I though I would relate a little conversation I over heard between my children.
Isabella - "Skeletons where they ate!?!"
Anton, without looking up from his current book, Oliver Twist, - "It's called Cannibalism."
Isabella - "Anton that is so gross!!"
Anton, in a slightly perturbed but matter of factual tone, "Isabella, it is a different culture. Robinson Crusoe lets them know it is gross and not God's plan. They stop eating each other."
Isabella - "Too Bad his dog died, but he lived there for 20 years."
Anton - "Uh-hum." He was not really listening to her at this point because he was back into his book again.
I am fortunate in my ability to guide my children into certain books. The abridged young reader classic books have been very helpful as I weed through the stacks at the library. I have been able to keep their interest in reading without relying on "junk food for the brain" literature. The surprise has been Isabella's sudden jump in reading level. She was complaining of not being able to read well, really it was a plea for attention. She saw Anton and I discussing some of his classic books and wanted to see what he was reading. So, she picked up the Robinson Crusoe and began to read it. I kept asking her if she was really reading or just looking at pictures. She assured me she was reading it. I promised her as soon as the library had Black Beauty back on the shelf, I would get it for her to read if she was now at this level. She races to the shelf every trip to the library to see if it has been returned.
How I longed for her to get to this level and how I am scared too! She is only 6 and she will quickly read everything in her maturity level at this rate. I have been holding off on the American Girl Series for as long at I could due to the interest in the dolls that might follow. Those dolls cost upwards of $100 and that does not include the accessories and other dolls for the other series. One minute she is in Angelina Ballerina and now she has progressed to Black Beauty.
As an English Major, I am over joyed. As a mother, I am nervous! Even as I devour Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time, she is nowhere near the maturity level to comprehend the horrible situation Lydia places herself and her family by running off with a much older ill characterised man. I would think she would have to at least be 10-12, but in this abridged classic series at the library, Pride and Prejudice catches my eye every time I pass it. There is no way to get around the "situation" with Lydia while telling the story of Elizabeth and Darcy. Maybe I under estimate the level of maturity with my children. I was nervous when I placed Robinson Crusoe as an option for Anton with it's cannibalism and guerrilla fighting. For now, I will hold off on some of my more endured classics of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott until she can fully understand the culture of the time period. Even the classics are not completely safe when your child is two, three, or maybe even four reading levels above their maturity level.
