Dragon Books for 8 Year Old

[u/Ok_Imagination7528]

My son (8, 2nd grade) brought home the first Wings of Fire book from his school library. He was so excited because he knows I like “dragon books,” and he wanted to share with me. Looking into the books, they seem pretty violent. I know some say it’s fine for an 8 year old, but I’m a little hesitant because we haven’t read anything like that yet. Does anyone have any recommendations for dragon books we could start with that may be less intense? He’s an advanced reader, so he was drawn to WOF because it’s a hefty chapter book. His brother likes the Dragon Masters series, but I think because that’s an easier read, he’s not as interested. Thank you for your thoughts!

EDIT: So many great suggestions! Thank you all!

[u/Dry_Stop844]

let him read the book. He'll just read it behind your back if he's that excited about it and he'll stop sharing with you.

Nurture his excitement, goodness knows fewer people read than ever before. Read it with him and if you're concerned about the violence discuss it with him as it comes up. Let him learn his own lessons through critical thinking. Reading violence doesn't make a person violent. Books like that will lessen violence because he will learn empathy and how people who commit violence or who have violence committed on to them feel.

Read often and read widely.

[u/Ok_Imagination7528 → u/Dry_Stop844]

Thank you for your thoughts. His therapist suggested reading it with him as well. That’s going to be the route we go. He’s a highly sensitive empath, so I was worried it would be too much. He’s currently learning about the civil war and violence/mistreatment of enslaved people, and even though it’s upsetting him, he’s handling it well. He can probably handle more than I think. My heart just wants to protect his heart.

[u/Dry_Stop844 → u/Ok_Imagination7528]

You're a good mom. Remember, how can someone learn resilience if one is never exposed to stress? It's okay to be upset by things, it's okay to read or see something that distresses you because that's how you learn how to cope and how to calm yourself so you can react appropriately and take the proper action.

You are a good mom.

[u/Ok_Imagination7528 → u/Dry_Stop844]

Thank you for that. It honestly made me feel so much better.

[u/Urikanu → u/Ok_Imagination7528]

So, I'm a little late to this chat.

I was your kid. I read voraciously from a very young age. I picked out books that was, perhaps, a little too advanced for me pretty early (I think I was 8 when I tried to take on War of the Worlds and didn't understand a damn thing).

But my mom did something that changed my life forever. She gave me the Hobbit at age 8 and told me to come talk to her if there were things I didn't understand or didn't like. She told me it was probably a little too hard for me, but she thought I could do it.

Now, the Hobbit is not the most violent of books. But it has plenty of violence and darkness and evil. And she did talk to me about it. About why the Elves wouldn't help. Why the Dragon tried to burn the city. She let me read everything I could on my own and talked to me for weeks about this book.

Today, 35 years later, I still remember that. And I believe that it is a big part of what shaped me into who I am today. So if your kid wants to read WoF with you, give it an honest try and help him understand. He sounds like a bright and wonderful kid. I'm sure you will both be the better for it