ChickSpeak

Talk about making a dream a reality. Harry Potter swept the nation from its first release and has taken the world by storm. How did Harry Potter become such a phenomenon? It all started when author J.K. Rowling was traveling through Europe by train.

Harry Potter began as a mere image in Rowling’s head; a black wire- haired, bespectacled boy came to Rowling’s mind and she reached for a pen to begin jotting down her ideas. With no pen in reach and a shyness that held her back from asking anybody around her, Rowling’s imagination took off. “I had never been so excited about an idea before,” exclaims Rowling. That night, when Rowling returned home, she began to write the first book. On December 30, 1990 a tragedy in Rowling’s life translated into what would shape Harry’s character more and more.

J.K. Rowling’s mother passed away that day and in angst to get away, Rowling moved with her young daughter to Portugal. While in Portugal, Rowling further developed Harry Potter’s character to include wizadry, spells, and a tragic loss of his parents that displaced Harry in the world, as he knew it. Rowling grew more and more excited about Harry Potter and while her daughter slept, Rowling was at cafes staying up late writing like a mad woman. Publishers who first received the manuscript immediately rejected her idea and sent the transcript back. Determined, Rowling found a new agent and diligently sought a publisher that would publish her manuscript. Finally, in August of 1996, Rowling received an offer. Rowling jumped in the air, no really she jumped in the air and scared her daughter nearly right out of her high-chair, and the rest is, well, history.

The story of Harry Potter has turned into an international phenomenon. Every child, mother, grandfather, boy, girl, uncle, aunt, niece (we get the picture right?) knows Harry Potter. What began as a simple idea, a thought that couldn’t even be written down, grew to become a dream, a vision that touched the lives of the world. J.K. Rowling teaches us that the imagination can take us anywhere, dreams can become a reality and that perseverance can get us there.

The final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , is coming July 21st. We are certain it will be a hit just like the other books—then again, who doubts the popularity of Harry?

J.K. Rowling reserves the rights to the information gathered in this article. All information was gathered from http://www.jkrowling.com/en/thankyou.cfm on June 15, 2007. Photo of J.K. Rowling (c) Richard Young,

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, Published by Bloomsbury, Released for US Distrubution 21, July 2007. Cover illustrations by Jason Cockcroft.