We’ve known that the Harry Potter books have had a positive effect on reading, and now we’re learning of another way they’ve affected readers: Books for kids have gotten longer.
The Booklist Reader recently completed a study which found that books for middle schoolers have seen a dramatic increase in length, and it appears to be due to the success of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This graphic by Vocativ paints a clear picture:
The most dramatic climbs occurred between 1996 and 2006 when the average page length went up 37%, and between 2006 and 2016 when the average length grew by a whopping 115%.
As we all know, those two time frames (particularly 1996 – 2006) were when Rowling was writing longer and longer Harry Potter books — and each one became more successful than the next.
This steady growth seems to suggest publishers are finding that young readers do enjoy reading books that are Harry Potter size, even if they’re not titled Harry Potter. As noted above, the current average length of a book intended for middle schoolers is 290 pages. By comparison, the first Harry Potter book is 320 pages (hardback).
Booklist Reader asked two of their experts what caused the average length to increase, and they agreed it was due to Potter.
It’s not too surprising. The Harry Potter books showed young readers can get through a book that is several hundred pages so long as it’s a good read. And we bet this has had a ripple effect across the literature community: Authors probably appreciate the additional room they have to tell a good story, and parents probably appreciate their kids spending more time reading.
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