Alex Flinn on advanced readers.

A copy of this would have been helpful when I was a bookseller in Harvard Square:

With the holidays come bunches of my friends, wanting to buy an autographed copy of my books for their child, grandchild, or neighbor's kid.  While I do appreciate the support, I've noticed that the child in question is invariably 10 years old.   I am then faced with the unpleasant task of explaining that my books aren't really for 10-year-olds.

To which they say, "But (s)he's a very advanced reader."  (Yes, every single one of them.  Apparently every single child within a 10 mile radius of my home -- including my own children, I should say -- reads above grade level.  This does make me question the concept of "grade level," but it wouldn't be the first time).

To this, I say, "Yes, I know your child read Harry Potter when (s)he was 4.  The difference is that Harry doesn't have sex in the books."  (He doesn't, does he?  I never did read Book 7).  "He also doesn't drink, swear, abuse his girlfriend, contract HIV, or bludgeon anyone to death."

Man.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I said, "It's a re-write of Paradise Lost.  If you want to give it to your brilliant five-year-old, that's your call.  I'm just suggesting that your brilliant five-year-old might get a little more out of it when s/he's a bit older and more emotionally mature."

The comments are worth reading, both at AF's site and at Liz B.'s, where I found the link.