The other advice is to go against the recommended culture if a plant simply is not thriving. I have taken several 'warm growing' plants out of the warm greenhouse and placed them in the cool greenhouse because they simply were not doing well. Some continued their downhill course but others turned around and are doing better. Before a plant succumbs in my care, I move it around trying to find a better place for it even if it's supposedly already in the optimum place. A friend of mine, who has many plants, keeps the tag of every plant that succumbs in his care. He has been doing this for over 30 years and he no longer counts the tags, instead he measures the number of cubic feet occupied by them. How depressing! One of my favorite movies, 'Moonstruck' has a scene where an older man has a glass of water thrown in his face by his unhappy younger companion. After she storms out, he tells the waiter to remove every trace of her from the table. When a plant commits the ultimate insult by dying in my expert care, I remove every trace of it. I also get rid of plants who are lingering and don't look happy. I give them away or take them to silent auction unless I suspect virus in which case I discard them. Visitors to my place comment how my plants appear to be doing uniformly well. That is no accident, the unhappy ones are cast out into the wilderness after a couple of moves. I also clean house with genera I'm simply no longer interested in. One of my goals is to get rid of all of my Cymbidiums, give them away or sell them for $5.00 at silent auction, simply have no interest in them any more. Life is too short, there is too little space available and they take too much work for undesirable plants to have a place at the table. There are so many who thrive and simply explode if they love your conditions, it's just a question of finding them. 'Undesirable' means either the plant does not like you or you don't like the plant. For the plant that means:In either case, don't let the door hit you in the a-- on the way out. Nick

the misguided "my kid is so smart he can read HP when he is 5 so I let him" and "I don't really care what he watches as long as he is out of my hair" attitude Whoa there! Parents who let their kid read books at a high reading level because the child has an accelerated reading ability and parents who plop their kids in front of the TV to keep them out of their hair are in two VERY different categories. Not to say that there aren't parents who do both, but I'd say that those are few and far between. Kids who can read beyond their supposed reading level don't just do that on their own. Love of reading is fostered and encouraged by the parents and the parents have to give the kids access to these books. I'm not saying that no kid can read beyond his level without the help, or that parents who help are guaranteed a child who can read beyond his level. What I'm saying is that it takes a combination of both, and I'd argue that the vast majority of kids (I mean kids who are not otherwise disabled) could read at a much higher level if their parents would do the things which encourage reading. That includes reading to them at a young age and when they are older, having them read to you when they are able; visiting libraries and letting kids pick out books they are interested in; turning off the TV and video games and giving kids an opportunity to entertain themselves; discussing books they've read, and yes, challenging them to read books beyond their level. Kids who have the opportunity to read books beyond their level have a better chance to love reading because they are exposed to new and interesting words and ideas and plots which make them WANT to read more. I agree with lindac who says that it's far more likely that a child who can't read will turn to violence. And I still think most of these kids who can't read have trouble ONLY because their reading skills were not properly fostered by their parents & teachers, not because they lack the natural ability to learn. I have two boys, age 20 & 17, both of whom are avid readers and have been since they learned how to read. So I feel that I have a basis from which to speak regarding kids & reading, oh, yeah, and reading beyond their level, which both of my boys did practically from the beginning. Carla, I can't be certain, but nothing in your posts makes me believe you've read these books Yeah, I'd kinda like to know the answer to that question too. And I'd also like to know what other influences these violent kids you know have in their lives. Interesting discussion although we certainly strayed from the OP's questions. my3sons1, did you go see the movie? What was your decision in the end?

I see everywhere "Dumbledore can't be dead he was such a powerful how can he be killed off that easily." Well it is that easy when you use Avada Kedavra. It doesn't matter if you're muggle or a Order of Merlin 1st Class. If you get hit you're dead. Like a Wizard's Raid. Kills People Dead. Now I guess you can say his spirit might still be out there because a pheonix rose from the grave which is probably his spirit. Also his painting is in the headmasters office. There is probably an enchantment on the room to create a painting when the person dies. Now I don't think Dumbledore is as good as fooling an enchantment. Do you. Oh yeah and the idea of the inferi potion I can only see one problem with it. Not that many people have gone to the cave. In fact Dumbledore and R.A.B.(Regulus?) have been there. Well that's all except this forum is almost full so I'm starting a new one called Harry Potter book 7

You all are amazing. What a variety and wealth of info about kid's books (and so many other things)! I remember hearing of Lemony Snicket (didn't Jim Carey do a movie?) so I'll check those out. I looked at Beverly Cleary books, not sure he'd be drawn to Ramona, but the Mouse and Motorcycle looks like a great fit. He loves furry creatures and all things vehicle, so I think he'd love it. It looks like there will be a movie about How to Train your Dragon, and I think that might be a nice segue from the My Father's Dragon books (well, at least both about dragons), so will add that to my list, too. How fun Renogirl to write that blog. I'll bookmark it and watch for your other recommendations. We saw a children's theatre performance of Charlotte's web so that might not be a first choice for him, just because he knows the story, but I'll look at Trumpet of the Swan. Thanks! Illustrated classics looks interesting, too. Thanks! I'm probably the only person in the world who hates the Wizard of Oz (the movie, but it will have ruined the books for me), so he'll have to get that from someone else :-) I never read the Little House books, just grew up on the TV show, but I think he'd really like the pioneer aspect, how people used to live. I know I didn't personally address everyone who posted. I've been having terrible internet problems, so just gave up, but please know I so appreciate you all taking time to write your thoughts. I think we've got 7-10 about covered here! Thank you all.