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Voices from the Press
The Magazin/>
“The books of the 38 years old J.K. Rowling are written for 9-11 years old Childs, but they are better than 92% of the adult literature.”
The Financial Times
“Rowling is an exciting new talent, and Harry Potter is an excellent reading-pleasure; without end fantastic and funny.”
The Times
“Such a marriage of good writing, inventiveness and cheer child-appeal has not been since Roald Dahl, perhaps even since Tolkien and Lewis. J.K. Rowling has woken a whole generation to reading.”
Beacham’s Sourcebook for teaching young adult fiction, Elizabeth D. Schafer
“Harry represents the quest to know oneself and understand the forces of the world he lives in. But he is also realistic. […] Today’s Harry Potter readers are our future prime ministers, presidents, parents, teachers… Regardless of their age, cultural affiliation, or socio-economic status, readers will not forget Harry and the lessons he taught them about believing in themselves, being resourceful, and incorporating imagination, a sense of wonder and empathy for humanity in their daily lives to enriche the world.”
Success of the books
Joanne K. Rowling, the author, is 38 years old, has a ten-years-old daughter, Jessica, and is one of the most successful female writers in the world.
Until now, there were published 4 volumes:
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret’s
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
They are about 50 million times sold in the world only in four years and are translated in about 40 languages.
The first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was very modest: only 500 copies (!!!).
In contrast to the first edition of the fourth Harry Potter book “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” which has 4,8 million copies.
So, these four books of her are holding places 1,2,3,4 in the New-York-Times bestseller list. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was 40 weeks in the New-York-Times -, USA today – and Publishers Weekly – bestseller list! In German Spiegel-list they hold places 1,2,3,4 from Oct. 2000.
Nobody can really explain the reason why the books are so successful.
With the logic of the market it never could have taken place:
The books …
• have between 350 and 400 pages. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has 800 pages)
• contain with antiquated Hardware like owls, broomsticks and potions.
• have uncool topics like friendship, trust and readiness to make sacrifices.
• hero Harry Potter is growing, getting one year older in every book. So, he’s not staying 11 years old every time like it takes place in many other books for children. It doesn’t offer this lie of everlasting childhood, like e.g. in Peter Pan.
It’s like a revolt of the kids against the marketing-strategies and occupational therapies from the adult-world. You can’t really plan kids!!
Harry Potter has a story and a soul, Pikachu and his Pokémon-friends are only merchandise without any substance.
Hogwarts is a kind of apart from real world. Like a world to escape from the real world with all these problems like divorced parents, punishment, nobody caring of them, computers, multimedia, crime, …
This is something we lost in our minds: Children need this “parallel-escape-worlds”.
One of the interesting things about Hogwarts is that it contains no technology at all. Light is provided by torches and heat by massive fireplaces. Who needs electricity when you have many of wizards and magic wands? Who, for the matter, requires post pickup and delivery when a squadron of trained owls flies messages to and from the school?
J.K. Rowling says, it is not really believable just to rob a ring, and all problems are gone. She says furthermore, that it is really important that a fantasy world has to be exactly ruled and that everybody can understand that rules. In her opinion, tension and drama can only be built by passing the borders.
There are many really funny things in the book, e.g. that people don’t stay there in their photos but moving and disappearing or the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans or Quidditch.
So, to come to a closure:
I can\'t really explain the success of these books.
Nobody can. Only reading helps, because then you can understand…
It’s not just like reading this book.
When you start reading, there happens something that is not happening in many books: you are no longer outsider or in front of the book.
It’s like you are at Hogwarts and when you turn your head, you can see the corridors of the building and you can feel the magic…
No matter what age you are.
Awards
For Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:
1997 The Guardian Children’s Fiction Price
Nestlé Smarties Gold Award
Children’s Book of the Year ‘97
1998 Children’s Book Award
Birmingham Cable Children’s Book Award
Carnegie Medal
The Guardian Children’s Fiction Award
FCBG Children’s Book Award
Anne Spencer Lindbergh Price in Children’s Literature
Young Telegraph Paperback of the Year
Parenting Book of the Year Award
Sheffield Children’s Book Award
ABBY Award
For Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret’s:
1998 Nestlé Smarties Gold Award
Children’s Book of the Year
FCGB Children’s Book Award
Whitbread Children’s Book Award of the Year
Bookseller Author of the Year
North East Scotland Book Award
1999 Author of the Year Award
Children’s Book Award
North East Book Award
Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year
Nestlé Smarties Gold Award ( for HP3)
FCBG Children’s Book Award
2000 Author of the Year Award
Children’s Book Award
Adult version
The plot is the same, only the cover is different. Some say it looks more serious.
Of course they are more expensive: 80 € instead of 56 € for the original edition.
USA
In the American Harry Potter edition some terms are different from the original English edition.
E.g. : holiday vacation
post mail
underground subway
timetable schedule
Philosopher’s Stone Sorcerer’s Stone
Tapes
The four books are also recorded on tapes and CD’s. Stephen Fry read the English version’s, Jim Dale the American and Rufus Beck the German.
These tapes are also under the best five of the bestseller lists.
Merchandising
The firm Time Warner and Warner Bros. have all rights over the Harry Potter products. There is nothing you can’t have without a Harry Potter logo on it.
• Computer game
• Lego (Lego has the licence for four years)
• “Barbie”
J.K. Rowling has everywhere a right to a say.
In the Internet you can buy these merchandising products on www.wbstore.com
Censorship
People try to forbid Harry Potter over and over again. The headmistress of the
St. Mary’s Island primary school in Kent/England forbids the books. She said that Harry Potter is supposed to be against their religious moral of the school. The reason is that the books show Wizard’s and ghosts as innocuous and nice. “That’s not what we are told by the bible!”
The Anglican Church is also against J.K.Rowling’s books. Only the evangelism church believes that Harry Potter isn’t such a problem how the other churches show.
In a command in the Old Testament is written:
So we must first forbid Pinocchio, Alice in wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella and after many other fairytales, Harry Potter.
But that’s nonsense!
In Austria or Germany weren’t problems like that till today.
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