So let me get this straight with "The Hunger Games"

[davsand]

16. I wouldn't suggest it for the younger set, you are right about that.

My 14 year old saw it tonight with a group of her pals and she totally enjoyed it. I am fine with that. If I had a younger kid--like under age 8 or 9-- or if I had a kid that wasn't mature enough to understand it all, they probably would not be allowed to go to the movie or read the books. In all cases I'd want to be real sure the kid understood exactly what this movie was about and why the books/movie are so creepy--so horrifying. I think there is a lot of lit out there that kids CAN read and appreciate as long as they can and do talk about it and they GET the concepts fully.

Many years ago I had an extended discussion with an 6th grade teacher about teaching To Kill a Mockingbird at that age level. I thought that particular book was awfully intense for kids that age, given the rape, the racism, and all the other real life stuff it contains. This lady had been teaching advanced English at that age level for many years and she felt it was worth taking the class time to discuss ALL the subjects and how the kids feel about them and how it relates to every day life. At the time, I was not a parent and I was not an experienced teacher. Now, many years later, as the parent of my own advanced English student, I will tell you that I gave my own kid some pretty advanced stuff to read at a pretty young age, and she did understand it.

There is a lot of teen lit out there that really does deal with the nitty gritty of life in all its ugliness and pain. There is also a large population of kids out there that not only undertand it, but they may have lived it themselves, or they may know another kid that did. While I am pretty certain my kid doesn't know anybody that has endured anything like the Hunger Games, I will tell you that she does know girls her age that have survived attempted rape and domestic violence. It ain't pretty at all, but I gotta say that today's kids are seeing an awful lot of stuff a lot earlier than we ever did. In that context, a book like Hunger Games really is not as "bad" as the descriptions make it sound.

Something that a lot of people are not getting about this book series is that it is as much a commentary on politics and government as it is about anything else. My kid has been on picket line with us, my kid grew up in the Labor movement understanding what it means when other people make decisions that hurt the rest of the world. My kid grew up in a household where we talk about current events, and she fully "gets" that a healthy scrutiny of government and its policies is well advised--almost mandatory for our survival. We may be atypical, but as far as a reference point for her to view that movie or read that series, I'm pretty comfortable with what she took away from it.

I read all three of the books in that series, as did my husband and my daughter. We've talked about them, and we've all looked forward to the release of the movie.

YMMV, but I've come to realize that I can't wrap my kid in bubble wrap.




Laura