User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4143863-20110713193340

I was probably around ten when I read "The Sorcerer's Stone." Before this I did not enjoy reading very much at all. Though when the world of Harry Potter was unfolded to me, it opened up a love of reading for me. I think reading books like the Harry Potter series is so important for children. It stretches their imagination and offers them a plethora of possibilities! I often was caught by my parents reading the books under my covers with a flashlight after I was told to go to bed, oops! When my eleventh birthday came around I prayed that a letter from Hogwarts would come along with a ticket for platform 9 and 3/4. Of course it never came but that didn't stop me from completing all the books. I remember my family was on vacation for three weeks. My dad pre-ordered "The Half-Blood Prince" for me to come to the house we were staying in. As soon as I got it, I laid on the couch and began reading. Six hours later, I was finished and I began reading it again. It's the same story with me for all the other books, I must have re-read each one over five times! Even though everyone knows the books are always better than the movies, I applaud all the directors, cast, and crew that have created the Harry Potter movies. I think I speak for everyone when I say that they have done more than a stupendous job in creating these films that have only exposed us to this epic journey even more! The movies are special to me, because my dad and I have a tradition of seeing the movies together and going out for dinner. I love that tradition so much and I look forward to it every year! Even though I know it will be the last time this year, I still am so thankful to everyone who made that tradition possible! In conclusion, The Harry Potter series means so much for me. It has provided me a connection with loved ones, made me love reading, and it proved to me that love is more valuable than anything else that you could have! Thank you J.K. Rowling!