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Take spoon full of spells, add a pinch of adventure, a cup full of excitement, blend in some jinxes, a sprinkling of witches, wizards, gnomes and elves and here you are! A fun-filled magical adventure, that’s Harry Potter for you! Having grown up on a steady diet of children’s classics such as Aesop’s fables and graduating to Enid Blyton, children’s reading has evolved into newer realms today. J.K Rowling’s magical fantasy, Harry Potter has revolutionized children’s reading. Let’s take a peek into the magical world of witches and wizards. A figment of brilliant imagination, the Harry Potter series is genuinely a splendid piece of writing. For the uninitiated, here is the explanation of some important magical terminology -

Hogwarts - The only Magical School of Witchcraft and wizardry in the UK

Albus Dumbledore - The Principal of Hogwarts, an able and great wizard.

Gryffindor - Symbolized by the Lion, and the house to which Harry and his best friends Ronald Weasley and Hermonie belong.

Hufflepuff - House symbolized by a black badger.

Ravenclaw - House symbolized by a bronze eagle.

Slytherin - Symbolized by a silver serpent, Slytherin that has the dubious distinction of having produced the maximum number of wizards practicing dark arts.

Quidditch - A game played on broomsticks, where in catching of the snitch renders the win to a team.

The Forbidden Forest - A big forest that has many magical creatures in it and all students are barred entry into the forbidden forests.

Muggles - Non-magical people or ordinary people who are unaware of the magical world.

Knight bus - A three-tiered magical bus for the transport of stranded witches and wizards. Invisible to the muggle-eye the Knight bus can pass through muggle traffic.

Hogwarts Express - The train that takes students to Hogwarts and leaves from the 9-3/4th platform on London Station.

Lord Voldermort - The Dark lord who are not even named by the witches and wizards. The only person to have survived his wrath is Harry Potter.

Azkaban - The prison for punishing witches and wizards who are involved in bad magic that causes harm to others.

Dementors - Dementors are spirits who guard Azkaban. They are terrible, live on happy feelings. They can suck out happiness from inside you leaving you cold and scared.

Ministry of Magic - The Central body with different departments that regulates and controls all magical activities in the UK.

Divination - A subject taught at Hogwarts, which involves predicting the future.

Transfiguration - Also taught at Hogwarts, transforming one creature into another.

Potions - Taught by Professor Snape, potions include study and making magical potions, poisons and their antidotes.

Care of Magical Creatures - Taught by Professor Hagrid, it involves study and care of magical creatures.

Defence against the Dark Arts - A subject whereby the young witches and wizards are taught to defend themselves against the dark arts.

Herbology - Taught by Professor Sprout, Herbology involves the study of magical plants.

House-elves - Akin to slaves, house-elves do all the housekeeping work. The only difference being they like doing the work. To free them is their punishment.

O.W.Ls - Ordinary Wizarding Levels, an examination that the students need to take to go to the higher levels.

Hedwig - Harry’s owl, owls are used to deliver messages and even parcels to other witches and wizards staying far away.

Hogsmeade - The only all-magical village in UK, where Hogwarts students are allowed to spend time intermittently.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been the most hyped book in history. The climax with twists is not for the faint hearted. With battles, betrayals and revelations, Potter fans are not disappointed one bit.

My ex-colleague got me hooked on Harry Potter. She was raving about the Azkaban book and I got curious to know more about “The Boy Who Lived” with an address of “The Cupboard Under the Stairs”. And boy I was captivated by J.K. Rowling’s sheer magical world.

With the release date of the seventh Harry Potter nearing, I too was interested in buying the book, first day and read it from page one till end at one go. But, alas it never happened for reasons best left unsaid; I managed to grab a copy on Saturday that went by and read it through the day with interruptions in form of food and nature’s call.

Well, the book is about Harry’s journey from boy to man, his quest for Horcruxes, deaths of few loved ones, truth about Dumbledore, Snape and threat of Death Eaters and ‘You Know Who”. Filled with events both, tragic and triumphant, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a spectacular finish to the phenomenal Harry Potter series.

The book starts with Harry, Ron and Hermonie going in search for Horcruxes, a mission left to Harry by Dumbledore. Horcruxes are the hidden pieces of Lord Voldermort’s soul that must be destroyed to ensure his final defeat. While on the run, help comes from most unexpected quarters and old friends. While searching for the truth about Hogwarts heroic headmaster’s past, Harry also come across the legend of the Deathly Hallows, three magical objects that have the power to overcome death. The plot ties up all loose ends, if any, involving clues and characters from all the previous books. The long-awaited final struggle between Harry Potter and his allies, and the ever-more-powerful and influential Voldermort and his allies, the Death Eaters prove Rowling’s skills as the finest storyteller.

The message about the power of truth, love and redemption gives depth to the series as a whole. Potter fans (count me in) will definitely be left hoping for more tales from this fantastic world and brilliant author.

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There has always been a lucrative market for books for children. Parents will know that the bedtime story is an opportunity for parent and child to bond. For some reason, human beings need stories and children particularly need that parallel world. Fairy stories, as well as being entertaining, also served to teach good moral values in the child. Then, books for children tended to split into stories for boys and stories for girls. This demarcation line is more blurred today.

Boys have always tended to read adventure stories involving pirates, explorers, and soldiers. Girls were apt to read about ponies, finishing schools, and training to be a nurse. Occasionally in books for children, there would be a tomboy such as George in the Famous Five books. The past told of an idyllic world where children could safely play all day in the woods or on the river, unsupervised by interfering adults. In today’s books for children, the girls get stuck into dangerous situations as much as the boys. Take Hermione Aprende from the Harry Potter books, for instance.

The modern reader may think the classic books for children from yesteryear to be a little quaint, but that’s part of their charm. Reading them is similar to snuggling in front of an old black and white movie. It’s a comfort blanket. The world of Peter Pan and Wind In The Willows is reassuring.

Every so often, children’s fiction throws up a genius. Roald Dahl was one such man, when he wrote books for children, creating edgy stories in which few grown ups were to be trusted. There is more cynicism and less naivety in his books. The world sadly lost Roald Dahl, but there was another genius waiting around the corner, and her name is JK Rowling.

The Harry Potter books seem to appeal as much to boys and girls. Boys who had never expressed any interest in reading voluntarily now await the next Potter book impatiently. Some critics say there is no place for religion in the Potter world, and children should not be exposed to the dark arts of magic. Read any of the Potter books for children, and the child will learn about comradeship, loyalty and courage. Not bad values for any of us.

Publishers are desperately looking for the next success story in books for children. It could be someone being rejected right now. JK Rowling was turned down nine times before her first book was accepted.

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