User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4140359-20110712191138

There are so many different and amazing things that I have gained from the Harry Potter series. As an adult, I actually saw The Sorcerer's Stone movie before I ever read the book. I was immediately hooked and knew I had to read the series! After I had my son, I tried introducing him to the series but for several years he was not interested- was more interested in dinosaurs and Pokemon. But that all changed this year. For his birthday, he asked for the complete series of books and, thanks to my brother, that wish was granted. He was still in the 2nd grade but he had been borrowing one of his teacher's copy of The Sorcerer's Stone and was reading in his spare time at school. We decided to make a goal- we would read aloud all of the books- each of us taking a turn reading to the other- and if we could finish the series by July 15th, we would go see the movie in the theater together. This was a big goal for us! We didn't get started reading the books until the middle of April! And we do not get to go to the theater very often at all. We have watched all of the movies from DVDs. We thought how cool would it be to finish the series with an extra special treat?! Well, I was so excited to share not just one book but a whole series with my son. We had so much fun reading the books and then watching the movies and seeing the differences. I was impressed with my 8 year old when he gave up his t.v. time to read an extra chapter or two! He read to me while I cooked supper or folded laundry. We are both sad that the series is over but have completely loved getting to share it with each other. I loved to read and have cherished seeing my son blossom into such an amazing reader. Having such a magical, intriguing, and exciting set of books has been such a blessing in further deepening his reading skills, given us something to share and bond over, and for us both to be silly and giddy about the release of the final film. I've always tried to explain to him how reading a book allows you to step into another world for a while, live in a different time, be able to do things you cannot do in the real world and this series really let him finally see what I was talking about. Thank you so much J.K. Rowling!!