Anyone that knows me, knows that I am slightly obsessed with the Harry Potter series. Obsessed? Well, I started rereading the series annually when I was on bedrest after fetal surgery with my daughter, I visited the Wizarding World of HP for my 30th birthday, I have an Azkavan (Ha! Mom pun!) sticker on my minivan, and the theme of my son's room is Harry Potter. Yes, I know that I'm 34 years old, married with 2 kids, have a Master's degree, and love a "children's series". It's okay, my husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but he just goes with it.

Before you stop reading because I've completely freaked you out, let me tell you why I love the series so much and why I truly believe it's made me a better Mom. 

1. I didn't read the first book until I was a young adult in college. The first time I read it, I truly escaped from college work, relationships, drama, etc. It reminded me of why I loved to read as a child. Reading it again every year does that for me. It reminds me of why reading is so important. And why children need to find books they love so they can enjoy reading too! 
2. It teaches empathy. There are so many themes that you can get from reading Harry Potter, but I believe one of the most important is empathy. At this point in time, it's hard to teach empathy. Having a book series help lead kids (and adults) to learn what empathy looks like is so important. And don't take my word for it, an actual study was done on it. 
3. I love having a series that I will be able to read nightly with my kids! We're so busy as moms that we don't always have the time to sit down and talk with our kids. I look forward to reading a chapter or two of Harry Potter a night with my kids and talking about it. Having that time together is so special!

   

4. Harry Potter is written from a pre-teen/teen perspective. As adults we often feel frustrated with that age range. I taught 6th grade Language Arts for many years before staying home with my two littles. I remember well the feeling of,  "What in the world?" I often had with my 12 year old students (ie: "I see you on your cell phone. Your face doesn't typically light up blue."). Reading this series helps me reconnect back to being that confusing age. Y 'all remember it, I know you do...maybe you blocked it out a little, but it's there! 
5.  It got me back into reading and back into giving me my own "me" time. I discovered the Memphis Moms Read Between the Wines book club after I began blogging and was so excited to find other moms that love reading (and wine!!) as much as I do! 

Maybe after reading this, you're wondering if you have time to read the series. Let me give you another tip. The book series is available on Audible (and even better, the audio version can also be checked out at the library)! I actually bought the Audible version last year and read it that way! I enjoyed listening to it tremendously as I did my usual driving all over Memphis to therapies, school, appts, etc. 

There are so many things I could say about my beloved Harry Potter series, but I hope that you will discover the magic for yourself! It's never too late!