He has read the series and loved it. The reason I finally gave up and let him read what he wanted. Book in Young Adults categories is every time he reads a book from the Harry Potter Series, any of Rick Riordan, the series that starts out with Hatched and so on with just ending with Hunger Games series he wants me to read everyone of the books he reads so we can talk about it.
Days after he finishes a book we have conversations what he thought of the book, how he would change it, and so on. We have more conversations in our home because of his reading books I may not find all the books that appropriate but find it worth it in the long run. I have a 11 year old boy who talks to his mother, so I will let him read.
Movies…however, if he reads the book I do let him watch the movies. I love your prespective on this. I have done the same with my daughter, who is now 14, and it sparks a lot converesation between her and I. I started this when she wanted to read the Twilight series and I was hesitant about her reading it.
Most of the time, I read the books as well so I have some idea of what she is reading. When she asked to see the movie because all her friends were going, I wanted to say no. But she and I sat down and discussed the books together.
I asked her what she got out of them and if she saw any parallels to our current society. Her response was an emphatic YES. She said we need to continuously monitor the laws they are making and ensure that they are doing our will and not becoming entertainment for the elite.
Thank you for all the comments above. I appreciate the back and forth which helped me talk with my daughter and make an informed decision on this movie. I have read all three books and so have my two older children, 14 and I started reading the series after my eldest was required to read it for school and she told me the premise of the story.
It sounded terrible. Our youth director at church advised me to read the books myself so that I could discuss them with my daughter. I am glad I did read them, unlike some of those posting here, because they were different than I expected. Your daughter should read it!!!!! Twilight is great but I always hated that she need a man all the time.
Since we just moved here, she is reading this recommended book and Im a little uncomfortable about the content. Our kids grow up too fast as it is. I think this book will be put back on the shelf for another year. I think 4th grade is too young—especially for a whole-class novel. Is it being taught as a whole-class, or was it just recommended to your daughter? I teach it at the high school level and feel it is very appropriate for my age group of students.
I know many middle school teachers have great success, but I really think even 6th grade is pushing it if it is required for all to read. I personally think it is the maturity level of the child and if you are comfortable with the subject matter. I would agree with you. Even though I just turned 11 when I first read them, I already read the whole Twilight saga, and saw the movies when I was about 8 or 9 in the fourth grade. I have known about the birds and the bees since about second grade.
So, once again, it all depends on what she already knows and how mature she is and if YOU are ready to expose her to that kind of stuff. Go Tracee!
I have been reading through these posts. I am a mother of 3 boys, aged 11, 12, and Orman on TpT. I have not seen students so thrilled and inspired to read in many years. My students are not caught up in the violence and love interest in the story.
They are connecting with the characters. They appreciate the raw honesty in the writing. The history of our country and most others is tied to violence against the young and innocent. Teaching our children about this can prevent the mistakes of the past. The cross-curricular connections students make reading this series is amazing. They have a deeper understanding of democracy, moral understanding, and are enjoying rich literature.
Many of the classical literature some of you are speaking of was controversial in its inception! You know, they get so bored hearing about the birds and the bees from their parents, nonetheless! I doubt many would actually support this line of thinking. Come on, folks! Who are you kidding? You are justifying your decisions in letting kids consume these books and other inappropriate media with faulty reasoning. Ask yourselves that.
Take a step back from all the hype and take a closer, more honest, look at your moral compass. If you think so, so be it! These ideas can make a lasting, impactful, extremely negative impression on their psyches. This, so that we can teach our children that torture, murder and other evils are not acceptable! This, so that we can teach them that we should try with all our being to prevent them from ever happening again.
But, we should not have to go into graphic detail to get these messages across to them at this age. It is the same with your arguments about the Bible being so violent and how seeing Christ on the crucifix is worse than kids reading about children torturing and killing other children.
They ages 10 and 4 learn this from their families. They attend church and faith formation classes. They know about good and evil. They know about the 10 commandments. They know about the Golden Rule. Yes, my 4-year-old is saddened by the image of Christ on the cross as am I.
I prefer to see images of the Risen Lord… But, it offers the opportunity for us to discuss our beliefs. Sandra I supplied the link on my posts because I wanted to make that very clear: I am a teacher, I teach this series at my high school, I share my resources with my fellow teachers. In all of my posts here you can click on my name or link to see my website. I love to share my success story with other teachers who are struggling to find literature that will engage our students.
