I disagree with Mr Rosen entirely. Children will find interesting and fun things in the Harry Potter books, even if bigger plots go over their heads.
As for Claire from London - I've read the works of Charles Dickens and many other giants of English Literature, your view is tedious in the extreme.

Kevin, Oxford, United Kingdom

The Potter books do have fantastic plots! And they are certainly NOT boring, you can't put them away once you have started reading them! And also, saying that these books are not appropriate for children is just like saying they are dull and should only be reading 2-pages fairy tales until 17.

Natasha, London, UK

Sour Grapes, I say.

JKR has sold millions of books - the proof is in the pudding!

Michael Rosen is a bigoted old fogey.

David Thomas, Flixton, Manchester, UK

i have to say i only started reading thanx to my mum but b4 the harry potter books i hated reading i was in year 3 and since my mum forced me 2 read the second hp i started to read so however complex you may say her work is her books managed to lure a stubborn 7 year old. i owe to her my inteligence

Anna , Marlow-on-Thames, UK

I quite enjoy reading the HP books myself, despite the flaws in logic that are present in ALL of Rowling's plotlines. However, when reading the books aloud to my 8 year old son, it becomes apparent just how poorly written much of Rowling's work is! VERY hard work...

Joe, Newcastle, UK

Perhaps we should let children choose their Laureate, instead of the panels of self-interested agents, booksellers, academics and librarians who do it now.'Children don't read books that bore them' said the first HYS. Exactly.Awkward little monsters, defying those who know best for them.

eric campbell, harrogate, uk

according to me his wrong .nowadays plp cant find time to read books .so,reading harry boks is of following a blind way for making time for any of other books too.we can giv a way for our large pile of books any way..we ourselves mak a tim on others.

rosy, yuth,

I think hes wrong, before i started reading harry potter books, i hated reading. When i started reading the harry potter books, i couldnt put it down, i was hooked. Harry potter is very inspirational and it was the first chapter book (except school books) that i have actually finished and im 15.....

Luna, london, england

I have 3 children, all boys. When the youngest was in Kindergarten he told me he only wanted hooked on phonics for Christmas. When I asked why he said so he could read the Harry Potter books. Hes in 7th grade now & gets straight A's and he reads everything not just Harry Potter.

Charlene, Wawaka, USA

As an adult i found the HP books fascinating, my niece who is 10 also read all the books and it certainly captured her imagination. I think the dark themes are important and children today are not the same as the Enid Blyton children of several generations ago.

Yogi, Manchester

Yogita Das, Bolton, UK

My son and daugther have both read Harry Potter books and are both now avid readers, my son at 13 now having read most childrens books and those of his age group, has now moved onto what would traditional be classified as 'adult ' books, mainly thillers. Push the boundaries extend the children.

Mel Sharples, Gloucester,

This man clearly does not understand her work. The harry potter series started out very innosent besause he was 11. Every book he gets older and there are more adoult situations. If your children are too young to understand a teenager, than only read them the eairler books.(i know i cant spell btw)

Shannon, Tuxedo, U.S.A.

i was absolutley ouraged wen i read this article!!!!!! i have a little sister who is six and she absolutley loves it when i tell her about harry and his friends. i myself am 11 and i have read the harry potter series 7 times and i was really upset wen i found out they would be no more.

bailey, blackburn,

Too many people look for LITERATURE when all it is, is a STORY. Reda the last HP back to back with Gogol's Dead Souls. I know which one I'll go back to. When Tolkein won the poll for best 20th Century Book many critics stated it was not literature. Explain difference betwixt Literature and a story

John, London,

There are many talented writers in the literary circle and JK is one of the very rare few that attains worldly success. Her achievement inspires many. We should celebrate her success and hope that other talents will receive the recognition and success they truly deserve instead of living in oblivion

Charles, Hong Kong,

Harry Potter and "I'm Going On a Bear Hunt" are hardly targeting the same age-group. Of course, it is all about age-appropriateness; I wouldn't read Harry Potter (especially the later ones) to a young child either, but that doesn't make them excellent reads for older children.

MJ, NZ,

Is it me or do these comments smack of a mixture of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted and sour grapes? If Rowling has managed to make a fortune, good luck to her. To those who want to criticise, I say: write a better series of books which sell as well or better.

Phil Bailey, shrewsbury, UK

Those who can - do. Those who can't - always try to tear down those who can. It's how they get their fifteen seconds of fame.

Jane Doe, Somecity, Somecountry

Personally, I was a teenager when the Harry Potter books came out, and found them boring. But that's just my taste.

