Where were your children last night at the stroke of midnight? If they are a fan of Harry Potter books, then chances are they were dressed as a student of Hogwarts with a black robe, a wizard's hat and black round-framed glasses.
Children (and adults) all over the world have waited for two years and 24 days for the new Harry Potter book, the sixth in British author J.K. Rowling's line, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” It is considered to be one of the most anticipated children's books in history, with 10.8 million copies released by the book's U.S. publishers in its first printing.
Last night the Orpheum Theatre downtown, Wichita, KS, was the site for a Potter party four hours before anyone was allowed to get their hands on the “Prince” book. The theater offered Quidditch glasses for the little readers to wear and chocolate frogs to eat. Just as the young wizard boy’s own, a live owl was tethered in the corner of the theater with a watchful eye on the festivities.
Early reviews, by selected reviewers fortunate enough to receive a rare advance copy, have noted the death of an important character and a general tone of foreboding.
The book has "a thoroughly harrowing denouement that sees the death of yet another important person in Harry's life, and that renders this, the sixth volume of the series, the darkest and most unsettling installment yet," wrote New York Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani in Saturday's editions.
"You get a lot of answers in this book," J.K. Rowling, a resident of Edinburgh, Scotland, said as she arrived at Edinburgh Castle. “I can't wait for everyone to read it.“
Merchandising for the sweet, young lad's name and picture have gone through the roof. Laura Porco, merchandising manager of Amazon.com, the online retail giant, said, as of Thursday, they had received 900,000 pre-orders for the book.
With the excitement over the young wizard's tale, many school districts are considering Harry Potter books for required reading. This is surely to cast a new concern over the debate of what is considered appropriate required reading.
Amid reports that Pope Benedict XVI has concerns over the curruptive influence of Rowling's books on children, US conservationists have latched onto the latest Potter launch to push a more secular agenda -- recycling.
Several environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have called for US Potter fans to save 'Muggle' forests by boycotting the Scholastic edition in favor of the Canadian edition which is printed on 100% recycled paper.
And blind followers of Harry and his pals at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wi-zardry won't have to wait until late in the term to get their fill of the latest Potter adventure. For the first time, Scholastic provided the Boston-based National Braille Press with an advance copy. Nearly 50 employees at the specialist publisher have been working overtime for the last two weeks to get 800 braille editions ready for distribution just three days after the main launch.
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