Get Lost in Literature

"To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!" Strange things are happening in the suburbs of England, all over town, all over the countryside, when Harry Potter is left on the doorstep of his Uncle's house. Harry Potter is lone survivor of a murder plot, left in the care of relatives, to live out his childhood in relative normalcy. On his eleventh birthday, letters start arriving, inviting him to enroll in an unusual school... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have long regarded this story one of the best pieces of children's literature to come out of the 90's, I think my grandkids will be reading it, and I think someday it will be taught in schools.  It has the themes we've been brought up to expect in children's lit: made up words to add an air of silliness, a few funny rhymes, a child from a broken home who wants to do what is right. (See my late night ramblings on OrphanLit  Here ) Additionally, the story adheres to the rules set down for f...

I've been having trouble focusing, having trouble reading. I took a step back, and decided to relax with some old friends. Which led me to pick up a Harry Potter book and subsequently to a decision and a breakthrough. The decision of course, was if I was reading the series again for the umpteenth time, I really ought to come up with some kick ass reasons as to why the story is so good. The breakthrough, came when thinking about things that make HP standout. One of the things, isn't how it's different, it's how it's alike. I want to examine (or ramble about) patterns. The most common theme in young adult media is a protagonist from a broken home. It occurs in Harry Potter, but if you're a movie fan, maybe you notice that Disney built its entire franchise upon this idea. Neglected, belittled, abandoned, or orphaned, children from broken homes tend to do really well in mainstream media. Even if an individual observer comes from a loving family, these stories of t...