Just After Sunset for 9 Year Old?

[AngelZ]

My daughter is an avid reader and writer. She likes to write poetry and short stories. I have a copy of Just After Sunset and I haven't gotten to it yet. I would like to show her what kind of elements would be in great short stories. I'm just wondering if there are some that are too scary for a child her age. I'm also wondering about the sexual content.

I've discussed with her the fact that some authors use foul language in their books, so she has been prepared for that aspect of Stephen King's books.

[tillyn]

I believe this is one of his tamer short stories book. I think you can be safe to let her read it. I'm sure she has seen worse on tv, no matter how hard you try to watch what viewing, something always slips in.

[coolambindang]

I wouldn't let my daughter read it. SK is just to much for some young ones. I did not start reading SK untill I was 12 or 13, not that my parents wouldn't have let me but I think I would not have been ready for the material at that age. There are many other authors who write short stories that would be better for her age, why would you want her to start with SK? Has she ever read anything by him? It seems an odd choice IMHO. Hope that helps. Let us know what you decide and further if you do let her read it what she thinks.

[Dani~]

I'd say read one first and if it passes your filter then by all means let her read it and you two can have great discussions over it. My son is fifteen and just starting to appreciate Stephen King. I never disturb him if he has his nose in one of Stephen's books.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

My kids (now 28 and 23) started with Night Shift at ten and they were OK with that, Brothers Grimm is plenty scary too.

I think she'd probably be OK with JAS, especially as she has you to discuss the stories with, the advantage of home schooling IMO.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Dani~]

PS I understand Stephen King wrote Eye of the Dragon for his children and although it is not a short story it might be a good introductory work for the two of you to read together.
I'm probably stating the obvious to you. Also there are a lot of short stories to choose from outside of Just After Sunset. There was a discussion some days ago of 'Here there be Tygers' and that struck me as a possible good short story for a younger audience. Although I haven't read it with my filter on.

[rjt65]

I really would suggest you reading it and making the call - only you know the level of maturity etc your kids has.

But I am rereading (yes already--Read when it first came out) it now just started last Night and will give you updates as i go through.

the first story Willa -- NP IMO. good Ghost story.

[Seneca_V]

Hi,

I think it would depend on how grown-up your daughter is. If she's reading and writing at 9, that's fantastic! I actually think that Just After Sunset would be a good one to start with. I don't remember anything incredibly scary or sexual about any of the stories. There may be some remarks or language she might not understand. There are some bad words, but I don't remember it being full of them.

The only one that might freak her out is The Cat From Hell. Just my opinion though, you may want to read a few of the stories first, because I'm not sure what you do and don't want your daughter to read. I think you'll get asked quite a few questions too. :D

Good luck, and kudos to you and your daughter that she enjoys reading and writing! I'm always glad to hear things like this! :)

-Sen

[Ubasti]

I think Willa would be fine as well as The Things They Left Behind. Over all thought I think JAS would be a good book for her to read ... maybe leaving out The Cat from Hell and A Very Tight Place.

[smjohn]

My daughter is an avid reader and writer. She likes to write poetry and short stories. I have a copy of Just After Sunset and I haven't gotten to it yet. I would like to show her what kind of elements would be in great short stories. I'm just wondering if there are some that are too scary for a child her age. I'm also wondering about the sexual content.

I've discussed with her the fact that some authors use foul language in their books, so she has been prepared for that aspect of Stephen King's books.

I agree with your concerns as I also have children and monitor what they see and read. I have read JAS and found nothing in it that I wouldn't let my 16 year old daughter read.

[Todash]

It depends on the story and what would upset your daughter.

I would say definitely do not let her read "Gingerbread Girl." "Willa" would probably be okay if the idea of dead people who don't realize they're dead wouldn't upset her, although there are some descriptions of injuries. "Ayana" might be okay.

The thing is, it's not the "scary" stuff in there ... JAS has a lot of what we call adult themes. It's grown-up stuff that a nine-year-old might not be ready for. "Rest Stop" deals with domestic abuse. "The Things They Left Behind" has to do with 9/11. "A Very Tight Place" is about imprisonment in a small, dark place. See what I mean? Those are the kinds of things that grow huge in kids' minds.

I'd say "Willa," maybe, but I'd read it first and see what you think.

[gclark]

I completely understand your concern. WHile there are curse words and such other inappropriate events in the book, i don't think it's any more inappropriate than letting your child hang around adults who curse.

as for the stories, I doubt if any of them will scare the pants off of her or anything like that. overall, the new book is a great read and i even read some of the stories to my 5 y/o son. he enjoys listening to stephen king novels (doesn't want me to read any others to him i've noticed) but nothing i read to him was too scary.

I would say go ahead. If she is able to immerse herself into the book, then she would probably have the mindset to not be afraid of the stories. If it's not her thing, it will be evident from the start.

[Haunted]

Offhand I cannot think of anything in JAS that would be objectionable. Sounds like she has a wonderful and creative imagination.:biggrin2:

[bopropadop]

You know your child best. But, I personally would allow mine to read it as long as they discussed it with me throughout. If they were distressed by anything, I'd know and could intervene.

Like others, I think JAS is one of his tamer short story collections.

