With the seventh book in her series, J.K. Rowling completes the story of orphaned wizard Harry Potter. Twelve million people are anxiously awaiting the answer to one burning question: She wouldn't kill off Harry, would she? But there are other questions to be answered: What will we do when we no longer have Potter Anticipation in our lives? Do we want J.K. Rowling to write sequels? Will the character of Harry Potter spin off into stories written by other people, as Sherlock Holmes has? Will Rowling's books endure as classic children's fiction after the hype has died? And, finally, what is it about this series that made so many of us, across so wide an age span, care so much about a group of fictional characters?
1 comment:
Hi, Sharron:
Your post echoes my thoughts lately: Who would my 8 year old be if Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had not been published the year before she was born? As far as she's ever known there has never been a world without Hogwarts. We've read the books to her, we've listened to them on long car rides, and now she reads them herself while she awaits Book 7. (Her favorite band is, of course, Harry & the Potters.)
Professionally speaking (as a librarian) I can tell you that Potter fever is not what it once was. My elementary school students will probably line up to read Deathly Hallows, but they're more stoked about Eragon and Dragon Rider, The Last Apprentice and My Weird School.
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