So I think the answer is that it's a publicly-funded or supported school with a semi-autonomous board of directors.

Hogwarts is a charter school!

I always assumed the "kedavra" was a play on "cadaver".

I always assumed the "kedavra" was a play on "cadaver".

me too! (until I watched a documentary on the history of stage magic) Rowling said she chose the curse based on the origins of the word but I haven't heard her say it has a larger meaning in the context of the books. That was just an assumption I made after I watched the magic doc.

Remember that time Harry Potter killed a basilisk when he was TWELVE? Eat your heart out, Kvothe.

BWAH, P-C!!

x-post from Natter, with added request for help:

HKF got a chapter book in the mail from my MiL. She's been reading for a while, and will trade pages of whatever we're reading together (Narnia, atm), but when I suggested she might be able to read this on her own and could ask me for help with tough words (it's a thinner book than Narnia, with slightly larger print, but still a big-person chapter book), she sat down on the floor in the hallway and started reading. 45 minutes later, she was still reading. She finished the book this morning. Her first full book on her own. I'm all choked up.

Now HKF has declared that she is going to Read Everything and that we will still read Narnia/HP/etc. at night. So, any suggestions from librarians, teachers, and readers for books that are at the grade 2-3 level (shorter chapters, slightly larger print seems to have flipped the switch for her), I would appreciate it! The book that my MiL sent is part of the Ivy and Bean series, which I'd not heard of. So, strong, smart female characters, geeky topics, etc., happily received.

So, any suggestions from librarians, teachers, and readers for books that are at the grade 2-3 level (shorter chapters, slightly larger print seems to have flipped the switch for her)

Isn't that prime Beverly Cleary territory? So Beezus and Ramona, maybe? Or possibly Mouse on a Motorcycle.

What about the Ramona Quimby books? Coraline, but that might be too scary.

I'd start with the Judy Moody books or the Junie B. Jones books. Sara loves Junie B., and Judy Moody seems to be a slightly updated take on the same theme -- curious little girl with a lot of personality taking on the world.

Ramona x-post.

How about Charlotte's Web, or some of the younger Judy Blume books, like Freckle Juice?

Maybe the Boxcar Children, but those can get pretty retro with the gender roles. Amelia Bedelia. I've never read it, but I've heard good things about Just Grace. Same for Roxie and the Hooligans. Some of the American Girl books. If she might like historical stuff, then All-of-a-Kind Family. Encyclopedia Brown and Cam Jansen are fun mysteries -- Encyclopedia Brown especially for that age group, since each chapter is a separate story. The first two or three Little House on the Prairie books.