| From
the September/October 2005 issue of The Horn Book Magazine
Editorial
Parallel Play
 hen
we think about the respect for “private reading” that
Betty Carter calls for in her article on page 525, what tends to
come to mind first is the quiet book, or the book that broaches
an intimate problem or topic. But the excellence of Betty’s
point is demonstrated no better than by a very public and extroverted
favorite: Harry Potter.
The latest Harry (see review
on page 587) is just out as I write this. I’ve been seeing
those young executives Howard Jacobson complains about (see Madelyn
Travis’s report from the UK on page 547) lost in Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the subway. This is public
reading indeed.
But the thing about Harry Potter is, you
want to read it for yourself. Even within families or among friends,
sharing a copy means a begrudging taking of turns, not a communal
reading aloud. While Anticipating Harry and Hashing Over Harry are
by now cooperative activities on a worldwide scale, Reading Harry
is something that people want to do all by themselves. And they
don’t want a single hint about what the book might have in
store for them. There was quite a little tempest on the childlit
listserv when one contributor made reference to a major plot point
in the first line of a message, thus “spoiling” the
story for several aggrieved others. Grown-up others.
Not only are adults and children reading Harry
Potter with equal enthusiasm, I would argue that they are reading
it in precisely the same way: for the story, for the re-acquaintance
with fictional friends, and for the cultural currency that J. K.
Rowling mints. We could — as I have — join with Howard
Jacobson to take this as evidence of adult soft-headedness, but
we can also, and without contradiction, look at what it says about
the literary life of children. We conventionally think of “reading
for fun” as something children do naturally, forgetting both
that learning to read is a key job of childhood, and that parents,
teachers, and publishers are frequently guilty of making reading
a whole lot of work. But given the opportunity — and the right
book — children will read like grownups. They will read for
reading’s intrinsic pleasures. Our own enjoyment of Harry
Potter should remind us that, given the chance, young readers
aren’t so different from ourselves. Reading for fun is what
readers do.
More
about Harry Potter |
