When J.K. Rowling looked out the window during a train ride and saw visions of a young boy playing a sport called Quidditch atop of a flying broomstick, she couldn't possibly imagine the phenomenon that has become Harry Potter today.
It's hard to make your way through a bookstore, school, movie theater, or mall without hearing or seeing the words "Harry Potter." Around the release date for the latest Harry Potter book or movie, you can't even turn on the TV or read a newspaper without seeing lines of Harry Potter fans anxiously awaiting the next installment.
July 2007 saw the release of the final Harry Potter book as well as the fifth Harry Potter movie and Harry Potter mania was at its peak, drawing crowds that lined around blocks and prompting special Harry Potter events full of games, trivia, and crafts at bookstores, schools, and community centers across the globe. If you're already a Harry Potter fan, you were probably lining up right along with them--with or without kids in tow.
If this "Harry Potter mania" has left you wondering how a series of seven books "aimed at children" could possibly garner this kind of global following, you probably haven't given the Harry Potter series a chance! There are millions of adult fans of Harry Potter, many of whom don't even have children with whom to share the books, and Rowling has been quoted as saying that she wrote the books for herself--as an adult--to enjoy, not necessarily for children.
Indeed, as the Harry Potter books get longer and more serious as the series progress, there are a lot of dark issues that may frighten the youngest children who love the earlier Harry Potter books. A lot of the literary themes, like the quest of the hero, that make their way into Harry Potter would definitely fly over the heads of young children but present quality, entertaining literature to the adults who catch them.
Still, your children's love for Harry Potter could be the perfect opportunity to teach your children about the harsher sides of life such as the death of loved ones, the existence of evil in the world, and the fact that life doesn't always reward the good and just people fairly.
Read Harry Potter with your children and you can also teach them that not everyone is completely evil or completely good, that even the people who have done wrong can strive for self-forgiveness and redemption and that even the best of people have their darker moments but it's our choices to do the right thing that defines us as "good."
Harry Potter also teaches about the power of love, friendship, and forgiveness as well as choosing not to be apathetic but to make a difference in the world. These are lessons from which any child can benefit!
Whether you have children or not, Harry Potter is definitely worth your time! It will take you to a magical world while teaching you the best way to deal with the hardships found even in this world. Stop wondering why millions of people around the world embrace Harry Potter and find out for yourself!
About the Author
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.2ace.biz 2 2acebiz
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