Children's literature with a plot full of magic is not new to India which is famous for its mythological stories. But there had been a line of demarcation between children's books and adult books. Harry potter has broken the barrier that only children read books for children. Adults all over the world compete with children to read Harry potter. On june 21st, people in Mumbai who went for an early morning walk were amazed by the long queue of both children and grown ups before a closed book store, to grab a copy of "Harry potter and the order of the Phoenix" on the day of its release. Let's see, what is so special about Harry Potter and whether it is O.K. for our kids to read it?

Harry potter is the familiar good-triumphing-over-evil story with lot of magic, comic timing and page-turning plots. Harry potter, a bespectacled, nerdish looking, orphaned child living with an exorable uncle and aunt, whose life changes after a surprise entry into a magical universe. He is a brave heart wizard who studies at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and others. In the first book "Harry potter and the philosopher's stone", Harry is 11 years old and he joins his I year at Hogwarts. With every sequel, he gets aged by a year. It excites the children that Harry grows along with them and they feel like having a friend very much like them.

Reading Harry potter is like living inside a parallel, incredible, new world. You are transported to a whole new world of magic Harry potter's fans have sympathy for him because he is abused at home have admiration for him because he is too polite and brave. The book has struck a chord in almost every culture because Harry potter seems to appeal to a universal sense.

Harry potter is written by J.K Rowling who has gained universal fame overnight. Like that of her own character 'Harry', J.K Rowling's life has the luster of a fairy tale. Divorced, living on public assistance in a tiny Edinburgh flat with her infant daughter, she works Harry potter and the philosopher's stone at a table in a café during her daughter's naps and it was Harry, that rescued her that she'd over take the Queen of England in wealth. Harry potter won the British Book Awards, Children's book for a "seven figure sum". Steven Spielberg was to direct, but Rowling refused to allow him to use an American child actor. She is famous for her linguistic inventiveness - she makes up many interesting words like Hogwarts, Quid ditch, Gringotts, Muggle etc. She steps into the children's shoes as she writes and the story just bursts onto page with sheer, raw imaginative power.

Harry potter is easy to read. It leads kids to read and move on to other books and foster a reading habit instead of watching television and playing videogames. Rowling has unleashed the children's creative imagination and has brought reading back into mainstream. Size of Harry potter books increases with each sequel. Latest one has 766 pages and for the young readers, it's more the merrier.

Some people have started complaining too. They say stunts like flying on broom sticks influence children to do silly things. The conservative Christian rights has flayed Harry potter for encouraging witchcraft. But the kids are not worried by all these grown-up worries, they have finished reading Harry potter V and eagerly waiting for part six.