I have no doubt that the Harry Potter books are well written, and probably very thrilling for a child. But this media blitz is irritating to me because of all the other very good children’s books that are not also being read. When is Daniel Pinkwater going to get his due?
I’m glad that Goosebumps are no longer the rage. The fact is that Harry Potter seems to be among what I consider the good kind of children’s books, not pandering to dumb kids in order to get them to read, but rather pandering to the kinds of kids who are inclined to read books anyway. The function of a good children’s book is, in my opinion, to help smart kids cope with the sense of alienation that comes from being smart. In essence, that’s what the Harry Potter books are about – the very thing that makes Harry Potter an outcast is what makes him special, and this is very comforting to a kid who is trying to deal with being smart in a world made for the mediocre.
I’m glad someone is getting recognition for good work. I just wish there was enough credit to go around to all those who deserve it. How about Madeline L’Engel? John Christopher?
Kellibelli, there are children present! Watch your language about various metallicized female bodyparts, PLEASE!
BTW the book is I think 734 pages. I got it shipping-free b/c I preordered several months ago knowing there would be a mad rush. I pity those delivery people who had all those books in their trucks and had to carry them.
And what’s so good about Harry Potter is that it makes peeple reed. and spel.
Harry Potter is fun. There are a lot of good children’s books. Few kids read them, even the good kids. Having a fun, intellegent book out is good for people. I’m glad there is hype for it. Hype for any product is pretty silly, but I prefer hype for a quality children’s book than a poor quality music group or video game.
They are thrilling for your average educated adult as well as children. They are simply good literature with good lessons and some really good jokes.
My favorite part about Herry Potter is that he finally moved my brilliant little sister off her “I willonly read books in pastel covers” phase. Previously she would only read Babysitters Club books, and only the ones that didn’t have blue covers, green ones were iffy. she has finally started to read good fantasy. Stuff I have been begging her for years to pick up, and she loves it.
It may not be the very best stuff ever written, but Shakespeare hasn’t published anything new in a while, and I think I can make do with some of these new upstarts.
On the Christian view, unless you insist that since the stories never mention Christ’s name they are evil, you probably won’t have a problem. My favorite philosophy teacher loves them enough to read them with his ‘only begotten son’ and that is high distiction indeed. My teacher and his wife are bound and determined to create a “Christian family in a secular world” and do a fine job of it. I got to hear his response when he was asked how he deals with the “anit christian support” the series gives. He basically said ‘what anti christian support’ and that he was happy with the books, the boost to imagination the give his son, and the ideals they champion.
It’s true that I bought the first Harry Potter book to read to my 3 year old, a chapter a night, not sure if he was ready for books without pictures or if I could stand a children’s book for that many nights. To my surprise, I was totally enthralled. Being a voracious reader, I read the first 3 books in 2 weeks myself, and am in the middle of the second one with my son. We went to a Harry Potter book release party Friday night and I was really stunned to see this phenomenon in person. Kids and adults of all ages were swapping stories and speaking strange words, and it was wonderful.
The reason I bought the book was because I read an article on the author. Turns out she was on welfare, and typed each page out of the first manuscript. She was so broke, she could not afford to have those have those typed pages copied, so she typed each page out again. And you gotta respect that.
Do yourself a favor. This is one phenomomenon that really surpasses its hype.
While I haven’t read the series, I can’t see how Harry Potter can be “evil” when several generations of Christians have grown up reading L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz” books. Very few of them burn babies as incense to Satan.
The Harry Potter books is achieving what was thought impossible just three years ago: Children wanting to read 700-page books. If that is not a sign of greatness, then I don’t know what is.
“I read the first 3 books in 2 weeks myself, and am in the middle of the second one with my son.”
Pray tell what took you so long? When I reread the books it takes me all of maybe three hours for the first one. I plan on starting and finishing HP4 tonight, possibly having to stay up an hour or so past my bedtime, but not much.
When the Tolkien series came out did it garner this much attention w/respect to people saying it promoted cultish stuff? HP doesn’t exactly promote bad magic, IMO.
As everyone above has said, they’re well-written and very entertaining. So maybe they aren’t instant classics like Lewis Carroll, but given the attention they’re getting, they mostly measure up on the literature scale.
They’re getting kids to read, again as mentioned above. I have to wonder if Rowling’s plan with the latest 700+ page tome was to hook kids with the first three, and then show them that a gigantic book is just as much fun to read as a “normal”-sized one. “Moby Dick,” here we come!
They drive the fundamentalist right-wingers crazy. Nuff said.
Yes, a lot of the media coverage amounts to hype-mongering. But I’d rather have a high-quality book (or series) be the subject of hype, rather than something pointless and shallow like The New Kids on the Block or “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Parents who have read the first few books are HELPING hype the next one. As a parent, I WANT my son to read the big one. I want him to love reading, and if I help hype a book that is making reading ‘cool’ hell, sign me up!
