So, I just wanted to give my story of the books...'cause I felt inspired.
I was 7 when I first picked one up...Before then, I was not allowed to. And to be honest, when I DID get one, I was not allowed to either XD Ah childhood rebellion...My father was all 'witchcraft! bad!' But my elementary school partnered with Scholastic for something called Reading Is Fundamental. Every kid got to pick one free book...I think they did it twice a year. It was like heaven for me. I loved reading, even if it was simple books like Amber Brown. I'd heard so much about HP, that I snagged it. It was CoS, and I hadn't read SS...but it was the only one available and I felt it was the perfect time to start. So I read it on the bus and hid it in my backpack...but I got so into it, that I just had to tell someone. And it turned out that mom didn't mind. I'd learned so much vocabulary from it, and it was more advanced than Amelia Bedelia and other typical 2nd grade books. So dad gave in...and I read and read and read. As I experienced life, the characters grew with me. I was fascinated by the character development. It made me want to become a writer. When Sirius died, it hit home because my grandparents had just passed. It was comforting to read the books and know someone else was feeling what I felt...and when I moved, I felt like I had comfort in the books, because they were a constant in my life when everything else was changing.
I cannot express the amount of influence this series has had on me. I've made many friends through it, and have grown both academically and emotionally from it. To hear all these fans raving about the park is a dream come true...