a boring book to read to a child

Question

a. That is a boring book to read to a child.

Is the above sentences grammatically correct?

Is the child going to get bored or the one who reads it to the child?

Is the speaker advising against reading the book to a child, or merely stating that the book is boring? Maybe he or she thinks that one should read that book to a child even though the child will get bored.

Many thanks

Answer 1

The sentence is grammatical, but it could mean that the book is boring for the reader, the child, or both. The surrounding text might resolve doubt.

Answer 2

I think the intended meaning is that the book would be boring for a child, but not necessarily boring for adults. The sentence isn't quite idiomatic, however, and it could be taken that the book is just boring for everybody.

The structure would be fine if you were making a comment about suitability for children, for example:

• That is a good book to read to a child.
• That is a strange book to read to a child.

However, "boring" is a very specific reason why the book is unsuitable. It would be more idiomatic to say:

• That is a boring book for a child.

Similarly:

• That is a long book for a child
• That is a scary book for a child