Jennifer Garner’s friend claims 3-year-old Violet is reading Jane Austen

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The other day, I mentioned how I get slightly annoyed with Jennifer Garner’s too-sweet “Gee Golly” act. I actually like Garner a lot – I tend to think she’s one of the most talented actresses working today, and I’ve always been interested in knowing what she’s like when she’s not putting on the wholesome act in interview after interview. But I’m pretty much alone in that – because Jennifer is some kind of patron saint to soccer moms and women who love to see pictures of little Violet’s dimples, and her loyal fan base likes the “Gee Golly” thing. Which is fine. God bless. However, the act has taken a slightly hilarious turn.

People Magazine put up a rather glowing, wholesome, cloying article about Jennifer late Tuesday afternoon. Jennifer is interviewed as part of her promotion of The Invention of Lying. Guess what Jennifer spends most of the interview talking about? Being a mom, of course! She even says “oh gosh” for those playing some kind of (wholesome) drinking game. Anyway, that’s not the problem. The problem comes when one of Jennifer’s producer friends, a woman named Lynda Obst, starts talking about how Jennifer is such an amazing mom – and Obst pours it a little thick: “Most of the time that I did spend with [Jennifer] when it was off-set, Violet was cooking with her, or reading Jane Austen, or doing one of these remarkable things that Violet tends to do.” Violet is 3 years old – she’ll be 4 on December 1 of this year. The Invention of Lying filmed in late spring of 2008, back when Violet was 2. So 2-year-old Violet spent her time reading Jane Austen! How fancy!

Jennifer Garner may downplay her mom abilities, but she has no shortage of ideas about encouraging her kids to think creatively, a friend says.

“Every day, you feel like you are off-balance one way or another,” Garner, at Monday’s Hollywood premiere of her comedy The Invention of Lying, told PEOPLE about the secret to juggling career and motherhood. “You just take it one day at a time. Oh gosh, let me know when you figure that out. I don’t think anyone has it.”

Garner may know more about motherhood than she lets on, however.

“Most of the time that I did spend with her when it was off-set, Violet was cooking with her, or reading Jane Austen, or doing one of these remarkable things that Violet tends to do,” producer Lynda Obst told PEOPLE. “She encourages her kids to be independent. At the same time, kind of not television watchers. Readers. Thinkers. She is kind of old-fashioned. She is a very classic mom.”

And as a mom and grandmother herself, Obst says of Garner, “We talk about really fun things to do with our kids. I will talk about the marching band I just formed with my granddaughter. She will talk about interesting play things she is doing. We swap tips. We talk about theory of parenting. We talk about free play and not interfering with the kids when they’re being creative. She is a remarkable mother.”

Invention of Lying co-director Matthew Robinson, who shared helming duties with Gervais, says Garner kept mum – pun intended – about her pregnancy. She was in the early stages while filming.

“I think she didn’t want us babying her, no pun intended,” Robinson says. “Or worrying that we were pushing her too hard or working too long hours. She never told anybody. And it was a surprise to us when we found out a few months after we wrapped.”

[From People]

Truly, Jennifer may have absolutely no control over how crazy Linda Obst made her sound. I don’t care if Violet is a little child-genius, she’s not reading Jane Austen at 2 years old. What‘s next? “Oh, don’t mind 9-month old Seraphina, she’s just translating The Iliad.” I wouldn’t even buy that Jennifer reads Jane Austen to Violet. Jane Austen would be very complicated for a kid that age, especially one of the heavier books, like Persuasion or Mansfield Park (sigh… I love Persuasion). Maybe Jennifer could start reading Emma to Violet in a few years, though. That’s a good starter.

Jennifer and Violet are shown out in matching stripes in Boston on 9/3/09. Credit: Fame Pictures

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24 Responses to “Jennifer Garner’s friend claims 3-year-old Violet is reading Jane Austen”

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  1. Hieronymus Grex says:

    And my 13 year old just got her Harvard Law degree. 🙄

  2. tuatara says:

    When my kids get back from school this afternoon, I am going to start a marching band too. What a fantastic idea.

    Or perhaps we might just watch Scooby Doo, given that I am obviously an “unremarkable” mother.

  3. Firestarter says:

    Perhaps Jen is reading Jane Austen TO Violet. Sounds normal.

  4. just a thought says:

    I read this article on People’s website shortly after it was posted and, without all the build up and added commentary of this report, it comes across as a friend playfully poking at another friend. Although I suppose it iss possible that my ability to take things too literally could have just been impaired.

  5. oh my says:

    Geez, even reading Austen to a 3 or 4-year old would be pretentious. I highly doubt the kid is so erudite she could comprehend Austen. Maybe there’s a child appropriate fairy tale version that the kid is getting.

  6. Firestarter says:

    @Oh my- Is it pretentious to play Mozart to a baby still in the womb?

    My point is, perhaps Jen, reading Jane Austen herself, started reading it allowed to her daughter, so as to include her in something that she was doing for herself. Just like cooking, Jen is cooking, not the child, but I am sure she was probably letting the little girl “help” in some small way- not frying or using a sautee pan.

    My mother read Little Women to me as a child of 5, and I remember that time very vividly and enjoyed it. It never hurts to expose children to things above them on occassion.

    I don’t have kids, so I guess I shouldn’t even comment. But I was one once! : )

  7. Pepper says:

    Um, when my baby brother was born he was the youngest of five, between me and him there was an 11 year age gap so when I was babysitting I’d read to him whatever I was reading at that time either for fun or for school, a lot of it was Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Keats or Goosebumps. Its not unusual to read good books to little children you know.