I had several freshmen boys admit it was the first book they ever read cover to cover in their life. Reading the novels did not make them more violent, it made them more compassionate human beings. They wanted to help others via charity work and food drives.
Instead, they wanted to read! And they wanted to help others. Just as you are sharing your thoughts, which I respect as a parent, I am sharing what I have experienced first hand with over teenagers and many parents, librarians, and other teachers. In addition, I hear from thousands of teachers and students around the world telling me how much the series has moved them.
There are a lot of great things happening because of these books. Does anyone attend church anymore in this country?? Our religious beliefs tell us not to kill each other. Do we take our children to church and preach one thing, and then take them to a movie and let them watch thekilling of children by other children?
Where has religion gone in this country??? This book and its series is nothing but a waste of time! Lessons on how to treat one another, how to deal with death, how to deal with bad times, good times, can all be taught in the religious arena! Please, no more of this disgusting book! Collins uses the same writing techniques used in the Bible.
But do small children who hear of it year after year go out and try to nail people to a cross? The image of Christ on a crucifix is everywhere at least it is for me; I grew up Catholic and lived across the street from our church.
Does seeing this often bloody image of a man nailed to a cross make people want to kill one another? If we used your logic and the arguments stated above, it would! But it does not make people more violent; it is used to teach a lesson. Even a small child understands this.
Kids get bored. They tune them out. Are you kidding me? As a Catholic and a teacher, I find your comparison of the Bible to this book both ludicrous and disturbing. I see your line of thought, but then you jump the track. Perhaps you forget parts of the Biblical story-the part where Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword.
People I know have used this same argument to justify having young children protesting at abortion facilities. They need to know about the horrors of abortion. I have yet heard an argument that validates telling a 3 or 4 year old that a mother is going to kill her baby. In regard to the book. I have read it.
So has my husband. Our 11 year old daughter will not. Perhaps when she is older. Kill or be killed. Let our children be children. They have a whole lot more years to be a grown up. I was not arguing that an year old should read the novel. In no way was I actually justifying the violence in either for young children. I am shocked at the number of people who feel qualified to criticize a book without having read it. Do you write reviews of movies without ever watching them?
Criticize artwork without seeing it? It is referred to in the second and third books of the trilogy. Glimmer as a mention of sex. I seriously wonder which books you would find appropriate for teenagers?
The Diary of Anne Frank would be out of the question, as well. Do classics become classics because they are popular?
I was an advanced student through all my years in school. I hated them. I am now I have 4 children and they attend public school. It is well written violence. I find it sad that we feel the need to feed this to our kids. There are better options out there.
What a shame. Children killing children. This is our new classic? How enlightening. I too am shocked by the number of people praising this series. This is certainly a reflection of the downward spiral of our society. I cannot believe middle schools have this series on their reading lists with teachers advocating this. I praise the series, but I think that it should not be read in middle school. I think it is more appropriate for high school students. First of all, thank you Sandra, I could not have said better myself why I do not think the gruesome themes in the books are appropriate for children.
While I believe it is extremely important to teach my children history, I do not find it necessary to explain every mode of torture used in the holocaust or of the japanese prison camps, which is what these books do.
They will learn those things eventually, and it is important that they do, but there is a proper time. As for the prostitution it is a vital part of the plot and is handled very tastefully as are the other very few sexual references in the books. However, along with the physical violence, the use of prostitution and psychological torture are among the many reasons I think it is inappropriate for school age children. Orman, Although one would not deny the importance of teaching children this age historical facts, one does NOT have to rub in their faces the gruesome details of how warriors and soldiers kill one another.
Our society would not send children into war. Why should we expose them to the details of torture and death by encouraging them to read such material? It merely pollutes their minds with strong, graphic and disturbing images that they should NOT have to be processing at this age — that they cannot healthily process at this age.
Well, prostitution, in the generally understood sense of the term — is all about sex. I want her to know about the beauty, responsibility and moral aspects of our sexuality. All of this in a general and age-appropriate manner in keeping with our beliefs. Our society is already bombarded with sexual images, language, etc.
Because our duty as adults is to remember these kids are kids! Not little adults. Unfortunately, there will be a time when these individuals will be exposed to these concepts — but it should not be when they are so young and impressionable.
As for the comparison to the Percy Jackson series, the latter is about mythical creatures fighting one another — not children torturing and killing other children. And, with care, they will … hopefully into caring adults who value life and each other. Well put, I agree. Keep them kids as long as we can and no eyeshadow at 12 either, dammit! Funny how you are all about keeping kids clean, yet right on a website about clean advice about a book you go on swearing.
