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Harry Potter IS a Good Book
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The ：witchcraft and wizardry； of Harry Potter began taking over the world in 1998 with the release of J.K. Rowling・s first novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer・s Stone. It immediately grabbed the attention of children and young adults creating a craze among youngsters the literary world has never seen. Drawing more and more of a fan base with the release of the second-of-seven in the series, Rowling erupted onto the literary scene. Her magical creation eventually developed into a global phenomenon when Harry Potter started bewitching the hearts of quite a range of people from teens in their high school years all the way to adults of most any age. Through the release of the fourth and most recent book, her audience continued to grow by consistently outselling each previously released novel. The books have been an inspiration to the majority of its readers, rousing a newfound creativity and imagination unprecedented by any work of children・s literature. Children are fascinated by the mystery and wonder of the secrets of Hogwarts and Gringott・s, while parents are enthralled by the clever wit and conflict. Even now Rowling・s success is continued with the colossal pre-sales of the unreleased fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which have already superceded those of her previous release. Despite Rowling・s immense and continuously growing accomplishments, there are critics who argue that Harry Potter is not indeed a good book. One in particular is Jack Zipes, author of Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children・s Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter and a professor of German at the University of Minnesota. Zipes, regarded as one of the most elite dignitaries in the field of children・s literature, criticizes the Potter novels by implying that they are ordinary and simply-written (Zipes 171). Eventually moving from a literary to a social critic, he feels he has ground enough to say that Harry Potter is "part of the eternal return to the same-and, at the same time, part of the success and process by which we homogenize our children (Amazon.com 2).； Giving inadequately supported evidence, he attacks the cultural value of Harry Potter for children and children・s literature by constantly attempting to instill the idea that children・s literature cannot be good if it is successful (Zipes 172).
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