by Carol Relf Kondrat

Created on: September 17, 2010

J. K. Rowling hit the jackpot with the Harry Potter series.  Her imagination and ability to put it in words created a series that made reading very attractive and intriguing for readers of all levels.  Harry Potter as a character appealed to the sympathy of adults, the empathy of early teens and imagination of the elementary school children.  The books were being read by all age levels and different reading levels.  With her stories about Harry’s struggles, she succeeded in doing what every teacher was struggling to accomplish in the classroom – she got the students to read. 

When the first book came out, it was the book to read.  As a language arts teacher, I was aware of the sight of students carrying the Harry Potter books around and reading whenever they could.  This was a teacher’s dream!  For the third grade class I was teaching at the time, my reading the first book as a read-a-loud was requested by the entire class.  Some of them were able to read it, but enjoyed hearing it as they read along. Those that would have struggled with the text were able to become part of Hogwarts and the wizardry of Harry, Ron and Hermoine.

The elementary children were able to relate to going to a new school and meeting other students and developing friendships on a common ground.  The concept of a boarding school was different for most American children, so it was a new learning experience.  Harry went through the stages of the new kid in class and endured many of the same fears.  The intrigue of a school of wizardry made it even more attractive and kept them involved.

Early teens read about their age level and the peer conflicts that happened at their schools.  They were able to relate and empathize with the three young wizards.  There were the peer groups with different criteria for belonging and the readers were able to empathize and learn from what they read about.  Cliques and groups were much the same.  The sports group, the nerds, the brains,  and the social groups.  Friendships were established and areas of competition developed.

As the wizards became high school students, the competition moved further into sports and academics.  The high school readers were drawn into the sports scene with the quiditch  team competition.  The concept of fraternities ran throughout with the different houses and the competition among them. Friendships grew and developed into lifelong relationships. 

Through the series, the young wizards met and became friends and classmates. As they grew, so did the encounters they experienced.  Each year at Hogwarts brought more complex and hazardous adventures for the friends.  Some of them put a strain on their friendship and even the families involved.  J. K. Rowling developed her characters and let them grow through their ability to remain fast friends.  They were friends regardless of gender and that is what brought them through.  Romantic involvement is different than friends.  The wizards were friends first then boys and girls. 

J.K. Rowling developed the characters with unconditional friendships.  They grew into these as they grew older.  The compassion they felt for each other is beyond romantic and something that every reader may never experience in real life.  Romantic involvement was not needed, but it could be left to the imagination of the reader to go into that.  Some things in a good story need to be left for the reader to develop.

Learn more about this author, Carol Relf Kondrat.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.