That’s the conclusion that the consumer trend-tracking company Yankelovich has come to in its study demonstrating the power J.K. Rowling has on children’s reading habits, the Book Standard reports. More than half of kids ages 5-17 say they did not read books for fun before the Harry Potter series came along, according to the report, which surveyed 500 children and 500 parents nationwide. Among parents, 76 percent say reading the series has helped their child perform better in school, while 65 percent of children agree.
“While the overwhelming success of Harry Potter is undeniable, this study quantifies for the first time the impact children and parents believe the series has had on helping kids to read and learn and indicated that the right book can even lure older kids to stay engaged with reading,” says Dr. Hal Quinley from Yankelovich.
And what, then, when the series ends? Half of the readers surveyed say they will look for a new series and 27 percent say they will read whatever Rowling publishes next. Which sounds about right to me…