The Power of Harry Potter

 

As if by magic, virtually all British parents have suddenly picked up the habit of reading to their children. A poll commissioned by UK electricity utility Powergen found that Harry Potter, as well as older classics, had created a veritable bedtime reading revolution. Ninety percent of British parents now read to their children, up from only 40 percent in 2000. Powergen claimed the rise was due to the popularity of what it called "kid-ult" books, which appeal to children and adults alike. "With the current revival of children's classics like the Lord of the Rings at the cinema, parents are rediscovering books they read when they were younger or are feeling inspired to read them for the first time," a Powergen statement quoted psychologist Aric Sigman as saying. "Just as both parents and children can enjoy escapism and fantasy, these stories also raise important issues that they can talk about together. This sharing of ideas and opinions is critical to the emotional and creative development of children."

 

如同中了魔法一般，几乎所有的英国家长都突然捡起了念书给孩子听的习惯。英国电力公司Powergen委托组织的一次调查发现《哈里·波特》系列以及一些更早的经典著作已经掀起了一场真正的睡前阅读革命：现在有90%的英国家长念书给孩子听，而在2000年这一比例只有40%。Powergen认为这种增长是由于他们所称的“大小人”书的流行，这样的书对大人和孩子有同样的吸引力。“随着现时像《指环王》这样的儿童经典著作在电影院中的复兴，家长们对自己儿时读过的书籍产生了新的兴趣，要么就是第一次有了去读它们的愿望，”Powergen的一份声明中援引心理学家埃里克·西格曼的话说。“正如家长和孩子都可以从空想和幻想中得到乐趣一样，这些小说也为家长和孩子提出了可以一起讨论的重要问题。与家长分享意见和看法对孩子情感和创造力的发展是至关重要的。”

 

 

Remarks：《西厢记》拉近男女感情，《哈里·波特》改善亲子关系，文字的力量真不可小视。