FAQ -- The Universal Appeal of Harry Potter

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 23552

Hi there --

prefectmarcus at yahoo.com wrote:

> What I want to know is WHY the books are so popular.  Why do children
> and adults love them?  How is it that dyslexic and autistic children
> read them when they can't manage more than a chapter or two of other
> books?
>
> How does JKR do it?  As pointed out, she uses advanced english
> construction -- construction that puts to shame most other "adult
> fiction" writers.  She makes use of a large vocabulary.  They are long
>
> books.  Children are not intimidated by all this.  Why?
>
> <snip>  As I said at the start, I hate to sound like a school
> teacher.  I know
> how much work went into the FAQs.  I am humbled and awed by it.  But
> this FAQ needs some more work, IMHO.

Well, not to sound like a defensive student, but as the author of this
particular FAQ, I feel compelled to say, "Hey!  I didn't just *skip* a
whole thread of messages because I didn't want to deal with it."
</defensive stance>   :--)

Seriously, you make a good point that the FAQ could/should be expanded
to address the topic you've raised.  But, it really *hasn't* been
discussed before -- believe it or not, something that critical has
really been overlooked by the group.  I think it's a good topic.  I'm
not sure I've seen anything much written in newspapers, magazines & the
like that would address it.  So, it seems a good idea to open it up for
discussion.  What do you all think?  *Why* are they so successful, among
children and adults alike?  Obviously, we can't really come up with a
definitive answer for the FAQ, but I'd be happy to expand it to include
our collective wisdom on why these books have taken the world by storm.

I don't have time to set out my own thoughts on this right now .... but
I'll jump in later.  I promise.

Penny




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