It has finally happened.
I have a child old enough for a Harry Potter read along.
I seriously cannot believe this. Also: I cannot believe I’m
so excited about this.
I came to Harry Potter late. By the time I read the books, the
sixth one was just about to come out. I read the first five in a giant
whirlwind of a month and could NOT get enough.
Then, I read the sixth.
Then, I waited for the seventh with bated breath, just like
everyone else in world (seemingly). And once we finally got it, my husband
ended up reading it first because he’s a much faster reader and came to the
series YEARS before me (smart man that he is). And, so, I waited some more. And
then read like my life depended on it.
That was years ago, but ever since we began reading nightly
to our oldest, we’ve discussed when we could introduce our favorite books to
him. Obviously, we could read Goodnight
Moon, Millions of Cats, Corduroy and Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel very early. But what we really
couldn’t wait to read was Harry Potter.
Last summer, we finally were able to read chapter books to
our son. James and the Giant Peach,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We’d show him
Harry Potter and tell him it was about a wizard, but when he saw it had exactly
ZERO pictures, he’d shake his head.
But that all changed this week. We pulled it out and started
reading it to him on Monday and he lost his little mind. Asked for another
chapter. And another. FYI: J.K. Rowling writes LONG chapters, even in the very
first book in the series, Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
We’ve been up late every night this week.
But it has been completely worth the exhaustion to see his
little face light up with joy as Hagrid accidentally spells a pig’s tail onto Harry’s
cousin’s round rear end. Or the surprise when he’s told, “You’re a wizard,
Harry.” Or when he giggles at people’s reactions to “the boy who lived” on the
street in Diagon Alley.
And it’s funny because even though I will always love these
books, I’m falling in love with them all over again through my son’s
experience.
What books do you like to share with the younger generation?
What books do you think you will always love and come back to?
