I’ve written multiple times about my kids’ attachment to Harry Potter for two main reasons, 1) I didn’t see it coming and had NO IDEA it would be this addictive for them and 2) it pushes me as a parent to support something my kids adore that I have no interest in. You can read my previous posts here, here, and also here (good grief that’s a lot of HP!).
So what do I mean when I say that Harry has invaded our holidays? Well, naturally, since they are obsessed, my kids have decided to represent their perspective Hogwarts houses (Hufflepuff and Slytherin) for Halloween. This was not my first choice, but they were both pretty adamant about it, and finding the costumes was simple, so we were good to go.
Now, I like to start my Christmas shopping early, that way I can space it out and I’m not overspending. Since we borrowed books from either a friend or the library, my daughter only owns a couple of the Harry Potter books. From my readings about HP fans, it appears that many of them read the books over and over again, not to mention that she’s already reread parts of the ones she owns. With that and the fact that there’s these new 20th anniversary cover versions, I’m thinking that I’ll get her a complete set.
However, as I was looking through the Scholastic Reading Club flyer, I also noticed the illustrated versions and began to second guess myself. Should I get her the nice big illustrated ones, even though we can’t get all of them yet? Or should I stick with my original idea?
I came up with what I think is a compromise. I’m sticking with my original plan for her, but I think I’m going to get my son the illustrated version of the first book. He’s “read” the books, but in all honesty I know he hasn’t read every word like my daughter has. I also know that he loves illustrations of any kind, so he would be all about this version. I’m not committed enough to buy more than one of the illustrated ones, but I think this is the route I’m going to go.
I say all this to say, my commitment is to #RaisingReaders. And for me that means buying costumes and books, and whatever else I need to in order to keep them as active readers, even if its for a series I have no interest in.
Raising Readers... 