COMPASS & LOTR comparison

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

It is quite scary though - if it frightened me in places, I think it would definitely scare a child!

Yes, it is. Not scary because there are monsters, though, but because it has some rather depressing/scary/disgusting events (or actually just one, but it's bad enough) and also, in some book of the series (can't remember which one), Pullman kills his characters quite carelessly. These two are my only objections against reading the book to a young child. Maybe "objection" is too strong a word, though, as I would have had no problem reading the book as an 8-year-old. I would have been a little scared (not too much, though) and sad, but wouldn't have gotten nightmares or "bad thoughts". I think it would have been just good for me. But I never was too sensitive a child... but my sister reading it as 8-year-old might have been troubled and my cousin would not have wanted to finish it, it would have been so bad for her in that age. So I think it depends entirely on the personality of the child in question.