SOURCE: An essay on the “Harry Potter” books in Tacoma News Tribune, July 10, 2000.

[In the following essay, Merryman strongly praises the “Harry Potter” books, and states that a certain amount of fantasy is healthy and enables children to learn important values for life.]

Aren't you glad you're not J. K. Rowling?

Imagine the responsibility.

What her stories have built—aside from the most profitable publishing phenomenon in recent memory—is a community of kids.

And their grown-ups.

I'd bet my car that at this very moment, there are children in Bombay, Federal Way, London, Capetown, Mexico City and Hong Kong reading the exact same page of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

It's Book Four in the series, and it's a sure thing that here in the South Sound, children who stood in line to get it at 12:01 Saturday morning fell asleep over it that night, woke up to it Saturday morning and finished it sometime Sunday. In our house, the bookmarks are set at pages 75 (mine) and 375 (my daughter's) of the 734-page book.

Friday at 10:30 p.m. we rolled into Barnes & Noble in Lakewood to get in line for one of the 100 or so copies available to people who had not reserved copies.

By 11 p.m. there were over 50 families in line, and by 11:45 the line stretched to the Fantasy section at the back of the store.

It was a great line. Families of every ethnic background. Readers of all ages and tastes.

This line was part of a great literary tradition. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when authors like Charles Dickens released their novels as serials, crowds would gather to grab each new installment and rush home to read it.

These days, we're used to waiting in line for tickets to the Backstreet Boys and Garth Brooks, but not for books.

I'm delighted that J. K. Rowling has revived this fine tradition.

Our stories have called this a publishing phenomenon. I look at it as millions of children finding joy in the same book and having something in common to discuss with one another.

Rowling, this single mom from Scotland, has helped build a world-wide community of kids. They have Harry as a common denominator, and as they talk about him on Web sites, phones and in chance meetings, they can move on to discuss other things. This is how we build understanding.

Yes, there are many people who won't allow their children to crack these covers. They believe that Harry teaches witchcraft, and that children who read the books will be seduced by satanism. They believe that the fantasy is unhealthy.

Obviously, I disagree.

The great and beloved books for children take them to places they have never been—and never will visit—to learn about values they can use every day.

When kids read about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, or Mr. Toad and Mole in The Wind in the Willows, they learn about friendship and cherishing each others' differences.

When they sail off to Treasure Island or swash through Sherwood Forest, the journey is about bravery, justice, and choosing between right and wrong.

When they join forces with the woodland creatures of Redwall, they triumph through honesty, generosity and loyalty.

Magically, Rowling has invested all of these values—and quite a bit of humor—in her Harry tales.

This time, there is a new element. Loss. Many kids face it, and it helps them to read about it and know they are not alone.

We've known for a year that Rowling was going to kill one of the series' significant characters.

But did you think it would be …?