Harry Potter for me has been a lesson in determination, sacrifice and camaraderie. Victory is hard-fought, lives will be lost, but in the end the collective good triumphs over evil.

As a future librarian I appreciate the literary bug it created, parents and kids read and discuss the character development and story lines together. The lessons in true friendship, and understanding personal strength and limits, as well as sacrifices and fall out from decisions reminds us to appreciate those that we hold dearest.

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. It was immensely satisfying as a parent to enjoy these books with my children.

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!

The books and the movies give us a little escape from reality. They take you to a different world. A world with odd characters, and characters you can relate to. A place where Good triumphs over Evil.

Harry Potter was an escape from the problems of my life that I just needed sometimes. I could always relate to at least one of the characters, making them even more special in my heart. It’s magic truly extends beyond the pages and into the lives of thousands.

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!

I discovered Harry Potter when my patient's 10 year daughter sat completely engrossed in a 400 page book while I worked on her mom. I asked the young girl about the series and she would hardly take her eyes off the pages to talk to me. I wondered what could possibly capture the attention of this child. I decided to see for myself. I was hooked. The books tapped into my imagination (which is usually not very active) and took me on an amazing adventure. My husband teased me for reading "childrens books" until he finally took the plunge and read the first book. Within 2 weeks he had the first 5 books read. We have loved Harry ever since and now our 10 year old has read all 7 books.

My family also discoved Harry Potter thru the first movie. I then fell in love with the books. 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 Nov. 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. My son and Harry grew up together and faced their own challenges. Thank you J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful series!

My oldest daughter was in second grade when the first Harry Potter movie was released. We went to see it, with her younger sister and my sister (her aunt) and we were all hooked. I brought home the book the very next day and encouraged my oldest to read it; at first she was overwhelmed. She took it to school and would read it between lessons or when she was done with her work and was waiting for the others to finish and between myself and her teacher, we encouraged her to keep reading. That year she finished the first 3 books and eventually as the books were released she has finished all of them. She is now going in to 9th grade, her reading scores are off the charts, she still reads ravenously and I credit alot of that to the wonderful Harry Potter books.
The movies have brought my two daughters very close to their aunt. We discuss them, their differences from book to movie (because we've all now read them), our likes and dislikes etc. I'm happy and sad that they are ending; a bit of my children's childhoods are ending.

As a high school student, Harry Potter allowed us to easily and clearly identify the losers and nerds. For that I am forever grateful.....Where do I pick up my $50 gift basket?

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.

Some kids liked one kind of music, while others like a different type. Some kids had parents that let them stay up late and kids had strict parents. The one experience that almost everyone shared was (and is) Harry Potter. When I would go to midnight book releases for the last couple Harry Potter books everyone was there simply because they loved these books and wanted to meet other people who felt the same thing. The great part of Harry Potter is that this group of people included nearly everyone. Harry Potter bridged the gaps between social groups. In almost any setting I can feel confident that if I throw in some obscure HP reference some one will get it. I guess you could call it the inside joke that everyone gets.

The Harry Potter saga had everything a reader desired: Magic, romance, coming of age, fantasy, mystery and imagination. The intrique and suspense looming for the next book was mesmerizing! Harry Potter gave my age group something positive to take part in while honing our reading skills.

After attending the past 7 movies and unfortunately sleeping through most of them (because I'm not use to having 3 hours straight to sit at a time) My kids and I are now having a Harry Potter marathon week to prepare for the final chapter. I must say, my kids and I enjoy the magical story and are looking forward to an excting ending. Most importantly it is a fun way to spend time as a family.

The Harry Potter saga has been a constant companion and friend for me – offering life lessons and inspiration as I was growing up. The books and movies allowed me to escape the worries of my own life, drawing me in to the action and life of “the boy who lived.”

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.

Harry Potter was an amazing experience for my family and I. Together we watched the kids grow up and learn about the world around them. They faced adversity and by relying on each other, discovered that their differences and unique abilities should be embraced... such great life lessons!

Let's be honest, the Harry Potter series whether we are talking about the novels or the movies are incredible. They take us from our real lives into a magical and exciting new world where the possibilities are endless. JK Rowling has given us a huge gift by leaving these books for us to enjoy over and over again, and hopefully even pass them down to the next generation. So I guess it really does NOT end here!

I definitely live vicarously through the books I read. Harry Potter was my favorite because who hasn't wanted to have magical powers? I also feel like the writing is so good! It blows my mind how it all comes together in the end. JK is a genius! The story of HP has been a fun adventure for me...and I can't wait to start reading these books to my future children!

This franchise brought many to J.R.R. Tolkien, which is a good thing. J.K. Rowling successfully wove Tolkien characters and other established mythologies into a modern, accessible, and compelling fantasy series. I liked the series overall, but thought the tie-up could have been more satisfying.

The Harry Potter series distilled down, in an empowering tale children could understand and appreciate, how the the real world operates: life is not terribly fair, bad things happen to good people and weak people often succumb to doing "what is easy over what is right", but love, friendship and loyalty are defenses against life's storms.