What I think makes the Harry Potter series so important isn't so much the work itself as it is that it opened so many doors for YA fiction (and as such, the YA audience) as a viable market in literature, giving kids and adults options beyond the cookie-cutter fare that was so prominent when I was growing up. Even if that wave of popularity is ebbing some, I'm convinced that that market will stay open and valid. Harry Potter's show that if you give kids something with more substance than Sweet Valley High, they will stick around and read it, and I think that's awesome. I'm excited for the RJ series. All of my cousins are definitely going to be getting copies for Christmas.

And holy blast from the past, Batman! I haven't thought of Encyclopedia Brown in ages... And that reminds me of another old favourite: anyone remember The Three Investigators? Presented by Alfred Hitchcock, I don't think it lasted too long, but man, the original eight or that my dad had from his youth were my very favourites.

Good points, and by the way, welcome Jen!

Paul, if it makes you feel any better, my kids read for at least an hour (often considerably longer) every night before they go to sleep. Nan just finished The Wizard of Oz and Hollis is finishing up Harry Potter 4. So you'll have at least two little fans.

Lisa

My son - John - is 4 and his main love is books (well, maybe after cars!) He can't read yet, but every night after I've read him his bedtime story, he'll sit with a pile of books and 'read' them to himself.
I love that he's so into his books and I hope that the twins will be too. Andrew already shows signs. He'll charge across the room brandishing a little cardboard Pingu book at me sometimes and you can tell from his face that he's loving being read to. Erica isn't that keen yet though. But it will come, I'm sure. Maybe she's just too advanced for Pingu!

My son - John - is 4 and his main love is books (well, maybe after cars!) He can't read yet, but every night after I've read him his bedtime story, he'll sit with a pile of books and 'read' them to himself.
I love that he's so into his books

Don't bet he hasn't taught himself to read... I did the same thing, and when my mother discovered I had already READ to the end of something she was reading to me, she informed me that if I had already read the book, she didn't need to read it to me anymore .... so, let him keep up the pretense, but don't be surprised if he is secretly reading behind your back.... :p

However, the article compared kids reading "one book a day" with older kids reading "one or two a month." Well, as kids get older, the books DO get thicker and harder - so perhaps it isn't a valid comnparison! Polls can be developed and interpreted to say whatever the pollmakers WANT them to say! (I learned that in B-school....)

The other problem I have with this sort of info is the fact that MANY YA's are already reading ADULT books - I think often the categorization of books is set to the lowest common denominator. I had a great lower school experience, where we read great books at a young age - from the Wind in the Willows in second grade (when other schools were teaching Dick & Jane) to Black Beauty (unabridged) in 3rd grade, Mark Twain & Lewis Carroll in 4th, etc. I think publishers and schools simply underestimate the abilities of kids to absorb new material. And I HATE it when someone will say, "this book is for ages 10-14, s/he's only 9, can't possibly understand it.." Baloney.

Anyway, Dr. W, I trust you enough not to talk down to the kids, but rather draw them into your world and encourage them to read the "adult" books, which they might already be reading! And, please, don't them them categorize your "YA" books too definitively! Most of us "adult" (And I DO use that term lightly ) readers here will probably read them, too...