Throughout the latter part of 1999, thousands of young children walked around with paste-on tattoos in the shape of a purple lightening bolt. Many adults were puzzled; for those in the know, however, the tattoos indicated that these, kids were fans of the young, would-be wizard Harry Potter. The fictional character and his adventures, the creation of English author J. K. Rowling, captivated readers young and old. Three books, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (1998), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), racked up record-breaking sales in the United Kingdom and the United States. The books also earned the distinction as one of the few children's books ever to crack" the adult best-sellers list, remaining, on The New York Times Best Sellers' List for more than thirty-eight weeks. By the fall of 1999, more than 7.5 million volumes were...