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Contrary
to what the calendar might say, there is no July—at least,
not this year. No, history will forever mark this as the Month
of Harry Potter.
 With
the fifth movie hitting theaters on July 11 and the final
book arriving on July 21, there's no escaping the excited
Potter patter from readers of all ages. Even world-renown
writers such as Salman Rushdie and Stephen King are adding
their two cents, pleading for J.K. Rowling to deliver Severus
Snape from evil or Harry himself from death. And the fervor
only increases with each passing day. Chances are good that
by the end of the month, we'll be uttering non-magical curses
at anyone who says "muggle"; by the end of August, anyone
who mentions Quidditch will find themselves in contact with
the business end of a broomstick.
Thus,
when we at the HBC decided to highlight children's and young
adult fantasy fiction this month, we made a conscious decision
to minimize mentions of Harry Potter and the Billion Dollar
Book Series. There's probably nothing we could say that hasn't
been mulled over a thousand times by The
Leaky Cauldron, anyway.
We would,
however, like to remind you that high-quality books know no
age limit—especially if you're an adult. If you haven't
read any children's or YA titles in a while, this would be
a good time to reread classics such as A Wrinkle in Time
or to discover recent favorites such as His Dark Materials
(particularly before the movie for the first book, The
Golden Compass, is released this winter). Choose wisely,
and you'll discover some books that are even better written
and more entertaining than many of the current adult-oriented
choices.
 The
children's and YA titles we're presenting are mere drops in
a pretty large and diverse bucket, but they're all worthwhile.
Among other things, we have titles written by popular adult-oriented
writers (Un Lun Dun, Peter and the Shadow Thieves),
a story once described by the author as "Die Hard with
fairies" (Artemis Fowl), and a children's classic read
for the first time through the adult reviewers' eyes (The
Phantom Tollbooth). Meanwhile, Bridge to Terabithia
is not so much a children's fantasy book as it is a book about
the fantasies and imaginations of children.
We've
also created a couple of lists: a "best of" and a "favorites"
list. Regarding the "best of" list, we have to admit
that we got a little help from the employees of a children's
bookstore, Children's
Book World in Los Angeles. As for the favorites, we decrepit
old twenty- and thirty-somethings sought the fresh perspectives
of two middle school students, Jeanne Kuang and Shirley Zhou.
These two know good literature when they see it, too. They've
only just finished the seventh grade, and they've already
read works by Kurt Vonnegut, Sarah Vowell, William Golding,
and Gabriel Garcia Márquez.
Of course,
we'd be a bit remiss if we ignored the J.K. Rowling juggernaut
altogether. Thus, we've included an interview with Boston's
wizard rockers Harry and the Potters. Kyle and Potters guitarist
Paul DeGeorge talk a little about the books, but they also
cover musical tastes, library acoustics, and reports on Jonathan
Safran Foer books, too.
As for
our other reviews—the ones marketed to adults—the
entries seem a bit random, but I've noticed that some of fantasy's
biggest motifs are still present: conceptual beings (The
Raw Shark Texts), errant journeys (The Savage Detectives),
and, of course, the eternal search for "happily ever after"
(The Quality of Life Report). I suppose a touch of
fantasy exists in every work of fiction. Keep that in mind
as you're reading this update, and by all means, let us know
what great children's and young adult titles you've recently
enjoyed reading.
Even
if it's Harry Potter.
Thanks
for reading,
Yennie
Cheung
(July,
2007)
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