Is Harry Potter A Classic Children's Literature?
What does classic or great literature mean to you? Surely not the same to me.
Now put 10 critics in a room with one book. There will come up at least 15 differing opinions.
And, when discussing the most popular series in the history of literature, surely this range of opinions increases exponentially.
The series has been translated into 73 languages and adapted into 8 popular films. Sice the first novel was published 20 years ago, the world of Harry Potter has grown to be worth more than 25$ billion.
But is this enough to considerer the Harry Potter series as classic literature?
One thing that is clear is that Harry Potter has impacted young readers and the publishing industry in profound ways. Hillary Crew suggests that the series has been “magic” for many young people who have, over a number of years, whittled their own wands, dressed up in “invisible capes” and acted out their own versions while going on to read a great deal more of everything. Source.
It's weel known that the series have a lot of popularity, but can we equate that with quality?
J.K. Rowling (the author) is very good at what she does, which is producing great entertaining stories and characters that brings new energy to old tropes. She has never intended to produce classic literature, she doesn't try to do that here.
The books are accesible, they draw readers in and make reading a fun activity. By and large, the books are page-turners.
Harry Potter probably won't be recognized among the most significant literary works in the history of the Western world. Of course it's not Shakespeare or Dante. But does it even matter? Most of the people that put these lists together are literary snobs anyway. Books like this are about enjoyment, and if Harry Potter fits the bill, that's great. The series accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, which is spin an enthralling story that captivates a generation. And it does it well. Source
Maybe the Harry Potter series can't be compared with such great classics of literature, but it has been a beginning to many children and teenagers in the world to start reading.
Most of the teenagers who had read the Harry Potter series agree it was the first book they had ever read. And, it was they way they got interested in literature. Isn't that what we want at the end? to have our children interested on reading instead on playing videogames? Surely we do.
As Rowling grows as a writer, Harry grows as a character, and young adults grow as readers. (Mary Catherine Russell). Source.
And, most of all, it has a lot of life lessons that our children can learn from reading it.
I don’t watch the movie and I read only the first part of Harry Potter when I read it for my children .. literature are great or not by its influence .. Harry Potter yes it has much influence ..
sorry , I understand that Dante and Shakespeare are classic , but we can’t compre these books ...every book for its time . It is normal .. I really don’t think that many children read Dante because they like his book much and not because they are forced at school )))
By the way what diffrent from which story my child will learn that to be fair and brave is better that to be lier and weak .. form Harry Potter or from Don Kishot ?
You're totally right! Harry Potter has all those learning! Is a very productive reading for our children :). And like you said, the most important part is to have a book that has an interesting story for them, they don't need the classics at that age. Any book that can help to create the reading habit is welcome, and if it has a lot of life learnings as Harry Potter is also better :). We have to encourage them to read for pleasure and not because they're being forced at school, and the Harry Potter series can be a way for it.
excellent article. There is too much snobbery in literature and we just need kids reading and off the tablets and games :-)
Thank you very much for comment! Yes, that's exactly what we want, make children interested in reading instead of just playing video games, and that's what happened to me :) Harry Potter was the first book I ever read when I was like 8 years old and that was just the beginning for me to start being interested in reading all kind of books.
Good for you :-) It's been nice to meet and I look forward to reading you again soon.
I think our generation will write Harry Potter into the history books as a classic piece of literature just because it touched so many of our lives. I'm already seeing so many millennial parents excitedly passing down the stories to their children. It's such an influential series, they may not have been the first novels I read or the reason I fell in love with reading in the first place but they definitely taught me many life lessons as a kid like being kind, courageous, and adventurous. And they're absolutely one of the reasons that I have a big imagination and love storytelling today!
Are you a potter head too? What house are you in? :)
I'm not a mom yet, but I've always thought I'll talk to my children about Harry Potter and encourage them to read the books! Because they are so so good! Yes I'm a Potter Head :) I want to be in Ravenclaw, it's the house I got in Pottermore :) What house are you in?
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