And kudos to you and your child for making reading a part of life!

[Sundrop]

AWSS (and what Sen said)

In my opinion, nine years is a little bit young. I don't think that JAS too scary, but basically it's written for a more mature audience. In the end, it really doesn't matter what any of us think. You are the only person qualified to make the call for your child. I would definitely suggest reading the book yourself first. Then maybe choose a couple of the stories and read them together. That way, you will be able to evaluate whether or not you are comfortable allowing your daughter to read the book on her own. :)

[Haunted]

I think Willa would be fine as well as The Things They Left Behind. Over all thought I think JAS would be a good book for her to read ... maybe leaving out The Cat from Hell and A Very Tight Place.

Oh, I don't know about Very Tight Place....kids relate to and are fascinated by poop.:biggrin2: Gets that whole EWWWWWWWWW mode going.

[crazycrashink]

I think that with the exception of The Gingerbread Girl (which disturbed me at age 23) and a few other more mature ones, JAS offers several great stories for a young reader. Ayana and Willa being 2 of my picks. I think as long as you read each story before you allow her to, you will be able to judge what is or isn't suitable. Also, you reading the stories right before you daughter does could lead to some interesting discussions afterwards :biggrin2:

[JohnDalglish]

My daughter is an avid reader and writer. She likes to write poetry and short stories. I have a copy of Just After Sunset and I haven't gotten to it yet. I would like to show her what kind of elements would be in great short stories. I'm just wondering if there are some that are too scary for a child her age. I'm also wondering about the sexual content.

I've discussed with her the fact that some authors use foul language in their books, so she has been prepared for that aspect of Stephen King's books.


Hi,

I'm just wondering why, with all the Sai King material available, you're asking US if she should read it?

As a proponent of home schooling, don't you think that it's YOUR job to read anything potentially questionable before she does?

WHY haven't you read JAS yet?

And Eyes of the Dragon!

Long days and pleasant nights

[smjohn]

Hi,

I'm just wondering why, with all the Sai King material available, you're asking US if she should read it?

As a proponent of home schooling, don't you think that it's YOUR job to read anything potentially questionable before she does?

WHY haven't you read JAS yet?

And Eyes of the Dragon!

Long days and pleasant nights

Maybe she just wanted our opinions because she has a little trust in them. It's always good to get feedback from people when you are unsure/sure about something...It helps to make a firm decision.

[Seneca_V]

I forgot about A Very Tight Place, I'm 29 and that one freaked me out enough that I forgot it, not that it wasn't a good story though, lol :D I'm claustrophobic, so that story bothered me a lot, which is fine, that's one reason I read SK! :)

[Haunted]

Hi,

I'm just wondering why, with all the Sai King material available, you're asking US if she should read it?

As a proponent of home schooling, don't you think that it's YOUR job to read anything potentially questionable before she does?

WHY haven't you read JAS yet?

And Eyes of the Dragon!

Long days and pleasant nights

I would expect, John, that Angel as a homeschool mother must have plenty of reading material in order to prepare for schooling. Plus, if the kids are involved in other outside classes, that means driving them there etc. I would see that would leave her very little time to catch up on her own reading and she has turned to us for our objective opinions. And I would expect this is her first experience with the responsiblity of a 9 year old girl and she is looking for more experienced parental advice.:smile2:

[AngelZ]

I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to make comments, share your opinions and experiences, and ask questions.

I would love to be able to preview everything that my two kids get into whether that be reading material, movies, tv shows, games... That would be the ideal situation. Part of my job as a homeschooler, mother, and wife (not necessarily in that order) is to prioritize, and pick the projects and tasks that would be most beneficial to the family at large. I have one homeschool friend who's son was traumatized by a particularly gruesome passage in a book that she decided she was going to read all books before she gave them to her son. She told me how she'd stay up into the wee hours of the morning prereading Harry Potter books, and she had trouble keeping up. IMO, my time could be better spent than prereading all my kids' books. I might do it for certain books, but not all. Even the books that I've read in the past which I thought were entirely appropriate for a 9 year old, reading it a second time, now I notice contain certain passages which I consider adult content.

I depend to a large degree on Amazon, websites that review movies, dvds, homeschoolers, and other people's expert opinions. I will admit, that some things may fall through the cracks, and the children might see, read, hear something that might so great for little years, but that's part of life. One of my motto is, "Let not the perfect be the enemy of the good." --Voltaire. But I do try to keep the unnecessary bad stuff to a minimum as best I can.

Judging from the varied responses, JAS might be something that I should read first. I might read a short story and then if it passes my test, I'll let her read it.

The question that I put out is a tough one because what may be appropriate for one 9year-old may not be appropriate for another and different children find different things frightening. I used to have a fear of the toilet, but only at night, and I believe I had this fear almost through high school, but neither of my two kids have the same phobia.

BTW the idea to have my 9 year-old read JAS came from my husband who doesn't read all of S.K.'s books, but just happens to be of the opinion that he is a great story teller.

[~Ally~]

I used to have a fear of the toilet, but only at night, and I believe I had this fear almost through high school

Hi Angelz, since you had a phobia of the toilet i would suggest you don't proof read 'A Very Tight Place' as you may just find that phobia re-occurring.:barf: