June 26th was the 20th Anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It is amazing to me that it has been that long.
I was an adult when I began reading the Harry Potter books. My ‘excuse’ was I worked with kids and needed to know the current trends in order to keep up with the kids. However, it didn’t take to many pages before I was totally in love with this skinny kid with the lightning scar on his forehead. And then there was Dumbledore and his telling Harry that his mother’s love was in his very skin. I thought – “What a wonderful lesson this author just gave to children (and adults too)!” The whole series had themes about: Love being stronger than evil; how everyone has choices, so make them carefully; and how friendships needs to be nurtured and held dear. JK Rowling was sneaky about laying these lessons out in her books, but they are there and that is why children, teens and adults are better persons for having read the series.
I learned tons and tons of things from JK Rowling about writing by the careful analysis of her every word – scouring the books for clues as to what would be the fate of Harry. I truly believe the world is a better place for having the Harry Potter series in it.
How about you? How were you introduced to the Harry Potter books?
A Bonus Writing Prompt for you: Write a poem or a story about your favorite Harry Potter character.
Here’s my try at a Haiku:
Harry’s Haiku
Harry’s lightning scar
Evil resided there but,
Mother’s Love saved him.
Chasing The Tale 