Since last weekend, most people have realized that Harry Potter is not the name of a bearded guy who throws pots.
Nope, Harry Potter, the young wizard hero of J.K. Rowling’s four children’s books, hit the big screen Nov. 16 amid all kinds of hype and hoopla.
By all accounts the movie release was a big success, but hopefully not such a success that it prevents kids from continuing an enriching yet previously underrated activity called reading.
Today’s world of multiple television channels, music videos, VCRs, DVDs and electronic games can make reading seem a tame choice.
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But the truth is that books can bring something all those other diversions lack – the opportunity to stretch the imagination and exercise the creativity that lives within the soul of every child.
Harry Potter books have provided this opportunity to many, as witnessed by phenomenal book sales that have made Rowling a wealthy woman.
The research firm Leisure Trends reportedly says one quarter of people under 25 now say reading is their favourite pastime.
That’s up 10 percent from last year, and the increase is attributed to Harry Potter’s hold on youthful imaginations.
As reported in the National Post, this rise in reading numbers is being referred to as “the Rowling ripple.”
But even as we applaud literacy and its joys, Lord Voldemort is encroaching on the happy scene. Voldemort is Harry’s Potter’s arch enemy in the books. In the non-fiction world, Voldemort appears in the dual guise of Bill Gates and Nintendo.
Those two factions are worried that reading will catch on with the younger set. So worried, in fact, that they’ve launched a multibillion dollar promotion to lure children back to video games.
Hopefully this game of high-stakes Quidditch (see Harry Potter for reference) to win the attentions of children will be won by the good guys.
Speaking of literacy, I’m happy to share the page this week with Terry Toews, who wrote “The farmer takes a husband.”
Toews was in the writing class I mentioned a few weeks ago, which was hosted by Cypress Hills Regional College in Swift Current. Her opinion piece deals with an issue I think will strike a chord with farmers, many of whom are women.
Toews’ work is the first of what I hope will be several class member offerings that will see publication in The Western Producer.
