What Age Is The Magic Faraway Tree Suitable For?

There are the Siblings: Joe and Beth (original story had a younger sister, Frannie. Later books are to include a cousin, Rick). The story features Moon-Face, Silky (a fairy) and the Saucepan Man as primary magical residents. Dame Washalot, The Angry Pixie and Mr. Watzisname are secondary, recurring characters. The Tree is a setting, but it is also a character in the story. The various lands at the top of the tree are only present for the duration of the story and are typically set dressings for the story at hand (i.e. The Land of Birthday’s, The Land of Topsy-Turvy etc). The characters are not particularly well developed, but are very vivid. Children like the story because of the very distinct traits of each character and the way those traits play out against the ever changing backdrop of the story. It is a very formulaic story, but it is also very satisfying to children.

If I had to choose an age range for the book, I’d say 11–13 years old. ‘Faerie Wars’ is a great book to mirror the era where a child starts to question things and realises that the world is not just black and white. In the faerie realm of Faeries there are politicians, questionable actions and even demons with their own agendas and reasons for things. In ‘Faerie Wars’ Henry has to make very difficult decisions with extreme consequences and this is enjoyable for a reader of an older but still ‘young’ age. Although a lot of description has been used in order to enable the reader to picture scenes, it is not over-excessive or overly poetic in places, thus becoming boring or annoying. It is a ‘bridge’ book in the sense that it is a magical, exciting, fun adventure, and slowly but surely it introduces more complex ideas that eventually lead to epic fantasy of greater complexity.

This is controversial but essentially it’s better for adults with difficult childhoods. It gives them a model of a healthy, playful, emotionally available parent. So for a five year old it’s fun but for a 35 year old struggling with issues of their own from their childhood it can be therapeutic. It opens up a whole new age range of people who would benefit from seeing a model of secure attachment in action. And that has a value far beyond preschoolers. It’s got value for anyone who wants to see what a supportive and playful family looks like.

Forget chronological age, and think about the reader’s overall reading experience. Does the child read other mid-to-long length fantasy books? If so, she’s already a reader of ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Percy Jackson’ or ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’ books and will enjoy ‘Nevermoor’. Zana Fraillon’s writing is probably a little more descriptive and full of fantasy than Rick Riordan’s but the chapters are short and the hooks are strong. This is a great ‘first thick book’ for children new to reading longer novels. Typically this would be a 9-10 year old reader but a very confident and voracious 8 year old reader would also enjoy it. It’s a great book to help build a child’s confidence in reading longer novels.

My two cents: Stop worrying about the age of kids and let them read whatever they’re interested in. If they find a book too hard or boring, they’ll put it down. But if they love it, that’s great. ‘Heidi’ has captivated children of all cultures and languages for 140 years. It’s got a timeless core – children love nature, want a home of their own, and love to be kind. That’s accessible to a very wide range of kids. The specific prose of the story may pose problems for some young readers, but the core of the story is ageless. Just trust the natural curiosity of kids and not some arbitrary age.

I compared it to The Handmaid’s Tale and Cinder in the blurb. Cinderella Is Dead is in the middle grade range, while The Handmaid’s Tale is an 18+ read due to its extreme realism and graphic content. I aimed to write a YA protagonist’s story with a similar tone to that of The Handmaid’s Tale, but a more hopeful and conclusive ending. Therefore, while The Handmaid’s Tale is a 18+ read, I’d consider Cinderella Is Dead to be a 15+ read, with a similar thematic content but in a fantasy setting. The main audience for this book would be teens who can see cracks in the fantastical stories that are presented to them in order to understand the world.

