Harry Potter

Cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Harry Potter is the hero of a series of novels by J. K. Rowling, about an orphan boy who finds that his parents were wizards. Harry then goes to Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards, and has many adventures there learning magic and using it to fight the forces of the wizard who killed his parents when he was an infant. Along the way, Harry learns about life and death and grapples with questions of morality and friendship. As of 2007, the series is projected to consist of seven novels, of which six have been published, with the seventh to be released in July of 2007.

The books have been fabulously successful, selling 300 million copies, and Forbes estimates that they have made Rowling the first billion-dollar author in history. To date, four of them have been made into movies.

The Harry Potter series of books are sizeable volumes. The 870 pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, even though printed in large type, contain 255,000 words—about twice as long as A Tale of Two Cities. The "Lexile" measure of reading level puts the series between 880L and 950L, comparable to sixth-grade texts On July 20, 2005 Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England, joined the House of Commons in lauding J.K. Rowling for her contribution to the education of British young minds.

Criticisms

The English "public" schools Hogwarts resembles are ostensibly Anglican institutions; but at Hogwarts, chapel is conspicuously absent. A failure to mention Christianity, other than a celebration of Christmas, combined with the presence of wizardry, have led some to wonder whether Rowling is substituting paganism for Christianity. The books have also been accused of promoting witchcraft or wicca. A Georgia mother petitioned her school board to ban the books due to their witchcraft and blood sacrifices. The local board of education denied the request, as they felt the banning of Harry Potter would necessitate the banning of all books with reference to witches, including plays like Macbeth and even stories like Cinderella.

In 2002, a Presbyterian publishing house published The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker, in which "glimmers of the Gospel" are illustrated by reference to the Potter books. The author acknowledges she was "replicating the techniques used by anti-Potter critics to look for exactly the opposite of what they were looking for." She notes that Rowling, although "reserved" in announcing her religious beliefs, "openly declares her faith in God and attends the Church of Scotland."

In 2003, a Vatican representative said the books, "aren't serving as the banner for an anti-Christian theology.... I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic, and angels in their imaginary world."

Some expect children's' literature to present characters that are idealized role models, and to teach simple, explicit life lessons. However, the world of Harry Potter is one in which adult authority figures are complex, imperfect, and occasionally ludicrous (as they are in Alice in Wonderland.). Some teachers in the series are boring, or outright incompetent, while others are supportive and protective (like Dumbledore and Lupin).

Harry is what can be called a "good" person, following the tradition of a tragic hero from Greek Tragedy. As a whole, students at Hogwarts study hard, but are not above cheating, goofing off, or skipping class.

Series titles

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (original title as published in England and all other English speaking countries other than U.S.A: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (announced)