I am a 13 year old and I personally love the series, or at least how far I have read. As for the sexual references, maybe you should give your kids a little time before letting them read this book.
It is centered towards 7th to 8th grade students, not 10 year olds! Is it okay for children? In my opinion, no. But is it okay for middle school and up with discretion? I have been and am being raised in a highly Christian household with good morals and no tolerance to inappropriate content.
We were informed of issues in the world at an early age and are able to act on it to help teach others that bad things are in fact bad. I am highly in favor of the fact that it is appropriate for youth, but with discretion of whether the individual is mature enough for it or not. Amen to letting them be children.
Why do we insist that they have to read gruesome stuff just to be exposed to genre. They will be adults soon enough and get to spend their whole lives dealing with adult issues—I agree makeup, low cut clothing, etc are not necessary. Children do not process things the same way we as adults do. Their minds, not to mention, their souls are not fully developed yet. My husband read it.
Nearly every tween, young teen I have spoken to about the book immediately light up as they tell me how violent the books are. I recently finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy and I was horrified to discover that this book is encouraged reading for middle school children.
The above poster is correct, this series should fall in the horror genre. Is the violence and twisted psychological torture intrinsic to the plot necessary for the point the books are meant to make? Is it a good and important point? Would I let my child read it before the age of 15 or 16? These books are disturbing on every imaginable level and are the sort of horrors we should still be trying to protect our middle schoolers from, not intentionally exposing them to.
Literature like The Hunger Games is offered as a high-interest companion to real history. Students need a mixture of both non-fiction like their history books and fiction in school. They are taught the same lessons in history they study gladiator battles, genocide, slavery, battle strategies in middle school history , but it makes sense to them when they read it from a teenage perspective.
And Suzanne Collins does a brilliant job writing. I am a teacher and I am thankful she wrote this series; my students are more engaged and excited about reading than ever before. They take more interest in history class when they see the connections. Education is about opening their minds, not sheltering our kids from rich learning experiences.
I let my son read it when he was He loved it even more than the Percy Jackson series, which actually has much more violence than The Hunger Games. But after reading these posts in an attempt to research, for myself, whether my 12 year old should be allowed to read the books following her request to do so , I am decided: no way.
When my husband and I are watching the Today Show in the morning, and Anne Curry comes on to tell us about the father who just locked himself in his house with his two little boys in order to incinerate them all, we turn the t. Or when Al Roker suddenly switches to the newscaster describing how the 9-year-old was kidnapped, raped and murdered, and the family is still looking for her body, we likewise turn the channel. Yes, these are the realities of the world we live in, and I KNOW these kids are already hearing about them.
Does the fact that there is evil in the world mean I want my innocent, happy and sweet girl hearing about it all at this point? Does it mean that there will come a time when she will hear about it? But before that time comes, I want to wrap her in the love and security of that magical, happy world where things end up ok.
I was able to deal with it, because I knew that things would be ok in the long run, and I still believe that, thanks to this early sheltering and protection of my parents.
So again, with all due respect to you and your profession and your opinion, I vehemently disagree with allowing a 12 year old, or perhaps even a year-old, read this series. Is graphic detail of the variety and types of tortures endured by prisoners at Auschwitz or the intricate details of HOW soldiers were actually killed or died, an integral part to teaching students in this age group about these historical events or is it sufficient to explain that the people involved suffered greatly and many lives were lost?
Where do we draw the line in exposing young minds to the intricate details of the horrors of the world before it is necessary to do so? I think this is what the previous poster was trying to say, and I agree. We teach our children to toughen up and be hardened to the realities of the world but gasp in shock and horror at the idea of looking to God for hope in the midst of all this depravity and misery.
Something is seriously wrong with the moral fibre of our society when this is the norm rather than the exception. Thanks for the info. I came to this site after my 9 year old 4th grader brought home a permission slip to be signed that she could read the book with her reading group at school.
If I choose for her to not read the book, she will be moved out of her advanced reading group to another group where they are reading something different. I will read the book for myself but currently feeling that I will not let her read it yet. I read the first book and find it truly repulsive and disgusting. Children are selected in a lottery to hunt and kill each other with swords, axes, knives, spears, arrows, mace, bare hands, whatever it takes. The deaths are gruesome, bloody and depraved.