Whimsy and darkness are two elements that Roald Dahl is known to bring to children’s literature. The Witches is one of his darker tales, but he crafts it in such a way that it reads as perfect middle-grade fare. I think kids as young as eight or nine could read it with confidence, but of course that would depend on the individual child. Some seven-year-old kids love Dahl’s gross-out descriptions of the Witches in their true forms, while others will be terrified of the Grand High Witch. The core of the story is that a child is transformed into a mouse, which is quite intense, so I would recommend this for a bit more mature kids–perhaps around 10. While less horrific than some of the new children’s horror books, Dahl’s never talks down to kids. The humor is vicious and will help balance out the scares, but kids have to be able to tell that this is a tale of a child using his wits to defeat his or her villains, not just a very scary story.

I attempted to read the book to my 3rd grade class and it was somewhat unsuccessful. The early chapters in which Billy tries to save money were too slow for my students. They got slightly more into the story when he went hunting, but were left puzzled by the end. However, when I read it to my 6th grade class, they completely fell for it. We had long discussions about various aspects of the story. So, this book is best suited for students in grades 5 and up.

The adult reader is a huge factor in determining whether this is a good read for a 10 year old or not. This is a fantastic family read or classroom read-aloud and discussion for kids this age. Read a chapter at night and then talk about daemons, who Dust might be, and why the Magisterium would be so afraid of this particular daemon. While a 10 year old reader may get ‘lost’ in the story or become scared of some of the content, they will be ‘guided’ by the adult reader. This will enable them to enjoy the ‘adventure’ of the story and to begin to consider some of the bigger philosophical ideas contained within the text. Thus while the book may not be suitable for a 10 year old reader on their own, it can be introduced to a 10 year old reader at an early age as part of a shared intellectual adventure with the adult reader. The book becomes suitable for the child’s age as well as for their reading age within the context of the adult reader.

I was wondering if Journey to the Center of the Earth would be a book for kids, for teens, or for grown-ups. In short, the answer is yes. Of course, some books are better for younger readers than for older ones, and Journey to the Center of the Earth is no exception. If you want to read a fast, thrilling adventure story, then get an illustrated edition of Journey to the Center of the Earth for upper-elementary school kids (about 7-11 years old). On the other hand, if you want to read Jules Verne’s own words, then the book will be perfect for pre-teens and teenagers (about 12 and older) who can appreciate Verne’s long descriptions of people, places, things, his 19th century science, and his writing style in general. An abridged version of Journey to the Center of the Earth (which includes many fun illustrations) that I read to my 7 year old younger cousin was such a fun adventure that we had reading it together. We finished off a rather long book in what seemed like a day of reading. The slower parts where Verne was explaining the geology were taken out and this really made the book zip by. My first read of the fully uncut translation in High School was also very fun and satisfying, however required a lot of patience as Verne explains much of the science behind his ideas and also gives a great deal of background into the worldview of his time. It made a great read however for someone who wanted to really explore the work in great detail (as I did when I first read it). Today however I would say that readers of long descriptions really need to be ‘hooked’ to keep reading – and if not then get them a graphic novel version, or even an illustrated version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. It would also be a good read for someone looking to explore the many questions behind the scenes of the spirit of discovery, as well as the science and hubris behind it. Most of all, it will depend on the scope of the reading support you are able to provide your child with. While upper-elementary school children may be able to enjoy an illustrated Journey to the Center of the Earth adventure, retold for their age group, many 10- to 13-year-old readers will benefit from lightly edited full-length texts and even maps, or notes. Older 14+ readers can enjoy Verne’s complete adventures with their peers, reading critically as they analyze the text’s shortcomings in terms of historical science and 19th-century culture. Pairing Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth with short film clips about volcanoes, or even following along on a tour through an imaginative subterranean world as he has described it in the 19th century, are perhaps the best techniques of all to foster a love of reading ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ among all ages of readers. And to start, it’s always better to choose the shortest, lightest first version, illustrated if needed – with the promise of returning to a full-length unabridged edition later. Just as with so many great novels, you’ll find that upon re-reading it after some time has elapsed, you will discover so much more, even new layers, hidden between the lines in the original work itself.