Harry Potter's real magic: a generation of readers
My youngest daughter, who is 15 years old, was among the muggles who packed into the Randall 15 theater last week for the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix .
My reaction: You go, girl.
After all, she and Harry have had a long, magical journey together.
When my daughter was in second grade, my family read the first Harry Potter book together. Actually, we listened to it on tape during a trip to Florida. The tale of Harry, Hermione, muggles and Moaning Myrtle made the long drive fly by faster than Hedwig on an express delivery.
We loved it -- and so did millions of others.
Since that time, though, I haven't read the other books in the series. Fantasy isn't really my genre. I watched only one of the five movies. Without the aid of a Harry Potter dictionary, I wouldn't know Polyjuice Potion from Pumpkin Pasties.
But I'm truly wild about Harry, nonetheless. That's because you might say Harry taught my youngest daughter to read. At the very least, J.K. Rowling's series provided thousands of pages of inspiration.
When my youngest first listened to that book on tape, she was struggling with reading.
My wife and I read regularly to all three of our daughters when they were children, but our youngest was perhaps at a disadvantage. Some of the stories, while appropriate for our oldest, likely whizzed over her head.
As it turns out, it was that book on tape that we rented for the Florida drive that ended up firing her imagination, as great books can do.
Recognizing an opportunity, my wife purchased the hard copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , as well as the book on tape. And we marveled at how our daughter would stay up late at night, listening to the audio while her eyes and occasionally her index finger followed along in the book.
She must have listened along while reading the story five times, probably more. And she did the same with subsequent books in the series (which her older sisters devoured as well).
Within a year or so of her introduction to Harry Potter, our youngest had been transformed from a struggling reader into a self-assured book lover. Some extraordinary teachers in Batavia schools doubtlessly deserve credit for that growth spurt, but J.K. Rowling was right there, too, tugging a youngster along with narrative power.
I know our family wasn't alone in the Harry Potter experience. A co-worker of mine burned the midnight oil with his children and all of the books. A neighbor read each work aloud to his kids, even as they grew up and were perfectly capable of tackling the later novels on their own. Countless other families share special Harry Potter memories.
With the release of the latest movie and, later this month, the last book of the series, Harry Potter fans have hit the jackpot in July. What is thrilling about all this isn't merely the long lines at movie theaters or the speed at which the new books will fly off the shelves.
More amazing is the whole Potter phenomenon, which took off and endured during an era of cartoon images and video games.
For a generation of young people, and generations to come, the real magic of Harry Potter happens outside the pages.
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