The Adventure Continues

No Doubt About It—Harry’s a Hit

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By Karen Fanning

Watch author J.K. Rowling discuss her latest book on the Internet! Tune into www.harrypotter.msn.com on June 26 at 11:00 a.m. for a conversation between Rowling and British actor/author Stephen Fry at Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Ten fans who won an essay contest sponsored by Scholastic will be in attendance.

On Friday night, hordes of partygoers will swarm New York's Times Square, but they won't be looking to ring in the New Year. Instead, they'll gather in the Big Apple to celebrate an even bigger event—the long-anticipated arrival of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

A countdown will begin in Manhattan just before the midnight release of J.K. Rowling's latest adventure. As the cover of the book beams from a giant billboard above Times Square, Harry Potter lookalikes will dish out one million badges and stickers to lucky revelers.

Harrymania won't stop with celebrations in the Big Apple. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Charles Hotel is offering a Harry Potter package this weekend. In addition to Harry Potter DVDs and jelly beans, a copy of J.K. Rowling's new novel will be delivered to guests in their rooms shortly after midnight Friday night.

Most kids won't have to travel far to get their hands on Harry V. At the stroke of midnight Friday night, Cameron Cope will head to his local bookstore, Buttonwood Books & Toys in Cohasset, Massachusetts, to snatch up his very own copy.

Cameron is one of millions of American kids who will rush to their local bookstore next month in search of the newest Harry Potter adventure. With 6.8 million copies headed to bookstores nationwide, Rowling's latest release marks the largest first printing in publishing history. At 896 pages, the book also represents Rowling's longest novel. Its length, however, doesn't intimidate Cameron.

"Books under 400 pages don't take more than a couple of days to read," says the 13-year-old. "It's good to have some heavy reading to do."

Like Buttonwood Books & Toys, bookstores across the country are planning to host midnight parties so that anxious readers can buy the newest Harry Potter book the moment it goes on sale.

"Kids have been asking for close to two years when the next book is coming out," says Linda Brick, an associate at Halfway Down The Stairs Children's Book Store in Rochester, Michigan. "Kids, and even grown-ups, are excited."

Zac Moscow is one of those kids. He, too, is eager to catch up on the latest happenings at Hogwarts, though he doesn't dare predict the twists and turns Rowling's new novel might take.

"I can't wait," says the 11-year-old from Cohasset, Massachusetts. "It's hard to guess what's next. It's never what you think it is."

As for Cameron, after waiting so long for the book's arrival, he admits he'll have a hard time putting it down.

"I'm going to try to read it the first day," he says. "I'll read it for a couple of hours before I go to bed. Then I'll start reading again first thing in the morning."

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