Hey mamas-
My MIL gave my 11 year old a novel to read. I haven't read it, but I'm not sure it is age appropriate. The book is Dust by Charles Pellegrino. Has anyone ever read this? Any insight on if this is age appropriate? I want to read this first, but she is very anxious! Thanks in advance!
There is a website out there that gives parents cliff notes on books, including things like adult themes. I'm blanking on it. Maybe someone here knows it?
Eta: that's the one I was thinking of. Thanks Gidget.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
It's a fantastic website. The review movies, books, video games, software, apps. They don't have everything. There have been times I've typed in a title and they don't have anything on it. But they usually have reviews the most popular movies, books, etc.
ETA - I just searched for that book and didn't find anything. But it's a great resource for the future. Maybe someone else will have another website for you.
I just did a quick search for it on Amazon and got a bunch of info. Try that. After reading the synopsis and the reader comments you will be able to determine if it is right for your child. I may be adding it to my reading list.
Another good site to check is Goodreads.com ...
Did you even ask your MIL what it was about, or why she passed it on to your daughter?
I'm not saying for you to be confrontational about it but I I know if my MIL gave one of my kids a book to read I would automatically be interested and curious and asking her why she liked it so much.
I guess if you can't communicate with your MIL you can just look it up on goodreads, amazon or commonsensemedia, there are SO many ways to google books these days I'm surprised you're asking here...
You can also call the children's librarian at your library or the school librarian. They are great - and free - resources.
Interesting choice. My son is also 11 and is reading Dear Mr. Henshaw. Totally different reads. It depends on how well she knows your child, their reading level, and maturity. If their isn't a book I know about, I always read the first chapter to see what I find.
I'd always read my kid's books before as as they were reading them. I did it for a couple reasons. 1) I wanted to know what they were reading 2) I could make conversation about the book with them to see if they were actually doing their reading 3) I think its important to make sure what they are seeing is age appropriate and talk about things to make sure they understand what the issue really is and how it impacts people
It's an end-of-the-world bio-terror story. It really depends on your child's level of comfort with scary stories, but I think the average 11 year old would be a bit terrified by it.
if you have a computer or kindle, you can usually read the first few chapters of a book. This might help you determine whether it's appropriate.
Edited to say:
I just checked and it's not available as an ebook, so it does not have the option. I always use bookgorilla to buy cheap and bargain books, which are always ebooks, so I forgot that there are books out there that are still only available in paperback. lol :)
