Why has “Harry Potter” become so big when other such mystical series were just barely memorable? For example, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, for one? Is it all solely the anticipation of the slow release of each consecutive book?
I just don’t get it…
Not having been around when Narnia was first written, it seems to have been hugely popular anyway. There were some animated movies made from it, and the books are still sold to this day.
It’s probably fair to compare the two in popularity, even if it didn’t garner quite the rabid following.
Yes, you are correct, but IIRC, the hype just wasn’t apparent. Maybe it was quietly anticipated. I just know we were forced to read all those Lloyd Alexander books “Book of Three” series in 7th grade English. God, I wanted to just die of boredom in English class after being tortured by the whole series. Well, I guess I’m biased against these series because of said events, years of therapy, and the nervous tick which remains! 
- Jinx
Huh. I loved the Lloyd Alexander books. As well as the Narnia books.
The only thing about Harry Potter that bugs me is that the books are just OK. I think that both Narnia and the Book of Three series are far superior in many ways. The Potter series is just more accessible to a modern audience, despite their length. But, judging from the bleak landscape of current children’s literature (from my perspective), I can’t blame the kiddies.
As an aside, have there been any other successful new authors in children’s literature lately?
Ah! I wasted my 69th post on Harry Potter?!?
Hmm… sounds like some bad slash fiction.
I keep hearing about a guy named Darren Shan who writes vampire books. I’ve even seen him mentioned on Japanese websites (I can’t actually read Japanese though, so I’m not sure what’s what).
Anybody out there read him?
Re: the OP, there are definitely a lot of great children’s series which seem to have gone down in history without quite recieving the Harry Potter hype. But I would say the Chronicles of Narnia is pretty darned popular. Look at how many reprints it’s been through. (In my personal opinion, Harry Potter is slightly better despite its flaws, as I didn’t like Narnia as much as some people. Then again nothing in HP will probably match the end of Prince Caspian). I also suspect it will turn out to have more staying power than Harry Potter, though I think Narnia is maybe a tad overrated. (Just my opinion, please don’t flame me).
Sorry about the end of that post, I thought I deleted the part about HP being slightly better as I felt I had gone too far. Now it looks like I was repeating myself groans
I curse Harry Potter (although I lust in my heart after his creator,) because the series is so similar to Anthony Horowitz’s less agressively-marketed, but, in my opinion, somewhat superior, Groosham Grange, that any attempt to promote GG will fail due to people’s thinking it’s a Harry Potter knock-off.
The first book was published a bit before Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and has several points of striking similarity. Oppressed kid (although Horowitz is has given the little blighter a much harsher homelife-- his father’s a strong believer in corporal punishment. “Never did me a bit of harm,” he says “Well, you are in a wheelchair, dear,” his wife points out. “A small price to pay for good etiquette.”) Mysterious forces contrive to make sure he goes to a nice new school. He meets a slightly thick boy and an exceptionally bright girl on an unscheduled train to the schoolgrounds. Of course, all of the teachers at Groosham Grange are steeped in the dark arts.
It has wicked wicked humour. It’s marvelous. It really picks my bum that it’s remainder-bin fodder.
I know it’s a point of controversy, but J.K. Rowling’s prose style seems juvenile to me. (Apart from being KidLit.) It gets me down because I’d really like to be able to enjoy her books-- she draws on a lot of sources that I’m very interested in, and happy to see popularized.
The Groosham Grange books, on the other hand, manage to turn that Roald Dahl trick of being aimed at kids, but written in such a way that they can give a lot of pleasure to a mature reader.
I suppose I’ll give JKR’s stuff another shot when the series is complete… I’ve only picked up The Philosopher’s Stone, and couldn’t be arsed to finish it. Her writing seems leaden to me. (Write your own puffer joke.)
It’s now 3:30 AM, and I consign myself to sleep. Aplogies if this has been less-than-coherant.
The Chronicles of Narnia are fifty years old; they were published long before the current blockbuster era in entertainment. In fact, pretty much all of the great modern children’s fantasy (Susan Cooper’s “The Dark Is Rising” sequence, Lloyd Alexander’s “Chronicles of Prydain,” much of the best work of Diana Wynne Jones, Narnia, and so on) is at least twenty years old, and so was published in a very different world.
