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| Harry Potter Collection 1-7 by J.K. Rowling |
"Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -- Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban -- Harry Potter and the goblet of fire -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- Harry Potter and the half-blood prince -- Harry Pottter and the deathly hollows. Presents all seven books of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which follows the boy wizard through his years at Hogwarts as he tries to stop the evil Lord Voldemort with the help of his friends.
The Harry Potter series has been hailed as "one for the ages" by Stephen King and "a spellbinding saga' by USA Today. And most recently, The New York Times called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the "fastest selling book in history.""
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the first book coming out, and because I haven't read them in years, I just did a marathon re-read of all 7 books. Once again, I am struck with the genius of J.K. Rowling. These books are classics that will stand the test of time and be around forever. The characters will be loved and revered for generations. The plot is amazingly cohesive and well thought out from start to finish. The world of wizards and Muggles seems practically real. Many, many children who didn't care about reading have been and will be hooked by these books (one of my own daughters is one of them). I love them. Since I haven't read them in many years, but have seen the movies a zillion times, I was so struck by how much is changed or left out of the movies. Don't get me wrong, I am not a Harry Potter movie hater - I love the movies - I just have to divorce the movies from the books in my mind when I watch them. However, I was reminded of a lot of important moments that I love and have missed in the movies. Oh, I love these books!
Now, are these books for everyone? Of course not. We all have different tastes. I may have a hard time understanding why someone would dislike them, but we all have different opinions. I do get concerned when I hear of children reading Harry Potter too early. Some of the plot lines are quite complex, and each book gets darker and darker with really intense and scary things going on. So much sadness, so much death. Much has been said about the witch and wizard aspect of these books and they have been challenged many times over the years in school libraries. But ultimately these books are about good triumphing over evil and there are many lessons about character and moral virtues. I recommend them to everyone starting about the 4th grade (or older).
Areas of concern:
*There is a little bit mild of cussing throughout the series, but not much.
*Dramatically intense situations
*Many incredibly sad deaths
*Some torture of children by adult wizards
Suggested ages (I'm using Deathly Hallows for this - earlier for the first 3 books):
Booklist - Grades 6-12
School Library Journal - Grades 6+
(If you have sensitive children.... I had a friend who let her kids read the first 3 books when they were the same age as Harry in the books - then they could finish at their own speed. I love this idea!)
