I’ll admit it. I am a Harry Potter super fan. I’ve talked here on OOM several times about how privileged I have been to put thousands of Harry Potter books into the hands of New York City readers.
There are two kids, though, that I am waiting to share Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with – my own. I am sure some of you are saying – ‘Of course he is, they are toddlers.’ Yes, that’s true but I am waiting far longer than their toddler years. I don’t want to rush them into text and concepts they won’t fully appreciate or understand. I also don’t want to have to alter Harry’s story as I read it with my kids as this NY Times Motherlode blogger describes.
I want their first experience of Harry’s story to start with the words “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
I want them to laugh in Chapter 3 of Sorcerer’s Stone when tons of letters emerge from the fireplace.
I want them to gasp on page 288 of that same book when Quirrell is revealed.
Further down the line, I want to share my Goblet of Fire tradition with them – the chapter Priori Incantatem MUST be read aloud!
I want them to despise Dolores Umbridge and pity Snape as Harry sees his dismal childhood.
I want them to weep at the loss of Dobby, adding their tears to my own at the end of Chapter 23 in Deathly Hallows and to swell with pride as Harry takes on fear itself in the Forbidden Forest.
The Harry Potter books were my gateway to the wizard world and it is my hope that they will be that for my children. The series, though, is a gateway into so much more. The 4,224 pages of Harry Potter resonate with life lessons.
I want them to experience the true friendship Harry has with Ron and Hermione, the loyalty he feels for Dumbledore, the love he finds with Sirius, Lupin and the Weasleys, the loss of many of his friends and the essence of evil that is Voldemort’s hunger for power.
I want them to see that Harry learns from those that are different and grows stronger instead of dismissing or judging them.
I want them to see that “it is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” That’s not just a line from Dumbledore. It’s a pervasive theme. Voldemort and Harry are so very similar in background and talent but their stories end so differently. Harry’s actions may be heroic but so were his choices and the choices of those he surrounded himself with.
I cannot wait to watch my kids open their first Harry book…but I will!
