Libraries prepare for Harry's last hurrah
WAUKEGAN -- The corn might have been knee-high on the Fourth of July, but it has nothing on the bumper crop of all things Harry Potter that is taking shape as fans of the J.K. Rowling series prepare for a month like no other.
First, on July 11, comes the film version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment in the saga of the boy wizard. But, while the films have enjoyed their own measure of fan devotion, the real anticipation is building toward July 21, when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" hits bookstores and brings closure to a success story 10 years and 325 million copies in the making.
Along with retail stores and on-line vendors, libraries across the literary world are preparing for the last hurrah of a phenomenon widely credited with luring millions of children away from the video controllers long enough to enjoy a book.
"We had 30 people sign up right after 9 o'clock," said Antioch Public Library Youth Services Director Joan Padbury on registration for a July 18 "Harry Potter Party," which is limited to the first 100 muggles.
Padbury added that there was no specific deadline for registration, but Harry fans "were all asking when they could sign up" when word of the party started spreading in recent days.
Mary Lee Whitbrod was among those getting a jump on signing up, and she isn't necessarily in the demographic targeted by Scholastic Books.
"I signed up my grandchildren as a surprise -- they're on vacation right now," Whitbrod said. "They're 7 and 8, and the 8-year-old is the one who started getting into it first. That's her Halloween costume every year."
While Whitbrod had to think a moment to remember who her granddaughter dressed up as -- Hermione Granger, Harry's brainy friend -- she said most of her family could nail a Harry Potter trivia contest.
"All of my kids are into Harry Potter, and they're in their 20s and 30s now," she said. "I like the books, but they won't let me read theirs -- they say, 'Don't you dare get them dirty.'"