HP as childrens' books

[Allison]

No: HPFGUIDX 22311

I really don't think the HP books fit into any one particular 
category, be it children's or YA or adults.  JKR said she wrote them 
as something she would want to read, and they're placed in children's 
mainly because the main characters are young.

I'm 16, and I love the books.  I'm trying to get my friends hooked, 
but it's hard work because they all think they're children's books 
(another reason they shouldn't be classified as such - it detracts 
from a large group of possible readers).  I discovered the joys of HP 
from my grandmother, who had PoA in her car.  I picked it up and 
started reading it out of boredom.  My father saw me and bought me 
the first three for Christmas.  I thought they would be stupid at 
first ("But Dad, they're for little *kids*"), but as I have never 
been known to turn down a book, I read the first one anyway and have 
been hooked ever since.  The people I know who have read and loved 
the books are mostly adults - my grandmothers, my aunt and uncle, and 
my parents (who've read only the first book, but liked it).

I think younger kids can enjoy the books, but they won't get as much 
out of it as an adult.  They can enjoy the books more at face value - 
an exciting tale of a boy with magical powers who fights evil.  But 
it's the adults and more perceptive children (I probably could've had 
fairly good grasp of the finer points at age 9 or so) who can 
appreciate the morality issues, the battle between good and evil and 
just what separates the two.  But kids can still enjoy the books - I 
had a job at a day school with kids going into kindergarten or older 
for a few weeks this summer, and several of the kids had read and 
enjoyed the HP books.  One boy colored a sign saying "Harry Potter is 
a Wizard" and when I asked about it, he told me he was in the middle 
of the first book and loved it.  Of course, he spelled "is" "iz," but 
hey, he was 6.

Plus, children's books are just some of the best books out there.  I 
come from a family of voracious readers, and was always encouraged to 
read pretty much whatever I wanted, but I chose to stay with 
children's books because they were and are just better.  I did and 
still do read "adult" books, but I find I don't get the same joy out 
of them as I do from rereading an HP book for the tenth time, or any 
other of my childhood favorites (which are still my favorites 
period).  

Basically, that was my very long-winded way of saying the HP books 
should be read by everyone, adults and kids alike.  And the NY Times 
is stupid for creating a children's book list.

Thank you and goodnight.

Allison, who desperately wishes she could get her friends addicted so 
she could have somebody in RL to talk to about the books