I teach elementary school, and my fifth graders are nuts over Twilight. They've read all of the books, seen the movie, and collect all of the memorabilia.
5th graders are 10-11 years old.
Is that too young? I know the series is marketed toward young adults, but is it really a series of books for kids? What do you think?
Deb
I think that it is a little young IF someone isn't there talking to them about how it is FICTION and that love like Bella and Edward has isn't reality and, as far as her being catatonic without him, isn't healthy.
ReplyDeleteBut as long as they are clear on the difference between reality and fiction, I think they would be fine.
I think, generally speaking, 5th grade is a little too young. A lot of the emotional complexities would be beyond average 5th graders, and I don't know how I feel about them reading some parts of Breaking Dawn.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I'm sure there are plenty of individual 5th graders that can handle it. I know I was reading books much worse than Twilight in 5th grade, and it didn't turn me into a psycho :)
I agree with Grace that it's best if they have someone who they can talk to about the books.
5th grade is too young. The Twilight series is essentially about passionate emotions, and with my vague memories of what I was in 5th grade, I don't think they can relate to what is actually happening in the books. Grace is right - If little kids are reading these books, someone needs to help them understand the extreme nature of these fictional relationships. That catatonia was not healthy.
ReplyDeleteI was on breakfast duty this morning and noticed now several of the GATE 4th graders are reading it, too. (GATE is the Gifted and Talented Education program.)
ReplyDeleteOn an extremely anti-Twilight blog, someone claimed to have pasted a sample of Twilight into Word, where it was analyzed at being 4th-grade level reading. Even if that is true, though, there is so much more to reading than vocabulary and syntax.
I agree with Joanna, the breakdown in New Moon isn't a healthy example of how one deals with a breakup. The pregnancy/delivery in Breaking Dawn is another place where I wouldn't want a very young child reading without parental feedback.
I, personally, wouldn't be comfortable with my child reading these books in elementary school. I was a pretty advanced reader, and I can imagine myself getting caught up in these books without really understanding what was going on.
I think even if you are an advanced reader at that age, it's not about your reading level but about your emotional maturity.
ReplyDeleteSome kids that age are very emotionally mature and know when they read a book it is fiction and nothing more. Others get caught up in the emotion of the book (and let's face it - these books are an emotional rollercoaster) and lose sight of where real and fiction emotion begins and ends.
I'd say these kids are too young and I hope their parents read the book before them and made an evaluated decision.
I agree totally with Grace. They may be able to read the words, but understand it all? Hard to believe. They may understand the simpler parts but what about some of the sexual references? They would (assumingly) have no idea. ??
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