Once the blockbuster mentality came to the book world (in the US, this would be in the '80s with the rise of the mall bookstores and the increasing emphasis on the New York Times bestseller list), it was only a matter of time before some children’s book or series was a huge success, in the same way that other categories had breakout, massive successes – think John Grisham or Nicholas Sparks. It took children’s fiction a bit longer because that side of publishing had always concentrated on selling their books into libraries, which is a steady dependable business, rather than aiming for consumers, who were thought to be unlikely to have much money or control over how it was spent.
Of course, these days, we all know that tweens and young teenagers have more free disposable income than their parents, and that they’re much more likely to spend that money on “hot” items. So, when the right book came along, they jumped.
That’s all to answer the question of why no other book had done it first, but the OP was asking why this book. Timing certainly had something to do with it, but I suspect the real reason was that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a good-enough book with lots of elements that appealed very strongly to its target audience (not due to any calculation by Rowling, by all accounts, but just because that was the story she wanted to tell). So it became a huge word-of-mouth bestseller in the UK (there was essentially no promotion at first, and the first printing was tiny), and that enthusiasm infected the US and then spread around the world.
The fact that the books got better as they went along helped to keep the enthusiasm going, and Rowling’s real talents (and her books’ appeal to adults) added to the potential audience. She might not be quite as marvellous as her most zealous fans claim, but she’s a quite good writer with some impressive strengths.
I work as a kid’s bookseller in a bookstore. Those Narnia books sell really well. Granted, most of thet ime it’s for a teacher’s reading list, but I personally always recommend them to parents looking for a good set of books for children. And I’m usually surprised that people come in looking specifically for series and sets of books, although I suppose it makes sense, because if the child likes it, they can just pick up the next book, rather than look for a similar author. But many people come in looking for Narnia, as well. It seems very popular, just not as hyped.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.
Awesome series, destined for literary immortality. Counterpoint to Narnia. Paradise Lost Part 2, in a way.
“barely memorable” :eek:
The Narnia books have been going strong for 50 years. I hardly call that “barely memorable.” We’ll see who remembers Harry Potter in 2053, shall we?
And I’ll second DrNick. His Dark Materials trilogy is far superior to Harry Potter in many ways. Better writing, better character development, better story. In fact, I need to read those again…
The word that keeps coming back to this thread is “hype.” And therein lies the reason that the Harry Potter books have become so popular. Very deliberate, very calculated media hype.
Which isn’t to say they aren’t good books… I love them, my wife loves them, my friends love them, and my kids love them. I wouldn’t say they’re great literature, even for young adults, but they’re at least far better than a great deal of what is written for children these days (thinking about R.L. Stine and the like here). They’re books that are worthy of attention, even if there are better books out there.
But I think G.B.H. Hornswoggler (great name) has hit on it exactly. When most of the real classics of children’s literature were published originally, there was no media hype engine, there were no mall bookstores, and there were certainly no Barnes & Noble Superstores or Borders around. All of the publishing phenomena that we’ve seen have occurred in the last couple of decades: John Grisham, Oprah’s Book Club, Harry Potter, etc. The book business has become very smart at the marketing game, when they see a trend beginning to take shape, they grab it and run with it. Sometimes it fails, but sometimes, as in the cases above, it succeeds phenomenally.
Unfortunately, the Narnia books and Susan Cooper’s “Dark is Rising” series (my personal favorite) and other quality children’s literature came out well before this hype engine existed. That having been said, they still hold their own pretty well, and I’m gratified to see that they have been at least partially swept up in the Harry Potter mania. I used to work in a bookstore myself, and I still have connections. From what I hear, many of the kids’ classics that have always enjoyed steady sales have become more popular in the wake of Harry Potter. It pleases me to see The Grey King on display right next to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I hope that some child will find that book, as I did, and experience the same wonder it gave to me.
After all, the kids have got to read something while the next book is being written… right?
It’s not the same fantasy style, but what about L.M. Montgomery or Milne. Anne of Green Gables and Winnie the Pooh have been around for a really long time, and are still hugely popular.
Here here! I’m just now reading these books (I’m finally on the Amber Spyglass) and I must say they’re amazing. I had been wanting to read them for a while, but what sealed the deal for me was a guest at a wedding I attended recommended them upon learning that I liked Harry Potter. I think I like this series better than Harry Potter, though…it’s quite a bit more intellectually challenging.
Heather
Lemony Snicket?