In Your Words: Harry Potter A Family Affair

For all the creative, fanciful imagery woven among the books and movies of Harry Potter, local readers drew something far more simple from the series the concluded at midnight Friday with the premiere of the final movie, “.”

We asked readers on Patch sites and our Facebook pages to share, in 50 words or less, . A common theme among the more than two dozen responses was that of family and relationships — both in the stories and among those who absorbed them.

“I read the books to my sons, and together we became engaged in a wonderful world of imagination, and were excited to discuss the characters and the storylines as the books progressed,” said reader Amy. “It was immensely satisfying as a parent to enjoy these books with my children.

Another Patch reader, Lee Haitiwanger Hoyem, said: “We were introduced to Harry Potter through the movie version. Before we discovered Harry Potter my son was not much of a reader, now he has a voracious appetite for books. He learned to enjoy reading and we found a genre he really enjoys. The entire family loves Harry Potter!”

Generations of families shared the books and movies, as parents absorbed the stories, introduced them to their young readers and then watched the growth of the boy wizard and their own children together.

“My family also discovered Harry Potter thru the first movie. I then fell in love with the books,” said reader CPeters. “At the time my son had a learning and speech disability that affected his reading ability. Together we read the books and watched the movies as they came out. Over the years his reading improved and by last (November) when the first half of Deathly Hallows was released I challenged him to read the last few books himself. He was able to read the last three books on his own.”

The other resonant theme for readers was the raft of lessons that came from Harry’s trials and triumphs.

“(Author J.K.) Rowling consistently communicates to (especially younger) readers that it's not through remarkable, fantastic magical abilities by which Good triumphs over Evil — abilities that readers can never possess — but rather it is character and virtues such as friendship, courage, loyalty, and love which ultimately carry the day...which ARE within reach,” wrote reader Jeff Dyer.

Added reader Holly Jeffords: “Harry Potter taught me to suspend disbelief, to let my imagination and creativity soar on the wings of a snowy owl. To embrace innocence and childhood fancies of Hogwarts letters and hatching dragons. To never cease to dream, no matter how dark reality may seem, because magic does exist.”

In asking for your thoughts, we offered a little incentive — the best answer, as judged by us, would receive a $50 Harry Potter gift basket, including a DVD from a previous Harry Potter installment. Our winner is Jane Brown of Oak Creek, who shared this nugget (in 48 words):

“This series gave our family an escape we all could participate in! My children enjoyed reading the books and then seeing how their imagination compared with the movie versions. My teenager read the seventh book to me after we saw the sixth movie. We loved sharing it together!”

Patch would like thank everyone who shared their thoughts on why Harry Potter has meant so much to their families.