As the year draws to an end, Scholastic, US publishers of the Harry Potter novels, have a reminder for us today of the remarkable decade that was, and the amazing impact of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The sales figures are staggering, but as publisher Arthur A. Levine and VP of Scholastic reminds us, the true magic has been in the reading:
"What the numbers leave out is the singular experience that so many young people had of actually growing up WITH a literary character, which had never been done before. "Kids who began reading Harry Potter when they were in elementary school, finished Harry's story as they finished major life milestones in this decade. And they took with them not only a deep experience of the pleasure a book can bring, but a validation of hopefulness that one's actions matter more than one's circumstances, and a message that truly love does conquer all."
As a reminder, the following is a list of some of the milestones the series (and we fans) have seen these past years:
(All sales figures are U.S. only)
July 8, 2000 -- 3.8 million - the record-breaking initial print-run of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
July 11, 2000 -- 3 million - copies sold in the first weekend from the release of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," breaking all publishing sales records.
March, 12, 2001 -- Release of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages" with net proceeds to benefit Comic Relief, UK.
June 21, 2003 -- 6.8 million - the record-breaking initial print-run of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
June 22, 2003 -- 5 million - copies sold in the first 24 hours following the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," breaking all publishing records.
July 16, 2005 -- 10.8 million - the record-breaking initial print-run of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
July 17, 2005 -- 6.9 million - copies sold in the first 24 hours following the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," breaking all publishing records.
June 14, 2006 -- Scholastic's Kids and Family Reading Report reveals that 76% of parents say reading Harry Potter has helped their child do better in school.
August 1 & 2, 2006 -- 2 sold-out nights of "Harry, Carrie & Garp." J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and John Irving read and answered questions for fans at Radio City Music Hall, benefiting Doctors without Borders and The Haven Foundation.
June 4 - July 20, 2007 -- 40 libraries across the country visited by the Knight Bus where fans were invited to share on video their thoughts and feelings about the Harry Potter Books.
July 21, 2007 -- 12 million - the record-breaking initial print-run of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
July 22, 2007 -- 8.3 million - copies sold in the first 24 hours following the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," breaking all industry records.
August 2, 2007 -- 11.5 million - copies sold in the first 10 days following the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
October 15-19, 2007 -- 2,000 - books signed by J.K. Rowling at each of four free events on the Open Book Tour, where J.K. Rowling read, from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and answered questions at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, the New Orleans Convention Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City.
June 11, 2008 -- Scholastic's Kids and Family Reading Report finds that 74% of kids say reading Harry Potter made them interested in reading other books. http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport
September 23, 2008 -- 7 1/2 hours - spent by hundreds of fans reading aloud J.K. Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in its entirety at Scholastic's "Cover to Cover" event in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the book's publication.
December 3, 2008 -- Scholastic releases "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" to benefit the Children's High Level Group, a charity co-founded in 2005 by J.K. Rowling and Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, MEP to make life better for vulnerable children.
September 20, 2009 -- 228 - weeks Harry Potter spent on The New York Times bestseller list.
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