Perhaps the movies will be cleaned up, playing down the violence or raising the age of the characters. If they made the book honestly it would be rated NC for the bloody slaughter of children by children. I cannot see it scoring less than an R rating without losing the original story substantially. I would not let a young teen read these books. They are horror stories.
Nothing wrong with that genre for those old enough to deal with it, but this series should be for adults not children. Pamela, the series does not glorify the torture of children — the author is the daughter of a Vietnam vet who taught his children about the horrible reality of war. The author is very clear that she seeks to reduce violence in society through this series.
The soul-crushing oppression caused by several groups vying for power is the truly eye-opening revelation of this series. The message of the series is that authority figures cannot be trusted; if they get a chance, they will use you and probably hurt you. It's nothing personal, it's simply the nature of authority.
Regardless of one's feelings toward government in general, I'm not personally prepared to have children or pre-adolescents exposed to that message just yet. I do love the series though, and look forward to enjoying them with my children when they're well into their teens — truly "young adults. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a series of books that are being given almost the same acclamation as the Harry Potter series.
The first movie is due out in March. Due to the popularity of these books, I would like to issue a warning to parents. Please read the entire series before allowing your children to read them. I feel the books could be psychologically damaging to young, impressionable minds. Please read them in a critical manner. I finished reading the series last night as I had received them as a gift. The books were riveting, charged, highly emotional, but having said that… I have real reservations about the series.
The series is about the extremely sadistic torture of young teenagers. The further along in the series…the more twisted and perverse the story line becomes.
But, because of the way it is all presented, you tend to forget that these are children and not adults who must survive these hellish games. The sarcastic glory with which the Hunger Games are treated by those in power adds an utterly depraved dimension to the plot. For those who are unfortunately familiar with the Saw movies, the books are more insidious. Besides the almost continuous and multiple ways the author finds to torture and kill off her characters, the main character is handed suicide pills, watches a close friend beheaded, sees her sister go up in flames and learns that the former victors were sold as prostitutes.
This is a series for young teens? What happened to half-way wholesome books for our young ones? By the end of the series the main characters are left so completely broken in body, mind and spirit that there is no victorious rejoicing. While the feat of eliminating the Hunger Games forever is accomplished, there is very little else to celebrate.
This is entertainment for children? Books which are completely absorbing as are these, leave a deep-seated impression that cannot be easily shaken. There is a subtle subconscious psychological impact.
In a way, similar to movies and television, the story is such that it almost desensitizes a person to the subject of the torture of children and I feel that is a very dangerous thing. Only someone who has read the entire series will understand what I am saying, here. I would be very interested in knowing what a panel of psychologists would say about the effects of this series on young minds.
Whether intentionally or not, to my mind, the series glorifies the torture of children. The movies will do so at a deeper level. I almost have to wonder why the books were written. Supposedly, it was to show the effects of war on children according to one review. The series seems to be the product of a twisted mind who has thought up every way imaginable to torture innocent children and present the torture as a story to the world.
Those who will rush to see the movies, which has a big-star line-up, think about what you will be endorsing. Make no mistake, the entire series is about the unmitigated torture of children in as many imaginable forms possible. If we consider these future Hunger Games movies entertainment, then what is that saying about us? Pamela — You are actually arguing that a book about war should be all rainbows and sunshine. That is not reality. Saying war is anything less than hell is sugar-coating it.
Collins offers an insight to the true reality of violence. It leaves you broken. It changes you forever. People die.
If she ended it any other way the message would be that violence is a great way to solve our problems! What do you think our young soldiers see when they go to war? By leaving you with a sick feeling? That, my friend, is NOT glorifying it. That is exemplifying the theme that violence is BAD.
If you felt GOOD after reading it, then it would be glorifying it. Do you see how that works? That is teaching the reader that violence is BAD. Yet, they were just innocent kids forced by the government to kill one another. Does that sound familiar? Why do we pick apart literature?
If you protect them from all of the unhappy, sadistic literature out there, what do you aim to accomplish other than to smother an interest in the practice altogether? Let a child, teenager, adult read many kinds of things!
A good reader, no matter the age, is also a critical reader. When I hear the content of these books, I am so glad that I stopped to learn about them because I would never want him to read that. We need to consider the emotional maturity of our children when we decide what to let them read.
How compassion, humanity, bravery, and strength of character are the seeds of rebellion and hope for oppressed people. A reminder to beware of sensationalized media. This book shows the media at its manipulative worst, using contestants as pawns to both shock and entertain. Katniss is a strong and capable warrior who bravely takes the place of her younger sister in the deadly competition.