However, I was reading Pullman at the age of 10 and found myself thoroughly absorbed.

My siblings and I were all encouraged to read by the incredible works of Roald Dahl. It worked!

Brijit, Paris,

I started reading the Harry Potter books when I was 10 and they proved no problem to me. Yet it is fair to say that the books grew darker which could affect young children. But never at any point would I label the Potter books as boring.

Nicola, Brighton,

I have to say that the Harry Potter books are favorites in our household, favorites of mine and my sons. Why, when the evidence of sales and popularity are right in front of their faces do people even so called experts insist on criticizing JK Rowlings work? The HP books are good, it's that simple.~

Holly, Bradford, USA

Ugh, yet more snobbery from attention-seeking morons who wish they had amassed Joanne Rowling's well-deserved fortune. If they are so 'boring' why do children continue, year after year, to queue up at midnight to get the next installment? I am 29 and found LOTR utterly dull.

Faith, Croydon,

he is stupid to say that children aint stupid they wont read boring stuff and if they read Harry Potter that means that it is interesting for them . May be he hates the popularity of the books

Aditya, Delhi, India

Enid Blyton is not a 'hand-holding narrator' who can be relied on to 'lead children into safe environments'. Somebody who professes to have expertise on this subject really ought to know that.

Justin, Chester, England

Most classic juvenile authors are easy to read. The modern works of Potter and Pratchett etc etc are very difficult to get in to. Perhaps these works,with their difficult sentence structures and lack of continuity, are in fact suited to a stunted generation of readers weaned on fast computer games?

Edwina Funkwhistler, Taunton, UK

Methinks Mr Rosen doth protest too much. A tad envious, perchance?

Chris Parsons, Graffham, UK

This is the kind of statement that makes me sad. Just because a book doesn't define 'who is a goddie and who is a baddie' it isn't really a kids book? Hopefully most people doesn't think like this and we might be able to raise a generation that doesn't think in black and white.

Ghernu Nasgali, Waltzbury, England

I'm reading the third book to my 7 year old, who loves the series. I think the books appeal to a wide range of ages, as the sales clearly show.

Jackie, Edinburgh, UK

Adults who have not elevated their reading beyond Harry Potter are inadequate.

HP is a marketing success not a literary one.

Don't read this tripe to your children!

Claire, London,

I'm not sure about boring, but they are certainly badly written.

They rely too heavily on a very clever set-up and idea, and are let down by some sloppy passages and cliches.

I wholeheartedly applaud their influence on children's reading habits but have never thought much of the books.

Lindsey, Bath,

I read one book and thought it was dire and second rate, but I could understand how an undiscerning 7 year-old might enjoy them.

The popularity of these books far outstrips their quality. Derivative drivel.

Duncan Bowtell, Wokingham,

The author is - leave HP out of the debate !!!

Ian Payne, WALSALL,

Why the big story? Michael Rosen doesn't find some books to his taste and his daughter's not ready for them. Is that a problem? He doesn't attack J.K. Rowling or the Harry Potter books. My children liked Rosen and Rowling. I'm grateful to both. Variety and different tastes in books are good.

kath bell, Nottingham, England

Alot of people who havent read the storys have no base for an opinion.

Try reading them and see how the child will take it first before you deside to say that they would bore them. I read them to my cousin and he was 5... He seemed to enjoy them.

Amanda, iowa, usa

Boring?! I don't think he has either read or understood any of the HP books. Each one has kept me on the edge of my seat, gripped from cover to cover and they get my imagination flowing like there's no tomorrow! The endings are gripping and always leave me wanting more. I'd say that's good writing.

Jackie, London, England

My daughter is 5 years old and my son 4 they are both mad about Harry Potter they may not be able to read the books themselves but my daughter knows the books off by heart as I have read 1-6 to her what a load of rubbish to say they are boring and grown up kids and adults love Harry potter !

alyson, godalming, uk

I am still in primary school I love the Harry Potter books. J.K Rowling is an extremely good writer and can bring back to life past characters making the books flow on much more fluently. She can write it so you're full of questions at the beginning but you'll get it all in the end.

Jennifer, London, England

Thats just stupid I read the Harry Potter books when I was seven and I loved them! Before I read the series I hated to read! Those books are the only reason I enjoy reading today

Emily, Fullerton, United States

Yeah, they must be boring if they introduced half the kid population of the world to reading. *rolls eyes* I think it's weird to say that leaving you hanging at the end of a chapter is a bad thing, when that's what actually makes the books interesting. I have read each HP book at least 20 times.....

Charlotte, California,

Children don't read books that bore them. Boring for adults, maybe.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK