with a knife. A hippogryph eats a plate of dead ferrets. Evidently, Potter’s father once played a joke on someone that could have killed that person. A hippogryph is slated to be executed for biting a person. A girl slaps a boy across the face. A bludger causes a nosebleed during a Quidditch match. A girl is hit with a club, a boy is elbowed in the face. An executioner brings an axe for the hippogryph. The children hear the sounds of the axe cutting off the hippogryph’s head (this is later undone). Someone’s arm is caught in a dog’s teeth and the dog drags him. Someone breaks a leg. The Whomping Willow hurts a few people. Children are injured in a scuffle with an adult. A teacher is knocked unconscious and bleeding. Two wizards plan to kill another wizard. They are begged to show mercy by children. A werewolf attacks.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Adults drink wine. A woman who has already had a lot of wine drinks brandy. Hagrid has been drinking when Ron, Harry and Hermione arrive. Hermione pours out the rest of his drink because she believes he’s had enough. Adults drink mead and rum. Dumbledore asks for a large brandy. Hagrid is drinking from a large bottle and seen to be tipsy.
Frightening or Intense Things – A man has escaped and is considered armed and dangerous. The Dursleys have told a relative that Harry attends a school for incurably criminal boys. Harry fears he’s seen a death omen. Harry overhears the Weasleys saying that he might have been killed. They also are talking over whether or not to tell him that a mad escaped convict might be looking for him. There are terrifying creatures that are cloaked and hooded and appear scabbed, slimy and possibly dead where parts poke out. They are called dementors. On Harry’s first meeting with one it causes him to hear anguished screams, fall out of his seat and twitch. The Divination professor tells her class that in April one of them will leave forever. Harry is told by the Divination professor that he has a death omen. We learn of a creature called a boggart which likes dark enclosed spaces and can become whatever someone fears the most. For younger readers or worried readers, this is exactly the sort of thing they might imagine under the bed or lurking in their closets. A “dementor’s kiss” is when a dementor clamps its jaws on the mouth of a victim and suck out the victim’s soul. There’s a haunted dwelling that even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid. A woman makes a prediction that the Dark Lord will rise again stronger than ever before. Harry has an urge to kill someone. The dementors close in on Harry and his friends. Children’s concerns are dismissed out of hand which I find concerning due to the fact that children are often not believed in abuse situations and I would hate to have this book reinforce that feeling.
This one is my favorite. Not sure what that says about me…