IntroductionThe first Harry Potter book was released in 1997, and no one at the time could have imagined that in the 10 years that followed it would become the go-to children's book most read. book and film franchise worth $6.4 billion. The purpose of this essay is to try to explain the reason for the popularity of the Harry Potter books. The aim is also to show the changes caused by the series, how it influenced the people who read it, how it had an impact on literacy and, more generally, on British popular culture. In the first part of the essay, I will briefly explain the beginning of the Harry Potter phenomenon and its growing popularity in countries around the world. In the second part, I will discuss the character of Harry, explaining why he has such appeal to readers and how it is that people identify with him. In the third part, I will explain the impact of the Harry Potter books on society, how they influence young adults and children. Part four will deal with the controversies surrounding Harry Potter, the opinions and thoughts of religious people who see Harry Potter as a book that should be banned. In part five I will mention the difference that the phenomenon has caused between the book industry and the British film industry. The Beginning of the Phenomenon The Harry Potter phenomenon had its humble beginnings in the 1990s, when the first book, written by JK Rowling, hit stores. The main protagonist, a skinny young child wizard who wore round glasses, immediately appealed to readers, but no one at the time knew that the young boy would become the literary icon of the last decade. The popularity of the book led to it being translated into various languages...... middle of paper ...... Phenomenon. ^ Gibbs, Nancy. Person of the Year 2007. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695436,00.html- Gold, Tanya. Harry Potter and the end of a pop-culture phenomenon. ^ Heilman, Elizabeth. Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter, 2002, e-book: http://books.google.ba/books?id=-jtl-ZDxEFkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false- Hoyle, Ben. Harry Potter, the young wizard who changed an industry. ^ Woodrum, Emily. The Harry Potter controversy. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/reference/instruction/harrypotter.cfm