Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Yesterday we took the kids to see the new Harry Potter movie in the theatre. It's the first time they've seen a Harry Potter movie in the theatre before - two years ago they were younger and we were afraid it would be too scary. But Maria has read all the books, and Sam has watched the other movies on DVD. So we thought they would be OK, as long as Sam could sit for 2 and a half hours. And they really wanted to see it.

And it went well. There are some complaints about differences with the book, but we can't remember every single detail like some fans and so weren't very bothered by that. Sam got a little bored when there was a long time between action scenes, but overall did fine. Maria covered her eyes during the scary parts - Sam didn't mind the scary parts at all. Sam is having trouble putting parts of the story together - he's not ready for the books yet and has watched the movies out of order, so the main story line escapes him. But mostly I could satisfy him with fairly simple answers to his questions. And Ben got to see how Part 6 ends - a book he has never been able to finish. Maria and I are urging him to read Book 7 now - since he knows where the story line will be picking up.

I just love the Harry Potter series, and think it's a great way to keep kids interested in reading. I plan to encourage Sam to read the books when he is ready - another year or two. And I love that the main characters are good role models as well - for both boys and girls.