Hogwarts Called, I'm In!

Not a day goes by that I don't check my mailbox and feel a pang of rejection for not having received a letter from Hogwarts asking...no, begging...for my presence at the start of a new term.  I know that I'm thirty-five, far older than the eleven-year-old First Years, as newbies to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are called; possess no magical abilities, I'm muggle in every sense of the word; and, perhaps most regrettably, not even British; but a girl--even an almost middle-aged girl--can dream, can't she?  I LOVE ME SOME HARRY POTTER!  J. K. Rowling and her enchanting seven book series changed me as a reader and writer of juvenile fiction and she didn't stop there--Harry Potter changed the whole-wide-world.

The Phenomenon of Harry Potter began in 1997, when struggling single mother J. K. Rowling published the first installment of the fantasy, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled Sorcerer's Stone for the U. S. release the following year).  By the release of the second book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, toy shops and book stores were overflowing with witch hats and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.  The Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix followed, and by 2003 the boy wizard was everywhere.  The sixth novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold 9 million copies the first 24 hours of its worldwide release in 2005 according to BBC News, only to be topped by 11 million copies of the seventh and final installment Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows being sold during the first 24 hours of its release two years later.  The collection constitutes the most popular series of children's books EVER.  The impact of Pottermania on the world is wide and includes the following:

1.  It Made Reading Cool  (Even Reading Fat Books)

Rowling's books have been praised and embraced by parents who watched their kids turn off the TV and read.  And because the content is so irresistible, these kids haven't been deterred by the whopping sizes of the novels that mostly run over 700 pages.  With themes that include death, power/abuse of power, love, and prejudice, readers--even young readers--become entrenched in the plots.

With over 450 million copies of the books being sold worldwide, Harry Potter turned book releases into major events, with children and adults dressing as their favorite characters.  Professor Sprout, anyone?  The anticipation of the next installment turned fans into voracious readers.  Even I waited in line for the midnight release of Order of the Pheonix and I stayed up for 48 hours straight to consume Half-Blood Prince.

2.  It Propelled the Rise of Young Adult Lit

The great demand for Harry Potter books motivated the New York Times to create a separate best-seller list for children's literature in 2000.  By June 24, 2000, Rowling's series had been on the regular best-selling list for 79 straight weeks.  (wikipedia)

Ever hear YA titles being called "the next Harry Potter"?  There's a reason.  I can remember a time when there were no books aimed specifically at young adult readers.  In school I read Ray Bradbury and J. R. R. Tolkien, but Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Rings weren't part of their own little sub-genre targeted at teens.  Today, there are entire sections of libraries and book stores where shelf after shelf is reserved for young adult titles.  Without Harry Potter there may have been no Hunger Games, no Mortal Instruments, no Percy Jackson and the Olympians. (DeVera)

3.  It added "Quidditch", "Muggle", "Squib" and "Mudblood" to our Lexicon

Rowling's world building skills are amazing, right down to the language the inhabitants of that world use.  Her character names are fun, place names inventive, and titles of uniquely magical elements of the wizarding world she's created are no exception.  In 2003, the word "muggle"--a term Rowling uses to describe non-magical folk--was added to the online Oxford English Dictionary.

4.  It Made Young Adult Movies Possible

Before Harry Potter children's books were rarely made into movies.  The success of the Harry Potter film franchise paved the way for the Chronicles of Narnia movies and even the Twilight films.  The recent retellings of Oz the Great and Powerful and Alice in Wonderland also owe their success, at least in part, to the Harry Potter movies who built them an audience.  It seems more and more that movie makers are turning to current YA best-sellers for their next projects.  And I, for one, believe the movies based on such works make for great entertainment.

5.  Robert Pattinson aka Cedric Diggory aka Edward Cullen  (Okay, maybe just for me)

Pattinson owes much of his popularity to Dumbledore's Army, who followed him after his demise in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie as Cedric Diggory to brooding vamp Edward Cullen in the Twilight film.  Ol' Rob is smokin' hot and we all know how Twilight has influenced pop culture.  The other young actors in the series Emma Watson, Rupert Gint, and Daniel Radcliffe have also risen to popularity, but I dare say not one of them has ever sparkled like diamonds in direct sunlight or stopped a speeding van with one arm, so I don't have too much to say about them.

Critics of the Harry Potter books have argued that they aren't classic literature because their plots are too predictable, their characters underdeveloped, and Rowling's writing style too full of adverbs.  The books have inspired legions of young readers and been the topic of countless dinner conversations and road trips making it a classic in my home and millions of others.  Forever more, J. K. Rowling has changed the world with Harry Potter.


References:

Harry Potter.  Wikipedia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter.  Origins and Publishing History.

De Vera, Ruel.  How Harry Potter Changed the World.  2011.  http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/5583-how-harry-potter-changed-the-world.  web.

July date for Harry Potter book.  BBC News.  21 December 2004.