NYT: Kids Moving from Quiet Reading to HP Madness

The New York Times has an article today about childhood toys, playtime and imagination..

As toys change, has play itself fundamentally changed? For that matter, does the early attachment to grown-up toys in some way shorten in the imaginative world of childhood, with its pretend tea parties and make-believe cops and robbers?
[T]he protected space of childhood slowly eroded, as children were increasingly exposed to the consumer market – through comic books, then radio, then television. In the accelerating rush toward more wired play, it is not so much childhood that is under threat, some say, as society’s idealized and perhaps sentimentalized view of it.

In fact, the move away from reading “The Secret Garden” in a quiet corner, and toward the public extravaganza of Harry Potter – the books, the movies, the action figures and video game – has been going on for a long time.

Editor’s note: The public extravaganza of Harry Potter isn’t bereft of interaction, creativity or imagination. Just look at our comments features, the thousands of fansites – many of which were creatively generated by kids and teens – all the fanfiction and fanart and creative theorizing and conferences attended by teens and adults from around the world. Enjoy the public extravaganza of Harry Potter, fellow Leaky-ites, because it’s a creative, imaginative, interactive and dynamic place. I enjoyed reading The Secret Garden on my own when I was younger – and now, I enjoy reading Harry Potter in the company of other fans of all ages. Don’t you?