  8. danielle says:

    I’m not a Garner fan, but I’m pretty sure that was a joke.

  9. Rosalee says:

    My eleven year old granddaughter loves the HBO version of Pride and Prejudice and just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies..she loved it. When she was a very little person, I bought her the entire Anne of Green Gables series and read the Hobbit to her..she now loves to read it is not pretentious in the least, just passing down a love of good books.

  10. Aspen says:

    I’m calling BS on that.

    She’s probably reading it TO her and so she knows the stories. That…I would believe.

  11. mila says:

    I think it was a tongue-in-cheek comment.Sometimes humor does not translate well into print

  12. Taya says:

    Ya, right. What bullshit.

    Next, Garner will be co-writing Goop and talking about us minions. She reminds me of Paltrow, a snotty bitch who is about as innocent as a paid hooker.

  13. Ameia says:

    Wow, I think you’re making way too much of that comment and I think you skewed it. Her MOM was doing the cooking and reading. That’s not weird. And it was probably an adapted version of Austen – they exist, you know.

    My kids read when they were 2 and they’ve always been highly literate. So what?

  14. mollination says:

    Yeah, I think that was a joke or exaggeration.

    I don’t have kids either, but my favorite memories with my mom were the ones where she let me in on her world. I was so happy to eat squash and zuchini while watching Beaches with my mom when I was 2. Not quite Jane Austen, but not quite “2 years old” either. lol

  15. MomInNH says:

    My mother, aunts and cousins can all tell stories about how when I was 3 years old I made everyone listen to me read from my grandfather’s law books. Not only was I reading fluently by 3, but my comprehension level was off the charts. I’ve always loved to read for entertainment and have instilled that love for books and learning in my children… Who, consequently also were reading at age 2 and 3 respectively.

    Unfortunately I know far many more parents who don’t teach their children the basics. Instead they wait until their child is in kindergarten and expect the teachers to just “take it from here”. As someone who has worked with kindergartners and 1st graders, I’m often apalled at the lack of basic intelligence of our country’s young children.

    Before your children enter kindergarten they should know how to tie their shoes, write their name, be potty trained etc. Sadly, most parents can’t be bothered to make sure their child is prepared and by the time they enter school it’s too late. They’re already behind the children whose parents DID care enough to teach them before they enter school.

  16. oh my says:

    @firestarter no it’s not pretentious to play classical music for an infant or show them art – these are things they can experience, comprehend and feel.

    reading actual austen aloud to a young child is reading something to them they can’t comprehend.

    BTW please don’t take this to imply I’m against reading to children early, reading your own books in front of children (which really does encourage them to read for enjoyment themselves) or teaching them to read something they can understand as soon as they start exhibit an interest in reading. You want to get a kid to love reading, start them early and let them read something they can really understand so they continue to enjoy it – they will expand their abilities to comprehend as they grow just don’t tell me that it’s reasonable to expect that a 3 or 4 year old can grasp austen’s prose.

  17. Mairead says:

    As an aside, fairytales are actually bloody horrific stories, tarted up in the late 19th century so that the kids didn’t keep on dying, but still.

    Some kids are just avid readers – I read well at 3. i must have picked it up at nursery school as my parents aren’t readers and certainly weren’t the type to read to me. I doubt they’ve heard of Austen tbh – I can honestly say I’ve never read her either. I think I would prefer the more gutsier and socially-aware George Elliot.

    To be fair, the article does say “reading” Austen, it says nothing of understanding it 😉 Sometimes great literature can catch you, I remember at school when I was about 15, one of my friends who would not have been very academic happening to pick up the copy of “War & Peace” I (I didn’t finish it until I was 20) was trying to get through and just becoming engrossed for hours.

  18. Birdie says:

    If Jen Garner doesn’t want paparazzi to take photographs of her kids, then why does she revolve her whole movie publicity tour around interviews and sound bites where she and her friends exclusively talk about the little girls??

    It seems like a paradox to me. If you don’t want attention focused there, then don’t talk about it.

    Personally, I think she is very well branded. And her brand is All-American Soccer Mom. The Moms wanna hear about Violet and they wanna see pictures, and Jen knows it. If she wanted to disappear, she has the resources, the money and the security, she easily could disappear and fly under the radar. But then the Jen Garner All American Mom Brand would be ruined.

  19. Cinderella says:

    While I doubt Violet can quote passages, she’s probably a good little listener. Jen reading Jane Austen to Violet is believable to me.

    Why do soccer moms get such a bad rap? I wonder how many women who slam them end up being one down the road. There’s no shame in it!

    And for those who are encouraging Pre-K’s to read early, you have my respect.

  20. Goldie says:

    OMG, Get Real. I am sure this was just a joke….

  21. Goldie says:

    People, get real I am sure this lady that made this statement was just kidding, GET REAL.

  22. Sakota says:

    I see the new Hollywood trend is to start pointing out how ‘better’ their kids are as compared to the rest of the Hollywood spud.

    Next we’ll hear about Apple preparing a thesis on the economy and pointers on how to fix the problem. Then Fishstick will quote the bible saying “out of the mouths of babes and sucklings comes perfect wisdom.”

  23. Jane says:

    The article is a lie people, she’s promoting her new movie the invention of LYING the stories about marching bands and reading Jane Austen are invented lies and some of the things mentioned like talking about the theory of parenting are simply ludicrous, some people will believe anything even jennifer garners phony image as the perfect sweetest soccer mom.

  24. 4Real says:

    Good to see people reading Jane Austen, even if it’s a kidlet.