From: Donna L. Vukelich <dlvukelich>
Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 15:10:39 -0500

I've loved watching my (now 7th grade) son and friends as they read the Harry Potter books (it's been years now!)
-- each kid reads them on their own, but it's also a very collective process as they check in with each other, share what they love about each book, what they were surprised by, what they maybe didn't like or weren't expecting ... they all love the movies, too, but have stated many times over that "they'll never be as good as the books"




Donna Vukelich Department of Curriculum and Instruction University of Wisconsin-Madison




----- Original Message ----- From: "Ryan, Pat" <PRyan at aclibrary.org> Date: Monday, May 8, 2006 1:58 pm Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Kids reading Harry Potter To: "Almagor, Lelac" <LAlmagor at cathedral.org>, ccbc- net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu

> Well said, AND we could not keep the books on the shelf for years
> before the first book came out as a film.
>
> Patricia Ryan, Children's Librarian
> Union City Library
> 510-745-1464 ext. 19
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu on behalf of
> Almagor, Lelac
> Sent: Mon 5/8/2006 10:19 AM
> To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Subject: [CCBC-Net] Kids reading Harry Potter
>
>
>
> I confess that I don't quite see the problem with younger readers who
> are enjoying the Harry Potter books only because they're hearing them
> read aloud, or who are reading the books and only fuzzily
> understandingthem, or who are watching the movies and then reading
> the books. If they
> are loving story and loving language, is it important to question
> whether they are "really" "reading"?
>
> This post seems to begin by doubting whether children of any age are
> actually reading the books. I'm sure there are some kids who own the
> whole set and have read none -- but my experience in both my current
> (affluent, independent) and previous (inner-city charter) school has
> been that elementary-age children read these books enthusiastically,
> repeatedly, and cover to cover. There's something about their
> rhythm --
> episodic, repetitive, yet steadily suspenseful -- that welcomes
> readersat a variety of ability levels, and they are great
> "gateway" reading to
> harder novels!
>
> My fifth graders quote confidently from the entire series (with the
> possible exception of Order of the Phoenix, which was a bit too dense
> for them) and they do mention a childhood nostalgia -- "I loved these
> when I was little!"
>
> (And going back to our previous discussion: Harry Potter has been a
> useful reference point for learning about fascism. They were
> thunderstruck when they began to notice Rowling's deliberate
> allusions...)
>
> Ms. Lelac Almagor
> Grade Five English
> Writing Center
> National Cathedral School for Girls
> www.ncsforgirls.org/lalmagor/
> lalmagor at cathedral.org
> 202-537-2312
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Received on Mon 08 May 2006 03:10:39 PM CDT