# Should I be worried about my nephew's reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594 "2011-07-19T16:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/41 "2011-07-22T16:49:06Z")
Subject to parental review he’s going to be getting an illustrated copy of the complete Narnia. The book is illustrated and the print is larger. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/42 "2011-07-22T17:00:49Z")
Only one of my four was an avid reader. Stop hovering: it does no good, and in fact is probably counter-productive. ---
**Author:** ![potatoequeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e36b37/32.png) [@potatoequeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/potatoequeen)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/43 "2011-07-23T10:48:16Z")
Maybe take him one day to a library or at least a bookshop that he can choose… ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/44 "2011-07-23T11:37:37Z")
Let’s be clear here. Is your nephew balking at Harry Potter, or ANY reading? Now he’s going to get “Narnia”? Have you considered bringing him to a library or bookstore and allowing him to make some of his own reading choices? You’d have to pay me to read Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/45 "2011-07-23T11:43:34Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Let’s be clear here. Is your nephew balking at Harry Potter, or ANY reading? It was the amount of reading, not the subject matter. He was objecting to having to read 2-3 pages per day. BTW it’s the school holidays here. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/46 "2011-07-23T11:55:05Z")
How do you know it’s the amount and not the subject? I would object to reading a specific amount of a subject that I don’t like. Also, again I ask, do you let him make any of his own reading choices? You should try that and see if he objects in that case. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/47 "2011-07-23T12:36:03Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How do you know it’s the amount and not the subject? I would object to reading a specific amount of a subject that I don’t like. Because he’s very much a Harry Potter fan. And he specifically complained about the amount. > [@](#): > > Also, again I ask, do you let him make any of his own reading choices? Yes. He has plenty of books. ---
**Author:** ![Butterscotch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Butterscotch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Butterscotch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/48 "2011-07-23T18:31:02Z")
Just chipping in as a school librarian! Taking a general look at the Harry Potter books, they are really intended to be read independently by children in 5th grade and up, so unless your nephew has an above grade level reading age you may expect it to be tricky. As some people have pointed out, not all kids like Harry Potter either. I am not sure Narnia is the way to go, and if you don’t mind would make a couple of suggestions which have helped me a lot in getting (and keeping) 9 year old boys reading. Firstly to try graphic novels, Asterix, Tin Tin, or The Diary of a Wimpy Kid for example. Secondly the series called The Time Warp Trio, a humorous historical/science fiction series that the boys seem to love. Thirdly to echo what the others have said about non-ficiton. The most popular series at my school is the “Ten True Tales.” Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/49 "2011-07-23T20:41:42Z")
> [@Butterscotch](#): > > Just chipping in as a school librarian! Taking a general look at the Harry Potter books, they are really intended to be read independently by children in 5th grade and up, so unless your nephew has an above grade level reading age you may expect it to be tricky. \*\*Butterscotch \*\*is right. The earlier books in the series are recommended by _School Library Journal_ for kids as young as the 3rd or 4th grade, but the last couple are recommended for grades 5/6 and up. While plenty of younger children have read these books, if the OP’s 8 year old nephew is of average reading ability then they may very well be too difficult for him. It also remains unclear why the nephew is expected to read 2-3 pages of a book per day. If he had both the ability and the desire to read a particular book, he’d be willing to read a lot more than 2-3 pages at once. If he _doesn’t_ have the ability or desire to read a particular book, 2-3 pages a day is unlikely to teach him much or inspire a love of reading. I can’t imagine enjoying a novel in 2-3 page increments – it would be difficult to even remember what was going on. If the point is to just get him to practice his reading then I’d think he’d be better off reading something he could actually finish in the few minutes he was willing to spend on the task, like newspaper/magazine articles or very short stories. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594/50 "2011-11-13T21:54:31Z")
I’m bumping this because he’s cracked it all on his own. He’s not speed-reading, but he now reads at a decent pace. We’e all very proud of him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-worried-about-my-nephews-reading/589594.md?page=2)