Yes, I know.  And I am not going to pretend that I will be plowing any new ground with this.  However, I have just come from my first reading of the entire series as presented thus far and I can't resist putting in my two cents worth.  So here goes....

What we have here is a phenomenon that is, for a change, deserved.  So much of what children today are offered is junk.   Pokemon, Power Rangers, PowderPuff girls, Sailor Moon just to name a few, are filled with violence, sexual innuendo inappropriate for youngsters and cardboard, stereotypical roll models that all seem to be the same character over and over again.

J. K. Rowling is offering up a magical wonderland of beings and creatures that become believable (for a little while) and give a reader's imagination a place to soar!

My ten year old grandson loves these books.  His (almost) fourteen year old sister does too.  Their 30 something Mom avidly read every one of them.  And I carried a copy of The Goblet of Fire with me to a doctor's appointment yesterday.  In the elevator, a white-haired woman of 60+ years smiled at me and said "Isn't that a wonderful book?"  My point is :  These stories are accessible and completely enjoyable to readers on many different levels and encompassing nearly any age group.  All that is necessary for the reader's enjoyment is a willingness to use imagination and accept a world populated by witches, wizards, giants, hippogriffs, unicorns, fairies and house-elves. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione are real kids.  Take away the wizard and witchy behavior and we all know these characters.  They struggle with homework, quarrel and make up, do dumb things one minute and brave, heroic acts the next minute. 

There are also many outlandish creatures offered up for our benefit.  My favorite reoccurring characters to hate are, of course, the Dursleys.  It's just a toss up as to whether the worst of the worst is Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon or, awful, fat (and getting fatter) cousin Dudley.  With each new break away that Harry manages from their horrible home on Privet Drive, I feel as  though a huge weight had been lifted from my chest.  HA!  Take that, you terrible, mean, rotten Muggles! 

You are going to find out real quick, though, that in Harry's world, there are definitely many Magical foes as well.  The evil, ever present Lord of Darkness (who most wizards and witches will not even call by name), the hateful Professor Snape, Draco Malfoy and the other Slytherins are among the cast that work extra hard to make Harry's life miserable whenever possible.

On the side of good (and of Harry) are the wonderful half-giant Hagrid, Ron's parents, Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, and the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, to name only a few.  Nearly every character becomes real and interesting in the hands of Ms. Rowling. With each successive book, the reader gets to know the reoccurring players a little better.

Start your reading of this series with the first book, if at all possible, since The Sorcerer's Stone begins Harry Potter's life as a first-year student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  With each successive book, Harry celebrates a birthday and moves onward and upward in his studies at the school.

The only trouble with reading these four books is that now I'm going to have to wait, just like every other lover of Harry Potter, for the next exciting adventure to see what happens next!

Hunting Badger
by Tony Hillerman

Obsidian Butterfly
by Laurell K. Hamilton

   A Kiss of Shadows
  by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Harry Potter Series
by J. K. Rowling

The Books I Love
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Books I Love
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