Critique
 

Has anyone ever read The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner? Children's books are perfectly legitimate targets of critique. One may forgive a children's book for an uncomplicated plot, but if there are plot problems, they deserve critical attention.

there are no plot problems unless the children it was written for, see plot problems.

Is there nothing
 

Is there nothing in the Alice stories warranting study by adults? Or, conversely, is it likely that Harry Potter 5 wasn't written with the expectation of a large number of adults in the readership?

It's been pretty well documented that a huge number of adults are reading the series. But maybe Rowling is writing for children anyway. Being a manchild, I liked it. :D

     Actually, most of the people I've talked to that have read them are adults. Doesn't change the slant of the books. It's directed at a child's level. What makes it a kids book isn't not being smart enough for adults. It's keeping it understandable to kids. This means some things will happen without deep psychological reasons. In this case Mr. Riddle coming to the Ministry when he had been expressly avoiding it no matter the import. Yeah, an adult might question this. It's a tactically stupid thing to do. Especially when coming from someone who is supposed to be brilliant. However, to a kid it just means Tom's really pissed. That's what my ten year old surmised. Ask your own. In my case Rowling hit dead center the effect she was looking for. So, I say "Well done."
     Or to be brief, even if I didn't get it, my kid, the target audience did. Sounds right to me.

If we assume the audience is Harry's age, your kid is below the target age. IMO, lots of kids Harry's age will notice the discrepency.

They'll all be nerds, but they'll notice nevertheless.

Oh no, the amazing part of the whole phenomenon is the way it has attracted non-nerds to reading.:p

For what (vanishingly little) my opinion is worth, I think Rowling has done an astoundingly fine job writing on a level which is engaging and descriptive for adults, yet is accessible to kids at the same time...or vice-versa, if you will.

Three out of my four teenagers enjoyed the books. I managed to only read the first half of book one. I thought the films were interesting. To get my 13 year old daughter to wade thru a 700 page book of any caliber is a remarkable achievement. I admire Rowlings for what she has accomplished-- from welfare mamma to the richest woman in Britain--a true success story.

Welcome, Cedar!

Wow, are you really from Prague? That's pretty neat.

Hi Cedar. With 4 teenagers you're lucky to be able to get half way through a postcard, no less a book.:D

Harry Potter Madness in London
 

When the latest Harry Potter book came out I was in London holding my 19 year old son's hand in the hospital as he was recovering from complications arising from his appendix being removed. Harry Potter addicts were camping in front of bookstores days before the release of the book to get an 8 hour jump at midnight before the opening of regular business the next day. I thought the hoopla was a bit exaggerated as I strolled down to the bookstore closest to my hotel near Oxford Street the next morning, queued up sixth in line at 9 am and waltzed out with the book at 9:08. My 13 year old daughter was thrilled with it when I gave it to her upon my return to Prague. She labored through it for at least two weeks and kept me posted chapter by chapter what troubles Harry was encountering at Hogwarts. To me it was more interesting to hear the tales from her than to actually read the book. Now I just have to get busy and get a copy mailed to my 20 year old daughter who is posted with the 4th Infantry somewhere in Iraq.

Hadn't thought of that but wouldn't it be also interesting to read it (time permitting:D ) and compare your impression to the kid's take on it?

Youngin Harry P again
 

I agree that it might be an interesting comparison. However, I currently have about 30 books stacked up with a higher priority than Harry Potter. So I must get those read first and let my daughter keep me posted on H.P.