Kids Off The Couch - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I + Whimsic Alley

When we read the final installment of J.K. Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we genuinely feared for Harry’s life! Though we may know the end of the story now, we’ll still be first in line for the movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I when it opens on November 19. Our family has read every word of all seven Harry Potter books out loud together, and is excitedly awaiting the moment when we can catch up with Harry, Ron and Hermione in the trio's penultimate adventure. (The final tale will be brought to the screen in two parts, so fans can draw out the excitement for another nine months -- Part II won't be released until July 15, 2011). But all we really want to do is go to Hogwarts. We got a taste of our favorite School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by visiting Whimsic Alley, a store on Wilshire Boulevard that is custom-made for all Harry Potter fans. You can choose your own broomstick, try to get any of the beautiful hand-crafted wands to cast a spell, buy all sorts of Harry Potter games and gadgets, and even try on Hogwarts School robes. Stay to have tea at your own house table in Whimsic Alley’s Great Hall, complete with candles floating overhead and hosts who know their Harry trivia inside and out! One afternoon at Whimsic Alley is the next best thing to crashing through the wall at Platform 9 3/4 and hopping on the Hogwarts Express! (Click here for details on Special Events at Whimsic Alley planned in conjunction with next week's film premiere).

Fall Reading Curriculum from Kids Off The Couch

What is better than discussing books you love with your loved ones?

We love this time of year -- engrossed in English classes, the kids are reading classics like Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and that means lots of rich dinner table chatter about some of our favorite literature. It's a great parenting perk to revisit these titles by keeping up with the syllabus (we are getting to read The Scarlet Letter again). Here are a few more ways to keep you and your readers on the same page -- literally!

BANNED BOOK WEEK:
Something you might not know but should: The vast majority of books that your kids are reading in school have been, or could be, at risk for extinction! Imagine if your youngsters were denied access to classics like J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye and Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Do your kids know that their beloved Harry Potter came under attack in the late 90's, and J.K. Rowling's series is considered to be one of the most strongly challenged books of the 21st century? Some other shocking titles that almost didn't make it to your shelves: The Great Gatsby, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and The Lord of The Rings. See the ALA site for a complete list of books banned after 1990. Support FREADOM of expression and your child's access to important literature by celebrating Banned Book Week at your local library or bookstore. Click here to learn more about the week-long celebration (Sept. 26-Oct. 3) and to keep up with the fight for educational freedom on Twitter.

START A BOOK CLUB:
Beginning in the fourth grade, we organized Parent-Child Book Clubs by choosing four or five friends and meeting four times over the course of the school year. It almost didn't matter which books we chose (although we had fun with everything from Avi to Jane Austen); it was the conversation that came up in the group that we remember. Now that our kids are older, they read a lot of the same types of books we do - our teens loved The Da Vinci Code, so we're all racing each other through Dan Brown's latest thriller The Lost Symbol, which was a blockbuster even before it hit the shelves, yesterday!

Here are a few websites to help you organize your own book clubs - click here for great book choices from Planet Esme, and click here for advice about running the group. We love Mother Daughter Book Club.com for it's excellent suggestion list.

Happy Reading --
Kids Off the Couch

Kids Off The Couch

Tell us your favorite book club choices: info@kidsoffthecouch.com

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