Harry Potter

Last night, a Harry Potter movie was playing on tv. I figured J was old enough to handle it, and maybe enjoy it. I figured we'd at least try it. Both boys were very attentive, which is extraordinary for any film that is not animated. After all, they are preschoolers.

Today, I toyed with the idea of reading the books with J. Yes, it's a huge jump from The Berenstein Bears to Harry Potter, skipping all the beginner chapter books. But I thought I'd offer. J responded, "I dunno. The words are pretty small. In grown up books, the letters usually start off big, but then they get small." I think he's referring to the customarily oversized first letter of each chapter?

I offered to give it a try, and if he doesn't like it, we'll stop. J agreed, and immediately got ants in his pants. I told him we'd have to wait until after our meal was over. As soon as he was done, he ran to the living room and pulled the first Harry Potter book off our shelves. I didn't realize he knew which books they were!

He read the first paragraph on his own, stumbling on "Privet" and "involved," but sailing through "mysterious" as though it were nothing. But I could tell his comprehension was lacking. I took over and began to read with as much gusto as I could muster, and my best British and Scottish accents. As I read, I became aware of the immense vocabulary J.K. Rowling employed. Yikes! How could a 5 year old understand these words? I cautiously waited for J to give up or show signs of boredom or overload.

Half-way through the first chapter, I felt his attention wane. I asked if he'd like to take a break, but he shook his head. We did take a break a few pages later, but he asked to return to reading later that evening. We were almost done with chapter 2 when he needed another break, but said he'd like to read more for his bedtime story.

At bedtime, we finished chapter 2 and he begged to go on to chapter 3. He read the first paragraph to show his willingness. When I closed the book and said we'd have leave it there for the night, he began to cry. "I didn't get enough story! Only 4 pages!" Remember, boy, those words are small! Four pages is a lot!

I think he likes it.