Harry Potter started flying off bookshelves and into children’s lives during the years that I wasn’t paying much attention to juvenile fiction. I had already received my B.A. in English with a focus on children’s literature and was no longer spending my summers working in the children’s department of the local library. I was a mother, but at the time I was busy introducing my children to characters such as Madeline, Peter Rabbit, and Christopher Robin.
So it was that I didn’t take much notice of J. K. Rowling’s series of books until Drama Boy started reading them about three years ago. I still didn’t really pay attention, even when Boy Genius began the series as well. I knew there were some Christians who objected to the magic in the books, but I didn’t have much reading time and fantasy is not a genre I particularly enjoy. Larry was listening to the audio version with the boys while they ran their paper route so I left it to him to discuss any elements that needed discussing.
Fast forward to this spring, when I was waiting for someone in the van and saw that Drama Boy had left Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (the first book in the series of seven) in the front seat. Never one to resist a book, I reluctantly picked it up and started reading. And was hooked. I still don’t care for fantasy as a genre, but I was impressed by Rowling’s writing in general and the development of characters (and their imaginary world) in particular. One book led to another, and pretty soon I had devoured the entire series.
In the meanwhile, Boy Genius resumed reading (he had never gotten past the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Twirly Girl started reading. As I read, I did decide to set some age guidelines because I felt some of the scenes in the later books are rather intense for my younger kids. Even with those restrictions, suddenly all three older children had something in common with each other–and with me (and Larry). I finally understood some of the things that Drama Boy had been saying and doing for years, and meanwhile the kids set up a Quidditch field in the back yard and made their own wands so they could work on their Patronus charms.
As for the ever-popular movies, the most recent of which was released last week, we’ve held to our standard movie rule:
You must read the book before you can watch the movie.
The boys had already purchased and watched the first three movies; Larry and I ended up buying the next two (which are rated PG-13) when I became possessed with the urge to watch all five before attending Half Blood Prince. We had hoped to attend the midnight showing last Wednesday, just for fun, but were unable to find a babysitter at that hour. We settled for going Wednesday evening, which is just as well because enough caffeine to keep me awake until 3am is not a good thing. We both enjoyed the movie very much, more so as we couldn’t remember the last time we went to a movie just the two of us, but even so my standard movie review applies:
The book is always better than the movie.
