Today's Special: Herbie Potter and the Catly Hallows

As many of you already know, my peeps and I love the Harry Potter books and movies. Today was opening day for the seventh movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1- or, as I like to think of it (after my friend Da Puttytats G suggested it) - Herbie Potter and the Catly Hallows. That has a nice ring to it don't you think?

Because I've been so excited about the new movie, I've been talking about it quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook and I've found that there are still many animals and peeps out there who haven't given the series a chance yet.  Believe me, I understand.  We weren't fans from the beginning. Neither peep had ever read anything in the fantasy genre - witches, wizards, magic...no way!  Also, since the HP series is officially considered a children's series, peeps really didn't give it a second thought. But finally, several different friends and co-workers convinced them to just give the first book a try. At the time, the sixth book, Half-Blood Prince was hitting the stands. So grudgingly peeps bought the first book, swore they wouldn't like it...and never looked back. They were hooked.  And the funny thing is, as often as we hear people say "I don't think I'd like it," we've never heard anyone who's given it a chance say "I really didn't like it."

It's pretty obvious that the books are a classic tale of good vs evil, right vs wrong.  But there's so much more. They're steeped in mythology and history.  Not only is there a running storyline throughout the whole series that progresses with each new installment, but each book offers it's own mysteries and secrets. The characters are extremely well-developed and as you travel thru each book you discover that they're more than just fictional characters...they're friends and enemies that you genuinely love or hate.

The movies, as a whole, are absolutely brilliant. Again, my feelings hearken back to what I mentioned above.  It's amazing to see these characters and places that you've come to love so much, on the big screen in front of you.  The movies compliment the books in so many ways while still adding a whole new dimension to the story.  Personally, we would choose to read the books before seeing the corresponding movie because the books allow your imagination free reign, but the movies can stand alone as well.

So, I encourage all of you that haven't yet started this incredible journey, to pick up the very first book, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the US) and give it a try. If you do, I'm almost certain that before long you'll be grabbing a ride on the Knightbus to Diagon Alley to share a butterbeer with me while we discuss the magic of Harry Potter.

xoxo