Jacqueline Wilson for a 6 yr old?

[lovecheese]

DD aged 6.2 is currently reading "best Friends" by Jacqueline Wilson and is enjoying and following it. Do others think it is suitable/unsuitable for someone of her age? She picked it herself, incidentally from the 9-12 fiction shelf at Waterstones.

[Fennel]

there are some young JWs which are Ok for 6yos. Cliffhanger. Glubbslyme. Lizzie Zipmouth.

Some of the others are too old. My dds (8 and 10) have read quite a few of them but are still avoiding the teenage ones which have more about sex and relationships. the younger ones tend to be about friendship, coping with family problems, etc.

[madamehooch]

'Sleepovers' is probably the best JW book for younger readers.

If she likes 'real life' books, then try her on Judy Moody or the Ramona books, the content of which are geared towards that age group.

[lovecheese]

Thanks both, will obviously avoid the older JW books; DD1 has the Judy Moody books, will steer her there next.

[seeker]

No. Absolutely not. Never let a 6 year old read a JW unless you have read it yourself first. You might still think it's OK for her to read, but you will be armed to talk about it with her afterwards.

Hilary MacKay is a good altenative "family problems" type writer without the domestic violence and incest.

[lovecheese]

Really seeker? "Best Friends" is about 2 friends split up when one moves away, surely that can't be harmful?

[gherkinwithapurplemerkin]

I was not chuffed when my 6yo dd brought Tracy Beaker home as her reading book last year. In fact, fr the first time ever we did not read the book together. She is too young and there is masses of material out there which challenges her reading skills without exposing her to unnecessarily grown-up themes.

[Fennel]

my dds have read abou 15 or so JWs and so far we haven't come across any domestic violence or incest. More of the family breakdown/friendship problems stuff. dealing with a new stepdad. coping with a family member dying. These things do happen to 6yos, some to mine and some to their friends, so I don't see them as unsuitable topics for reading about.

[goes off to check the incest possibility...]

[lovecheese]

Absolutely Fennel, these things do happen, unfortunately we do not live in a rose-tinted Enid Blyton world.

[LIZS]

dd is 8 and has had some out of the school library that I felt were a bit "old" for her age. One was The Catmummy , another about the Worry Website (?), the 3rd seemed thankfully more age appropriate. These were all available to Year 3 up and she has a reading age well above her actual age so I can see the attraction.

[hana]

am not a fan at all of JW books - my 8 year old dd has been capable of reading her books for a few years now but I don't think they are at all appropriate for younger (but good) readers - and trouble is, if they start reading some of the 'appropriate' ones, they might grab others from school library for example when you can't say no.

there are so many other great books out there like Beverly Cleary, Enid Blyton, umm umm The Worst Witch series, Little House Books (I'd have to go up and check in dd's rooms for others ) but there are much better books for girls that age. imo

[seeker]

I'm not saying they shouldn't read them, I'm just saying that a parent should read them too. And that some of them are meant for young teenagers,a nd there are more age appropriate books about the same subjects for 6 year olds.

Just because a child can read a book doesn't mean that they necessarily should. I'm always puzzled that people can be very strict about the age ratings of films their children watch but feel very differently about books. It's very easy to internalize and worry about something you have read alone in your bedroom before you go to sleep.

[Hulababy]

I don't like them. DD is 8y and can read the books no problem, but the themes and content are just nothing she can relate to. She got a new one for her borthday last week called something like Little Darlings, but irst chapter is about mum going to get her social and mum's partner slapping her about. This is not something DD understands, so the amount of explaining required from me to put any of it in context is too much at this stage. There are so many other books for her to chose from - have put this one away for a couple of years I think.

[Fennel]

So much literature takes a bit of explaining though, that's partly why I like it. It takes you to new and different worlds. Which might include a world where some people are on benefits or experience difficult family situations. Most of my favourite books do this. Death and family breakdown and poverty, perhaps with a bit of violence included, they're the stuff of a lot of classic fiction. Theme-wise, it's just a short step from JW to Dickens to Dostoyevsky....

[Hulababy]

I am just not convinced that an 8yo, let alone a 6yo, needs to read about domestic violence when there are so many other books out there for them.

Yes, it happens to some children and is their reality but it is not, fortunately, part of my DD's world and I hope never will be. So I think that there is still a lot of time ahead yet where she doesn't need to become that aware of it. I reckon an 8yo should be allowed, wherever possible, to retain their childhood innocence.

[morningpaper]

I don't like these either

I assume she's done the Fairies range?

Try Judy Blume's 'Fudge' series - much cheerier

[mrsruffallo]

DD enjoyed the worst witch series at this age ...or Charlie Bone, they are good too.
I wouldn't let mine read Jacqueline Wilson, I prefer myths and classics. I don't even like them watching Horrid Henry.

[pointydog]

JW books are not all about domesetic violence. Mark Spark in teh Dark is a lovely book for young readers. Cliffhanger and Buried Alive are good reads too - no heavy issues.

[lovecheese]

Yes, done the Fairies, lost interest half way through "Saffron The Yellow Fairy", thank god; She had The mum-minder for her birthday and enjoyed it, and has wanted to read Best Friends for a while. TBH I prefer for her to want to read authors such as JW than all the fairies/mermaids/ponies out there which are all pretty formulaic and not exactly challenging.

[Kneazle]

I have never seen why Jaqueline Wilson books are so popular. There are so many amazing books out there, why bother. There is a seven year old in dd class reading "Girls Under Pressure" which is about a girl who "finds herself tumbling into the abyss of bulimia". Sounds like a laugh I don't even think they are that well written. [runs away]

[Kneazle]

this book has lots of suggestions for challenging reads we use it all the time

[pointydog]

JW writes an exciting, fast-paced, action-heavy story. And that makes them popular. Doesn't matter if everyone likes them or not.

[cory]

Not my favourite writer, but not all JWs are about incest: as others have mentioned, Sleepovers is for younger readers- it's about a girl with a very nice family who has a severely disabled sister, surely that is not something we need our 6yos to be sheltered from?