Whatever my quibbles with Rowling’s decisions in this or any of the Harry Potter books, I cannot deny that reading them has been one of the most pleasurable, imaginative experiences I’ve ever had. I’m eager to read them to Lyra, and to Lyra’s sister, due just two weeks from now, and to see both of them swept away, as I was by so many books as a child—and am by so few as an adult.
