Witching hour

Usually, if kids beg to stay up late, it's to watch something on television. But Friday night, hundreds of Sussex County youngsters got permission to stay up way past their bedtimes to buy a book. As is appropriate for a book about the magical world of Hogwarts, the sixth and penultimate installment in the story of teenaged wizard Harry Potter was released at the witching hour of midnight. At the Village Book Cellar in Old Lafayette Village, kids eager to get their hands on "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" began crowding into the store at 11 p.m. for a pre-release party. There were 5,000 such parties across the United States which helped J.K. Rowling's book sell 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours after its release. In addition to the one at in Lafayette, book stores in Byram and Sparta also held parties. Annie's Book Stop in the Wantage Plaza on Route 23 didn't host a party but did open at midnight to sell books to a waiting throng. At the Village Book Cellar, by the time tired children and parents ended the soiree, storeowner Dave Silberstein had sold 200-plus books. Annie's, owned by Diane Henderson, sold out its initial stock Saturday, took delivery of another shipment Monday, sold that out, and was expecting yet more books in Tuesday. Silberstein, sporting purple locks, donned wizard robes and hat and stood outside his store with his daughter, Amelia, to welcome customers. "Tonight, we're here to have a good time," he said. "Anything that gets kids to enjoy reading has to be good." The Village Book Cellar opened in November 2004. Silberstein, who describes himself as a refugee from corporate America, says the bookstore is the fulfillment of a dream. "It's true that people can buy books on line or from big suppliers such as Costco, but when they buy books here, they know 70 percent of the money they spend goes back into the community." "I want to give people a store that gives friendly personal service and has true interest in helping people find the kinds of books that the large chains don't carry, especially books on local history and local issues." Silberstein's confidence in the demand for a small local bookstore was justified in the crowd of children, teenagers, parents and grandparents who wanted to be amongst the firs to own a copy of the new Potter book. "The Harry Potter books are fun to read aloud," said Lisa Connolly, who had daughters Alex and Claudia in tow. "Harry is brave, and he is a good friend to his friends." Crystal Jefferson accompanying her Harry-like bespectacled daughter Alyse, age 6, agreed. "Reading Harry Potter books and seeing the movies is fun for the whole family. The books are exciting, creative, and reading them together promotes family values." Chad Phalon, age 12, present with his father Terence, remarked that he especially liked the books on tape because they made long car rides pass swiftly. "The world of mystical creatures, of fantasy, the story of bravery and friendship are wonderful. I like to picture myself as being part of the action." As many adults as children are enthusiastic about the Potter books. Writing in the July 15 Wall Street Journal, reviewer Jonathon V. Last, praises the new book, remarking on the parallels an astute reader can in its pages between pre-World War II Britain, and suggesting that the book be read as a companion to William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill. The series, however, remains controversial, and some Christian leaders believe it to be actively harmful. " Some critics say the books are flawed but essentially harmless fantasy, filling a real need; others decry them as the next stage in the ongoing degeneration of culture. In either case the books invite an appraisal, for they are going to be a major influence in the values and perceptions of the coming generation," said novelist Michael O'Brien in his essay "Paganization of Children's Culture" "[T]hese are subtle seductions that are barely noticeable and precisely because of that deeply affect (children) and corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it [the Faith] could properly grow," said Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. But other Christians deem Harry Potter at worst harmless, and at best, good. Literature professor and father of seven children, John Granger, author of "Looking for God in Harry Potter," thinks that the books are underrated as literature, and reflect important Christian truths. Meanwhile, the cash register keeps ringing, children keep clamoring to read the books, and the Boston Globe reported that 750 Potter fans from all 50 states and throughout the world have registered for a Harry Potter symposium to be held in the famous witching town of Salem, Mass. in early October.