Unless you've been on a desert island for the past decade, you've probably heard about the publishing phenomenon that is the Harry Potter series. Harry mania among both kids and adults has swept around the globe since the first book burst on the scene in 1997. The books—and their subsequent movie versions —have made pots of money and become cultural touchstones.
Debates have raged all over the Internet and in thousands of related articles and books about the Potter books’ metaphorical meanings, the finer plot points, and how the saga will end. The July 21st release of the series finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows —coming just a week after the release of the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix —will be the media event of the year.
So what’s a parent to think about all this? Has it been overblown? Is it all just clever merchandising targeting vulnerable children? Is there real value to this phenomenon? And is it really worth all this massive hype?
The answer, in a word, is yes. It is worth all this hype, and then some. Never have the needs of kids, parents, teachers, and commerce coincided so perfectly. Unless you object to stories involving magic, it's hard to see a downside. Here are just a few of the beneficial effects of this stupendously successful series:
• It wouldn't be unreasonable to say that the Harry Potter series has single-handedly raised the reading level of an entire generation of kids.
• Unlike so many other children’s fads (think Goosebumps more than a decade ago), the Potter series has accomplished the above with high-level, complex, densely intellectual, wildly exciting literature with strong values.
• In libraries and bookstores around the world, kids who've never shown any interest in books are lining up for the Harry Potter series, then begging for more books just like them.
• This series proves that you don’t have to give kids trash to get them to read, and that it's not just bookworms who love great stories.
• It's spurred a resurgence of the fantasy genre. What's so great about that? One of the biggest problems in finding books for kids in grades 4-8 is that their reading level is often far beyond their emotional level. Fantasy is one of the few genres— perhaps the only one—in which advanced young readers can reliably encounter rich, complex literature that doesn't bring in the kinds of issues (sex, drugs, alcohol, adult emotions) that they aren't developmentally ready to deal with yet.
The only proven way for kids to improve their reading abilities is to do lots of reading for pleasure—which they're more inclined to do when they find something with a great story and engaging characters. Parents want to find books that will keep their kids enthralled with reading. Teachers want that, as well as a lot of meaty issues to discuss. And the business world, of course, wants to make money. The Harry Potter series is a perfect storm—it fully and triumphantly meets everyone's needs.
A series of books that has awakened millions of kids all over the world to the pleasures of reading and alerted thousands of adults to the pleasures of children's literature—this is one product we can recommend without reservation.
Matt Berman is a book reviewer for Common Sense Media. He has taught elementary school for over 26 years and has written four books on children's literature.
