BTT (#4) ~ age appropriate

The subject of today's Booking Through Thursday is age appropriate:

"Do you read books “meant” for other age groups? Adult books when you were a child; Young-Adult books now that you’re grown; Picture books just for kicks … You know … books not “meant” for you. Or do you pretty much stick to what’s written for people your age?"

When my friend Donna worked on a bookmobile that went to schools, one of her co-workers refused to allow students to check out books that were not "age appropriate." By that she meant, specifically for their grade.  Donna believes children should be able to read whatever interests them.

 When my son was in the second grade, I was at his school's book fair when his teacher noticed me at the second-grade books.  She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Not those.  He needs books from that table."  And she pointed to the fifth-grade books.

When my three children were all in elementary school, one of my friends spotted Our Bodies, Ourselves on my bookshelves.  She said, "You just leave this out on the shelf where they can see it?"  I told her, "They won't be interested in it until they're ready for it.  And I'd rather they get the facts from me than misinformation from other children."

I read, review, and fall in love with books "meant" for various ages, though I mostly enjoy reading about mature people like me.
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NOTE:  I've tried to re-create what I posted yesterday for Booking Through Thursday.  It's approximate, but I want it here.  Maybe Blogger will eventually return the original post that they deleted while trying to fix the system that was out of service for 20+ hours.  I also still have the emails to moderate these four comments from yesterday:
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booknympho (http://booknympho.wordpress.com/) said...
That's a really good point, especially about reading younger for children. Some might not be ready for higher level books and being forced to read them just because they're "age appropriate" could put one off reading. Read whatever you want whenever you want. If you're ready and meant to read it, you will.
Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:06 PM

pagesofjulia (http://pagesofjulia.wordpress.com/) said...
Good for you for that last note especially, Bonnie! When kids are interested in sex (etc.) is the right age to start the discussion; and that's an excellent book to use, too.
Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:14 PM

Lara (http://femalebookreader.blogspot.com/) said...
Great post! I love what you say about Our Bodies, Our Selves. I remember that book.
Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:47 PM

Bonnie (http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/) said...
Booknympho and I both commented on Laurel-Rain Snow's blog about relating to characters. I wrote:

"I read more adult fiction than novels aimed at children and youth, but experience does make a difference. I can relate to adults raising children, to people going through a divorce, to characters trying to get through the death of a loved one -- because I've been there. Now I often look for books about older women, maybe retired, maybe wanting to try new things in retirement, maybe having to deal with children and elderly parents at the same time. The older I get, the broader the range of books I can relate to."

Julia and Lara, I had the first edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves (pictured), back in the 1970s. In the meantime, several newer editions have been published.
Thursday, May 12, 2011 3:06 PM