this bjturk.commentary:
harry potter and the scrivener's consequence

A short few years ago, British author J. K. Rowling came forth with the first of a series of books about a young boy who didn't know that he was a wizard. These stories have not only launched Rowling, then a poor single mother, to the heights of wealth and fame, but have had another, singularly more important effect: children now want to read, and their parents now want to read with them.

These volumes, magical in more ways than one, have bridged the chasm that tends to separate children from their parents, and have encouraged literacy as well. Children who may not have shown much interest in reading are suddenly wanting to learn to read if for no other reason than to be able to absorb the next Potter book unassisted. My nine-year-old daughter is enthralled with the series (though my five-year-old son has thus far shown little interest), and she has taken such steps as to hide the latest tome to keep me from reading ahead of her!

The Potter saga is so much more than the stories of a child growing up to become a wizard. In the stories, we find a little bit of ourselves with which to identify as we become absorbed in Rowling's prose. The lessons taught are not done so overtly, yet neither are they so subtle that we miss them completely. There is a little Harry Potter in all of us, young and old, and Rowling touches each of us with a character that is all of us, and yet like none of us at all.

Most significant is that children identify with Potter. He is one of them, a child who is bullied, teased, and has to face all sorts of things for which he is often ill-prepared. Somehow, through perseverance, inspiration and plain old luck, he manages, just barely, to get by. His victories, though great, are rarely without great difficulty, and our children who see themselves in him have their self-esteem bolstered by the successes of this boy of the pages. They feel that if Harry can make it, they can too. Harry Potter sets a fine example that we as parents could never set for them, and he makes them believe in themselves and in their unknown and unexploited abilities more so than we ever could.

J. K. Rowling, through the first four of the seven books that will be the Harry Potter series, has sparked a renaissance in children's literacy. She has given them a sound reason to learn to read, and with the 700-plus pages that comprise Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has made them want to stay with their noses in their books. Through the magic that is Harry Potter, children are being introduced to the simple joy of reading, and can be expected to keep reading other, similar books (C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series comes to mind) between installments of the Potter novels. Thus are our children inured with the most vital educational skill of all, and inspiring millions of children to do so is a tremendous achievement.

Rowling was recently honored by Her Royal Majesty Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for her works. At first, some might think that such an honor was premature, that she should have a larger body of work for which to be so honored. Given that Sir Michael Caine was knighted in the same year, with his vast body of work behind him, it makes for a reasonable argument. Still, Caine has not done in over three decades what Rowling has achieved in a few short years. Caine has not entranced children throughout the world. Caine has not inspired children to become literate when they may have had no other reason to do so before. Caine has not given chldren a reason to become proficient in reading, unquestionably one of the most important of life skills.

Cheers, Dame Rowling. I not only have the greatest respect for your artistry with words, but the greatest admiration for how your artistry has affected children worldwide. If to write a fascinating children's book is no mean feat, and if to write stories that intrigue adults is also no easy task, and if to touch millions such that they desire to do what they might not have done otherwise (nor, perhaps, as soon), then to write not one but a series of novels both fascinating to children and intriguing to adults, while giving both the desire for literacy, must be a monumental task indeed. Perhaps this makes you, Dame Rowling, the truest winner of the Triwizarding Tournament you created.

July 11, 2000

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