HARRY POTTER: FROM CHILDREN'S BOOK TO BIG SCREEN
A Baylor University children's literature expert says the wildly popular "Harry Potter" books may be responsible for singlehandedly turning many children into voracious readers. But on Nov. 16, thousands will watch as the first of the imaginative and very visual books -- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- makes the transition to the big screen. Dr. Pat Sharp, professor of curriculum and instruction in the Baylor School of Education, says a handful of children's books, such as "The Secret Garden" and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH," have been successfully adapted without changing the focus of the book's storyline. Sharp, who has only seen previews of the movie adaptation of "The Sorcerer's Stone," says Harry Potter fans might have the most difficulty adjusting what they read and imagined to what they see on screen. "All of the Harry Potter books are so visual that you have to remember when you go into the theater you might not see what you did in your mind's eye." Sharp, who requires each of her education students to read at least one of the Harry Potter books, is available to talk about children's classics becoming movies and how parents of young Harry Potter fans can prepare them for the bigger-than-life movie version. Sharp can be reached at (254) 710-4892 or [email protected].
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