on the last minute chanda went with her friends to the book release for harry potter and the cursed child. it began at 8 pm at books of wonder on 18th street. they got there about 8:30 and had to wait in line to get a number which allowed them to wait in another line at 11:30 to receive their books at midnight (!).
as you can see, the store was bedecked with all sorts of potter paraphernalia: roadsigns,
posters,
hagrid and dumbledore and . .
owls! the tackapausha nature preserve brought their rescued owls in for the evening. tackapausha is located on long island and is a preserve i used to go to with my mom when i was growing up. it was great to hear they were there.
chanda said the owls were beautiful and the handlers informative and very nice.
even though it was so crowded, the owls were very calm.
our friend gaël with an eagle owl.
one of the handlers with a barn owl.
this adorable little fellow is a screech owl.
chanda, gaël and gabriel. i made sure to request this picture!
waiting in the owls, oops! i mean aisles and reading books. there were also magicians they enjoyed watching. chanda filmed some of them while gabriel and gaël informed her how each trick was done; natch.
one of the magic tricks . .
finally, it was time to fall into line according to one's number to receive the long awaited sequel to harry potter and the deathly hallows.
cinema verité . .
voila! of course she's already started it and i'm sure she'll finish it today or tomorrow (i'm writing this the day after the release party).
Do you like Harry Potter? We have never read those books, somehow, when they came out, I was not interested in them, so I never read them. All children so far have not been interested either. Their ballet teacher, though, is a big fan. Maybe it is an age thing?
ReplyDeleteThere are a few parts to one or two of the books which I don't think you would like at all, so it's good your children aren't into them. The main story celebrates a mother's love and how powerful that can be but it does deal with creepy magic in one or two of the stories. J. K. Rowling is a very good storyteller and her characters are funny and strong. I do enjoy the books immensely, but am glad we read them year by year. As the years go by in each book, the stories become darker and more complicated. The characters are eleven in the first book and seventeen in the final book. The one that just came out takes place nineteen years later and involves their children. It's been fun. I've really enjoyed reading them together, but Greg was never interested.
DeleteThanks for your impressions. I did like The Hobbit when I was about Chanda's age and I loved The Neverending Story, but now I do not like this type of writing so much anymore. Somehow the "magic," dark or not dark, does not reach me anymore.
DeleteYes, isn't it interesting how our tastes can change so much as the years go by!
DeleteThis reminds me of waiting outside the bookstore at night with my oldest girl at a Harry Potter Book release party for midnight to come. She was of the generation that grew up with the series. I have fond memories of the time. We'd wait till midnight, then I can still remember her sitting outside with her nose in her new book, reading at midnight. I read the series later with her and so much of my older kids and their friends lives were influenced by the books. She dreamed of going to Oxford and last year spent a year there as a history-lit major. Thanks for sharing, Harry Potter was a special memory for us. I too have one left at home and two flown the nest.
ReplyDeleteHello Elise, Yes, I did those midnight Harry Potter parties with my oldest girl too. It all began when she was nine years old :) How wonderful that your daughter was able to spend a year at Oxford! Such wonderful memories. Time goes too fast :)
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