About the Author:
I am seven years old and live in Michigan with my mom, dad and two little sisters. I like to read, swim, play piano and go to Brownie meetings. I am afraid of dogs. My favorite Harry Potter book is Goblet of Fire because it’s kind of scary, but it’s very sad when Cedric Diggory dies.

I started reading Harry Potter with my mom the summer before kindergarten. I read to her and she helped, or I read to myself and asked her if I had trouble with words or ideas. I really like the Harry Potter books. A few months after I started reading Harry Potter, my mom’s friend Shannon told her about Wizard Rock, which is music written about the characters and places in the stories. Since then, I’ve been to a few Wizard Rock shows and made some new friends that my mom and I talk to on the internet through Facebook and email, so when I had some questions, I asked her to put them out there for people to answer.

My first question was what people like about Harry Potter and why it inspires them to do so many things. With so much music and The Harry Potter Alliance, fanfic (stories written about the characters and world, but by people other than JK Rowling) and so many other things based around the world JK Rowling created, I wondered. Most people said that it was a great use of imagination in the way the Wizarding world was created inside the Muggle world, and that the messages about love and friendship and fighting back the darkness in whatever way you can were important. A lot of people also said that they like how it ties people together, both in the books and in real life. Almost everyone said that the thing they liked best is that anyone, anywhere, at any age can pick up the books and find something to love and hold on to.

After that, I asked about people’s favorite books, and why. I have only read the first three books, but of them, I like Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (in most places in the world, it’s called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone because there is a legend about a stone that can turn lead to gold through a magic-science called alchemy, and the stone is also supposed to be able to keep people young forever) the best because it starts everything and introduces us to Harry, Hermione and Ron and everyone else, and tells about how Harry starts learning about what makes him special. Most people like all of them very much, but they also say they have favorites at different time for different reasons. The biggest number of people I asked like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the best, even though it makes them sad about the end, because it brings everything together and shows that good can win, even after seven years of fighting against the bad. The second biggest number said they like Prisoner of Azkaban the best, because of how much the relationships between the characters strengthened in it.

Question three was about which Hogwarts house makes most sense to people and why. I think that I am Hufflepuff because my friends and hard work and playing fair and helping people are the most important things to me. I want to be a doctor so I can help moms have their babies safely and healthily, and I want to work on Harry Potter Alliance projects because they help people all around the world, and I want to be a Girl Scout because they help so much in their local communities. Andrew Slack, one of the people who started the Harry Potter Alliance, says that he thinks he is a little bit of all of the houses, because he has parts of himself that agree with the main ideas of each, and a lot of people agree with him. He also says he thinks he is mostly Gryffindor because he wants to help not just other people, but wants to be a part of something bigger than himself. Most of the people who said Gryffindor (there are five including Andrew in the people who answered: Anne and Fredrick in Michigan, Amy in Ireland and Rif in Singapore) all say so for reasons a lot like Andrew’s. Slytherin also has five (Trinity in West Virginia, Zoe in England, Hawthorn Holly in North Carolina, Hannah in Washington and Jennifer in California), and they say it’s because they’ll do what it takes to get what they want or to win a game. Lauren in Scotland and Katie in Michigan say they’re Ravenclaw because they value intelligence and knowledge and like to learn things. And Georgia in England says she’s Hufflepuff because she’s loyal and kind and always tries to please people.

Question four was about what people like to do when they’re bored, and almost all the people said they like to read. Some also like to watch TV or play outside or make music.

Last, I asked what people’s favorite books were when they were in second grade like me. Some of the people from other places weren’t sure what they had as second grade! They had to guess because they know how old I am. A lot of people liked Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, some liked the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, some liked Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and a lot of people liked the Harry Potter books. My mom says not everyone did because the first Harry Potter book is only ten years old, a little older than I am!

I think that Harry Potter is important because, like a lot of people said, it brings people together. I know a lot of people that I wouldn’t have if my family didn’t like the books and wizard rock, and I have a lot of ideas and try to help with a lot of things because of reading the books. I hope that lots more people like them and work together to help make the world better.

(Note by Mom the Typist and Answer Compiler: Thank you so much to everyone who answered this. This interview-paper-thing was Morgen’s idea, and I’ve had a great time putting all your answers together for her, and helping her put her thoughts down. All of this (except for your answers) is stuff she said in the process of gathering answers, and she wrote the first and last paragraphs all by herself with my help for spelling and grammar.)