At first Katniss has no real political leanings. She just wants to survive and get home to her family so she can go back to providing for them.
But her awareness grows during the games. The Capitol may be using her as a pawn and a symbol, but they don't own her spirit and can't crush it. For a story about 24 teens forced to kill each other, the gore level is lower than expected -- but there is some. Teens are speared, shot with arrows, stabbed, mauled by wild animals, burned, and have their heads smashed and their necks broken.
Injuries are realistic, including burn blistering, blood poisoning, and gangrene with plenty of pus. A boy's face is mauled to the point that Katniss describes it as a "hunk of meat where his mouth was" and someone twitches to death from bad insect stings. Mention that a leg had to be amputated. There's talk of past games and what happened with the story of one boy trying to eat the bodies of those he killed.
There's also talk of the oppression experienced by those who don't live in the Capitol, with rampant starvation, tongues cut out, public whippings for people trying to eat the food that they grow, and a boy shot for taking a pair of glasses.
There are also many mentions of how Katniss' father died in a mining explosion and how her family almost starved afterward. Adults drink, and one is a falling-down drunk. Katniss, age 16, tries wine, doesn't like the fuzzy feeling it gives her, and switches back to water.
Parents need to know that The Hunger Games is a story about a reality show where 24 teens must kill one another until only one survives. The main Hunger Games series of three books was adapted into four movies starring Jennifer Lawrence. Your kid's readiness for this kind of shocking premise depends on their ability to read for a deeper meaning, and there are many layers here to discuss, including how compassion, humanity, bravery, and strength of character are the seeds of rebellion and hope for oppressed people.
The main character, Katniss, begins to realize how important maintaining her own humanity is as she's used as a pawn by the Capitol both in the arena and by a manipulative media machine. Even though many teen characters die -- by spear, rock, arrow, knife, fire, animal stings, poisoning, and more -- there are few truly gory moments. Perhaps the worst is when a boy's face is mauled by animals to the point that Katniss says there is a "hunk of meat where his mouth was.
The other mature content is fairly mild by comparison. One adult is an alcoholic and constantly drinking. Add your rating See all parent reviews. Add your rating See all kid reviews. In its place is Panem, in which the city of Capitol, somewhere in the Rockies, rules over 12 rebellious districts. To maintain an iron grip, the Capitol holds an annual televised reality show, a lethal form of Survivor to which each district must send one boy and one girl.
Out of these 24 teens, only one will survive. Katniss, who volunteers to take her sister's place, and Peeta are District 12's competitors, but their competition is complicated by Peeta's announcement that he is in love with Katniss.
For her first young-adult novel, Suzanne Collins has mixed together elements both classical and modern to produce a story that, if not entirely new, nevertheless bears her unique imprint. But she makes it her own, and The Hunger Games avoids feeling derivative through her complex and poignant characterizations of both major and secondary characters, and the bewildering interplay of personal feelings and political machinations.
Collins does all this in the context of an all-out action-thriller told in straight-ahead yet subtle prose with a carefully calibrated level of edgy violence that never goes over the line. A story of teens massacring one another could, in the hands of a different author, have been sensationalistic and even sick but, by keeping the focus relentlessly on the personal, Collins makes it both moving and thought-provoking.
Her novel Gregor the Overlander series is brilliant. With this second series, Collins shows that she's a major voice in children's and young adult literature. Families can talk about the popularity of the Hunger Games. Why has it struck such a chord with readers? How is Katniss and Peeta's story manipulated by the Capitol media? How do they play along? Why is it sometimes essential for their survival? Are there any reality shows you watch that have moments that ring false to you? How can you tell?
Despite the many alarming images, readers find little if any gratuitous gore. The descriptions emphasize the horrible plight of the tributes and the gross desensitization of the Capitol dwellers. If your children have read this book or someone has read it to them, consider these discussion topics :. Alcohol: Haymitch drinks constantly.
He is often drunk and humiliating himself, like when he vomits all over the floor of the train en route to the Capitol.
The prep team gives Katniss wine at a dinner, but after drinking half of one glass, she feels foggy and switches to water. Instead of observing Katniss and rating her pre-Games performance, the intoxicated Gamemakers ignore her and sing drinking songs. The mentions of nudity, neither graphic nor sexual, emphasize how Katniss is viewed as an object to be modified rather than a human being. Illegal activity: Katniss and Gale hunt illegally.
Nearly all District 12 citizens rely on the black market for survival. Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children.
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