HOT TOPIC: Harry Potter
Volume 2, Issue 24 - March 4, 2006"Harry Potter has been a central character in my children’s lives. This is a fact I have come to appreciate. Early on when I became aware of his presence in our lives, I filed him away with the various and sundry literary figures I knew from my own childhood and adolescence. As a point of reference this worked…..for a while. The Sorcerer’s Stone was a significant literary event in our household, quickly followed up by the Chamber of Secrets, which had also been published by the time my children discovered the series. The texts were as thick as adult novels and my kids were plowing through them in several days, voraciously consuming them during their summer vacations.
The Prisoner of Azkaban marked a major turning point in our household, as now not only were my children talking incessantly about these books, but my wife had joined the chatter. Also, my daughter had queued in on author J.K. Rowling and began finding out everything she could about her online. Impressed by her simple beginnings and – dare I say it – seemingly magical rise to the top of contemporary children’s literature – she became her hero. This Harry Potter phenomenon had some legs!
Since then, the Goblet of Fire, the Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince have filled in subsequent stages in Harry’s story. The movies have become as anticipated as the books and children (and adults) everywhere continue to enjoy this series. I hope that my efforts to bring together the best online resources to integrate Harry Potter into the classroom will provide you with a variety of resources to tap into this interest and enthusiasm for the series. Enjoy!"
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