The most important thing is to get them to read. Once they start…
> When the Tolkien series came out did it garner this much
> attention w/respect to people saying it promoted cultish
> stuff? HP doesn’t exactly promote bad magic, IMO.
When The Lord of the Rings came out in 1954 and 1955, it got very little notice. It only slowly built up its popularity over the next decade. It wasn’t until the Ace paperback edition in 1964 and the Ballantine paperback edition in 1965 that it really achieved cult popularity. The first time that I ever recall anyone accusing Tolkien of anything cultish or magical was a Jack Chick tract from the '80’s about Dungeons and Dragons that had a footnote claiming that C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien’s books were just as bad as D and D because they also advocated magic.
People just didn’t go around accusing people of cultish, Satanic behavior in the '50’s, '60’s, and '70’s, or at least they didn’t get any media coverage for it.
I’ve never understood multi-page phobia, but lots of people have it. I can’t read anything over 200 pages. For crying out loud, you’re reading one page at a time. When you get tired or bored, stop, bookmark the page. Continue later. One page at a time.
Time, baby, time. Being a single mom that works full time and works out 10-12 hours a week, I read whenever I can. And I read HP during lunch, at stoplights, bedtime, whenever. It’s as close as I get to not being able to put a book down
Before I had a kid, yeah I would have INHALED these books in a few hours myself
That’s the key. The kids can relate to the stories much better than most other books, without them having to be set in modern times with modern heavy issues bogging it down.
Also, it’s just the right kinds of books, at the right time, a kind of respite from more superficial pleasures that tended to be get the hype in recent years. No Tickle-Me-Elmo, no Pokemon, no Teletubbies toys, no Playstation - it’s all about imagination, reading, so much better for the stimulation of little minds than video games.
Harry Potter is fun, literate and engaging. More than one poster to this thread has pointed out that they are well-written and entertaining. Those are the primary criteria for any book.
As far as getting children to read books other than HP, how do you know they won’t? Libraries post book lists with the heading “If You Like Harry Potter, Try These Books!” Pretty insidious, huh? My daughter even told me of a list that bullets some titles with the squib “J.K. Rowling really likes this book!” Man, these kids don’t know what they’re getting into! Heh heh heh. Once kids start reading, and discover the joy of good literature, they’ll seek out other authors. I don’t mind the hype of Harry Potter if it gets children reading.
I am PO’d a little about some of the posts on this thread from people who are surprised that a “children’s book” is so much fun to read. Don’t act so surprised. Sure, a lot of mass-market stuff for children is crap. But then, a lot of mass-market stuff for adults is crap. But there has always been quality in children’s books. Their issues and vocabulary are usually a little simplified, but children’s issues and vocabulary are like that in real life.
Don’t judge children’s lit. based on limited-vocabulary picture books (although there are some great ones out there) or mass-market books. Read Dear Mr. Henshaw or The Prydain Chronicles or From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Children’s books are an art form unto themselves, and you can’t really criticize them or minimize them until you understand them.
Dave actually I love reading childrens books. Some of my fav authors (who I haven’t read in awhile… I need to read again) Are Beverly Cleary and Tamora Peirce… I also have a bunch of fairy tales on my bookshelf and one of my fav childrens books I have is “The Velveteen Rabbit” One book I remember really enjoying was ‘50 ways to eat Fried Worms’ I think it was called… but then I always was a strange kid and more apt to stick my nose in a book then play games…
It was called “How to Eat Fried Worms” by Thomas Rockwell–one of my favorites. I also really liked “Freckle Juice” and “Chocolate Fever”–did you ever read those? (Apparently I had a thing about food-based books…)
Yes thats it evilbeth… I remember reading Freckle Juice and I envied her some of her freckles (I think them neat) but I don’t remember reading Chocolate Fever… maybe I should go to the library soon…
Man, Topaz, I have got lists of the great kids books! “Chocolate Fever” is about this boy who loves chocolate and eats nothing but. Eventually he starts breaking out in these weird spots. It’s not the measles, not chicken pox–the spots are chocolate! It’s great! Have you ever read “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”? It’s a little younger than the stuff mentioned above but it is great. Drop me an e-mail if you want–we’re completely hijacking this thread!
laughs Yah we are… and no I haven’t read that one though I have heard of it… I’ll send you a mail and not keep this thread from its course any longer grins
Saw an item on the news today about a game of quidditch between mixed teams of 14 year old High School kids. Teacher was referee and everyone was dressed in their favourite fantasy costumes. Looked great fun.
The score was 580 vs. 510 but no one really knew how that happened as there aren’t too many rules.
Bored to death with Harry Potter over here now but anything that gets kids to read – and read 700 page books – is just wonderful in this age.
