harry james potter.

before this summer, i had never read through a harry potter book and had only seen one of the harry potter movies.

i spent years having to deal with the fact that i had never read these delightful pieces of jk rowling’s imagination — that is, until now. at the prime age of twenty-one, i figured it was about time i read them. i mean, i’m student teaching fourth graders — surely they’ll have seen the movies and maybe some of them will have read some of the books, so i’m obviously going to have to be in the know about the storyline, right?

well, that’s my initial excuse: that reading harry potter will make me a better teacher to children.

all the hype from almost all of my friends about this last harry potter movie coming out certainly intrigued me. i wasn’t allowed to read the books when i was in elementary school when they first started being published, so i never really jumped on the hogwarts express with the vast majority of my classmates. at the time, i was okay with that, but so many years later when i got to college, i was being called a muggle for never reading them.

i didn’t really know what a muggle was when i was called that, but i certainly didn’t like the sound of it.

this month i caught up on all of the movies (in order as best as i can recall — big thanks to abc family for helping make that easier for me) and saw the final installment of the cinematic series. needless to say, i was hooked.

i have five more chapters left in the chamber of secrets and have been to the library twice in the last week. i finished the sorcerer’s stone in about a day and a half and just cannot get enough of the magical genius — no wonder kids absolutely devour rowling’s books!

you know, i have to admit — it’s kind of nice reading these books for the first time now at an older age. i am beyond sure that i would have adored them as a child, but there’s something special for me about reading them now. i think it’s so fun reading literature geared for children and young adults because it’s such a good way to get inside their heads and see what they’re truly interested in, you know? i had a girl in my third grade class last year who just loved harry potter and could tell me every detail of her book when we would have reading conferences.

it makes my heart so happy to see kids get so excited about literature.

getting excited about literature then leads to getting excited about other things, like maybe creative writing workshops. kids need creative outlets, and what’s more creative than books about wizards and magic?!

seriously. i’m twenty-one and wish i had a wand and some gryffindor robes.

taking kids (most certainly including myself in this category!) to another world is what good literature is all about. it’s what sparks interest and inspires passion.

i’m really looking forward to finishing the series, and more specifically finishing the chamber of secrets within the next twenty-four hours.

actually, let’s be honest, i’m going to go read it right now, even if it is two in the morning.