CCBC-Net Archives
November Discussion: Harry Potter
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From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 09:39:18 -0600
Hello, and welcome to the November Discussion on CCBC-Net. This month I will moderate a discussion of the first three books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, published in the U.S. by Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic. Those of you who have been members of the CCBC-Net community for a while now will recall that we briefly discussed the first book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" last June, as part of a discussion of crossover books. Any of you who would like to read what was said at that time may go to the archives at: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net/jun1999.text
We made the decision to devote an entire month to Harry Potter for a couple of reasons. First, it was clear last June that people who read the book had a lot to say about it, and we assume that many more of you who hadn't yet read the book at that time have by now had an opportunity to read it. Second, there have been two additional titles in the series published in the U.S. since then: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," so we wanted to give you a chance to discuss those two newer titles as well. Third, the Harry Potter phenomenon continues to grow, as more and more adults and children have read the books. I think this phenomenon goes far beyond the three books' best seller status (remarkable as it is that three hardcover children's books by the same author would remain on the New York Times bestseller list for such a long time).
At the core of it all is the unprecedented response from children, both boys and girls from all over the world, all types of readers ? reluctant and voracious ? spanning a broad age range, from ages 8, and beyond. Certainly there have been popular books in the past but I don't think any of them have ever been quite comparable to Harry Potter. Ginny Kruse has observed that one of the things that makes Harry Potter's popularity different from, say, R.L. Stine or Animorphs, is that the Harry Potter books are adult-sanctioned (with the exception of some would? censors).
The books' early success has been attributed to word-of-mouth recommendations from one child to another, and it continues to snowball. This aspect, of course, has been greatly intensified by the internet due to email and on-line discussions of the books. Harry Potter Fan Pages on the World Wide Web (created, for the most part, by children for children) have been springing up regularly since July 1999. To give you all a sense of Harry Potter in cyberspace, I've posted an annotated listing of representative recommended web sites, so you can see the sorts of things that are out there and so you can have easy access to further information about the books. The URL is: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/hplinks.htm
How we'll plan to use this month: we liked to start off with a brief discussion of the "phenomenon" which can include your observations and opinions on it all, in addition to anything you'd like to tell us about children's responses to the books. In the three weeks that follow, we'll devote one week to a discussion of each of the books: Nov 8: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone Nov 15! Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nov 22( Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
We ask that you please try to stick to this schedule in your discussion so that people who have not yet read the 3rd book can choose to stay away from the discussion that week to avoid spoilers.
In the last few days of November, we'll ask for any comments you want to make concerning the series as a whole, as well as other titles you want to recommend for young HP enthusiasts.
Kathleen T. Horning (horning at education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608&3930 FAX: 608&2I33
Received on Thu 04 Nov 1999 09:39:18 AM CST
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 09:39:18 -0600
Hello, and welcome to the November Discussion on CCBC-Net. This month I will moderate a discussion of the first three books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, published in the U.S. by Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic. Those of you who have been members of the CCBC-Net community for a while now will recall that we briefly discussed the first book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" last June, as part of a discussion of crossover books. Any of you who would like to read what was said at that time may go to the archives at: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net/jun1999.text
We made the decision to devote an entire month to Harry Potter for a couple of reasons. First, it was clear last June that people who read the book had a lot to say about it, and we assume that many more of you who hadn't yet read the book at that time have by now had an opportunity to read it. Second, there have been two additional titles in the series published in the U.S. since then: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," so we wanted to give you a chance to discuss those two newer titles as well. Third, the Harry Potter phenomenon continues to grow, as more and more adults and children have read the books. I think this phenomenon goes far beyond the three books' best seller status (remarkable as it is that three hardcover children's books by the same author would remain on the New York Times bestseller list for such a long time).
At the core of it all is the unprecedented response from children, both boys and girls from all over the world, all types of readers ? reluctant and voracious ? spanning a broad age range, from ages 8, and beyond. Certainly there have been popular books in the past but I don't think any of them have ever been quite comparable to Harry Potter. Ginny Kruse has observed that one of the things that makes Harry Potter's popularity different from, say, R.L. Stine or Animorphs, is that the Harry Potter books are adult-sanctioned (with the exception of some would? censors).
The books' early success has been attributed to word-of-mouth recommendations from one child to another, and it continues to snowball. This aspect, of course, has been greatly intensified by the internet due to email and on-line discussions of the books. Harry Potter Fan Pages on the World Wide Web (created, for the most part, by children for children) have been springing up regularly since July 1999. To give you all a sense of Harry Potter in cyberspace, I've posted an annotated listing of representative recommended web sites, so you can see the sorts of things that are out there and so you can have easy access to further information about the books. The URL is: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/hplinks.htm
How we'll plan to use this month: we liked to start off with a brief discussion of the "phenomenon" which can include your observations and opinions on it all, in addition to anything you'd like to tell us about children's responses to the books. In the three weeks that follow, we'll devote one week to a discussion of each of the books: Nov 8: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone Nov 15! Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nov 22( Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
We ask that you please try to stick to this schedule in your discussion so that people who have not yet read the 3rd book can choose to stay away from the discussion that week to avoid spoilers.
In the last few days of November, we'll ask for any comments you want to make concerning the series as a whole, as well as other titles you want to recommend for young HP enthusiasts.
Kathleen T. Horning (horning at education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608&3930 FAX: 608&2I33
Received on Thu 04 Nov 1999 09:39:18 AM CST
