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Harry Potter Holding Pattern

Keeping your little wizards hooked on reading.

By Liam O'Donnell

Originally published on
www.chapters.indigo.ca - April, 2000

Harry Potter Mania has swept across the globe, leaving millions of children under his spell and countless parents eager for his return. J.K. Rowling's phenomenally popular series, about a young wizard in training, has kids across the world doing something they never thought possible: reading books and enjoying it!

Post-Potter Adventures

With book four, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", not out until July 2000, how can you keep your little wizards spellbound by reading? Before they reach for that game pad or TV remote, try slipping some other great titles into their school bag.

With all the world's attention on Harry, many other talented authors have been overlooked. These writers (some of them Canadian) have all created stories that stand shoulder to shoulder with J.K. Rowling's world of spells, monsters and heroic quests. From fairy cursed heroines to Arctic adventures, each story serves as a great starting point for some terrific "Post-Potter" adventures.

Wizards and Blizzards

Wizards have filled children's literature for years and none have more written about them than the great Merlin. Not much, however, is known about the wizard before his time in King Arthur's court. T.A. Barron's "The Lost Years of Merlin", sets out to change all that. In the first installment of an epic series that traces back Merlin's origins, Barron uses classic fantasy elements to introduce us Emyrs, a boy who searches for his lost past and his true identity. Escaping witch burnings in Wales, Emyrs washes up on the mist-shrouded island of Fincayra, a magical land holding many wonders and on the edge of death. Teamed up with a stunted giant and a mysterious forest girl, Emyrs takes on vile goblins, giant spiders and an evil king to save Fincayra and learn the secret to his own powers. Barron's extensive research into Arthurian legends adds authentic details to a fast-paced adventure that will have readers hungry for the rest of the series.

Manitoba writer Duncan Thorton's first children's book, "Kalifax" shares Harry Potter's wide-eyed wonderment at the unexplored. From the first page readers are pulled along with Tom, a young sailor aboard the good ship Volantix, as it races, against winter, into the North and the "Eaves of the World" (the icy wastelands where snow-goblins hunt and Ice Trolls dwell). When disaster strikes, Tom must give up to his childish dreams of last minute rescue and save the crew of the Volantix, himself. Brought to life through the haunting images of Yves Noblet, this beautiful book will hook any reader with a taste for nautical action, cunning monsters and brave deeds.

Without taking off their winter clothes, young readers can keep in an icy climate with Kathleen McDonnell's, frosty adventure: "The Nordlings". Thirteen year old Peggy's troubled world vanishes when she is pulled into "Notherland" an imaginary world created by her when she was just a toddler. Now as a teenager, she must save "Notherland". McDonnell, raised in Chicago but living in Toronto, draws upon Native mythology and history to create a heroic cast of characters that march against the evil Nobodaddy. Peggy, like Harry Potter, learns the importance of having good friends when trying to defeat the forces of evil. "The Nordlings" has all the elements of a great adventure and a cast of characters worth rooting for.

Magical Details

Fans of Rowling's magical touches, like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans or messenger owls, will relish the silver-tongued Ogres and fairy spells in "Ella Enchanted", by Gail Carson Levine. A Newberry honour book, first published in 1997, this charming re-telling of Cinderella gives a modern spark to a heroine burdened with the curse of obedience. The recipient of a fairy's misguided gift, young Ella of Frell must obey any order given to her, regardless of how silly or dangerous it may be. Levine's neatly crafted story sneaks up on readers entwining them in a web of magic, bossy stepsisters and a doomed love. Can Ella break the fairy's curse, become her own person, and live happily ever after?

Different Worlds, Same Planet

Kenneth Oppel, author or the Mr. Christie Award winner "Silverwing", takes us to another world without leaving planet earth. Oppel's intelligent writing takes readers deep into the nocturnal world of Shade, a young Silverwing bat and runt of his colony. Shade's chances for survival look dismal when a thunderstorm, blows him off course and away from his family and friends. Alone and lost, Shade tries to prove his worth as he flies thousands of wingbeats, against winter's grip, in search of his colony. Devious villains and a superior plot make "Silverwing" much more than a cute animal tale and well worth investigating.

It may seem like forever until the doors of Hogwart's re-open for another term. With these titles in their hands, however, young readers will have many more magical adventures until "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" appears.