Hogwart Hogwash

This week the world was full of mush minded munchkins, all 9 years of age and wearing Harry Potter outfits. WC Fields could not have said it any better, "Get away from me kid, you bother me you bother me".
Harry Potter is just another fad like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Transformers. All things pass. I never understood what all the fuss is about really, but I am 52 not 9. However I would question whether or not adults, unless reading to their children, have a screw lose to be into reading the book for themselves. Some of the looks I get when expressing that opinion would curdle milk.
The characters are too shallow and the plot could be used for tracing paper. The only reason the book is popular is because it is a page turner and a good vs evil story. Readers would be much better off with books that help them understand the world and vocabulary and not pander to their 20 second attention span. You want imagination try Walt Disney.
The only reason some adults love Potter books is because they are pure escapism. The books represent the sort of childhood that everyone wishes they had. It is a book for children but some adults still want to revert into their childhood. As a child I read books such as Lord of the Rings and fantasized that there was more to life than morning assemblies, home work and ball bames but now I am an adult and the escapist stuff is far from my mind.
Whereas I am in favor of anything that encourages more young people to turn off the TV or Video games, I think the hype surrounding this book is excessive. The commercialism offends me more than the story itself. Children don't need all this to keep them happy anyway. I think priorities are all mixed up. This set of books will be tomorrows junk or put on a self to gather dust. What is the world coming to?