The Magic of Harry Potter

First, a few facts upfront.

I am a teacher.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out the year I started teaching, in 1998.

I have never really been a fan of fantasy fiction.

The most involvement I'd had with Harry Potter was reading aloud chapter one of the first book and, back when you could do this, bring students to see the movie on a field trip.

OK, fast forward 15 years. I have a son, who is 9. In November, it was time for a new book to read aloud. I offered Harry Potter - not, obviously, because I liked it, but to kind of see if he would even be interested -  and he agreed.

It took about a month, but we recently finished it. And now he's onto the second book. On his own.

I now see what the big deal was all about - especially for children. Rowling touches on all the things that make for great children's literature. Likable characters, good and evil, a fantastic setting, children at the heart of a story, and a challenging plot. It is interesting to note that the reading level is 6.7, while kids who read it are often much younger.  Nonetheless, my son, who mostly likes nonfiction (he has dozens of books containing sports facts published by Sports Illustrated) and fiction stories like Babe and Me, in which the plot line is about sports, to my surprise, is enthralled.

Perhaps we would have found another great classic - of which I am now convinced Harry Potter is. A Wrinkle in Time? A Narnia book? Maybe another book would have clicked that switch for my son, the one that encouraged him to move from a solid reader of certain topics in his interest area to a passionate reader. He is 145 pages into Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and talking about part three.

All of this is very cool. It is what you hope for when you help your children - or students - read. Find a series, author, or theme that interests them, and let them go, let them loose, to become independent readers.

So thanks, JK Rowling, for creating your stories at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm glad I've finally gotten around to reading them.