Remembering Richard Mitchell, Part 5

I reserved my copy of the latest Harry Potter book about 3 months ago. The anticipation of the book's release among young readers is amazing. With that in mind, I thought I'd share what Mitchell said about Harry Potter.

In Spring 2000, when I had Mitchell for the first time, a girl in the class asked him if he had read any of the Harry Potter books. He hadn't, and he said it was funny she should bring it up, as his podiatrist had asked him the same question during his last appointment. The conversation ended with the student telling him he should check out the books, and he said that he might do just that.

Later in the semester (the week before Spring Break, I think), that girl brought in a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for him to borrow. He responded with what at first appeared to be sarcasm, but actually turned out to be genuine thanks.

"For me? My very own Harry Potter book. Thank you."

A week or so later, he returned the book to the girl (he said he had only read about 2/3 of it). When asked what he thought, he replied, "Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with it." To that bathtub water-warm endorsement, he added, "But it'll make kids want to read more, and that's a good thing." He also commented on the accuracy of Rawling's description of the teachers at Hogwarts. He had himself been a teacher in a prep school before he went for his PhD., so it rang especially true for him.

That was around the same time I started reading the novels. While I thought the first 2 were OK, it wasn't until the third and fourth that I got sucked into the series. I think the books have been progressively better since then.

I wonder what Mitchell would've thought had he continued the series. I think he'd have nothing but joy in seeing the kids get so excited to read.