Michael Strong talks with five-year-old Alana about her summer, learning to read, and Harry Potter. She's on chapter four, loves Dumbledore as a teacher, and wants to fly on a witch's broom. She knows she's learning when she encounters something she didn't know before.
Hello.
Whoa, you've got a wetsuit on. Are you going body surfing?
Yeah, after this.
Is that body surfing or real surfing or—
Well, I'm practicing standing up at least.
On real surfboard?
No, on my boogie board.
Very cool. I think that's pretty impressive. You are amazing.
Thank you.
You're welcome. So isn't school coming pretty soon? Do you know when school starts?
Uh, no, but it's on August something. I don't know. Okay. That's my birthday though. That's my birthday though.
When is your birthday?
17th of August. That's my birthday.
And how old will you be?
I will be 6.
That's impressive. You are getting older every year.
Yeah.
So—
Every year.
That's right, every year. So would you say that you are going to learn new stuff in school?
I think I would say that.
Have you learned new stuff over the summer?
Over the summer, a little. What would you say? Because they've done experiments learning about plants, and the first graders in my school learning about animals and the ocean.
And you're learning how to boogie board or surf this summer, right?
Yeah, but my dad's teaching me that, not my teacher.
I see. Um, do you know, can you tell when you're learning something?
I can tell when I'm learning something because I didn't know it. That's when I can tell.
Would you say you learn something new every day, once a week, or how often?
Well, I would say— wait, are you talking about in school or just at home in this summer?
Both.
Oh, so school, 3 days a week. At home, I didn't know.
What do you do most, most days at home in the summer?
Well, I usually stay home, color, whatever. Then I usually go to the beach.
That sounds like a lot of fun. Are you reading books? Are you reading books?
Yes, I am. I'm starting to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Wow. Are you reading it with your parents? Are you reading it alone or both?
Both. I would say both.
Is it hard to read?
Not really.
Are there new words sometimes?
Sometimes, like, I don't know.
What do you do when you run into a word you don't know while you're reading?
I just ask my parents to tell me how I would pronounce it, then they tell me what it means.
Would you say you're learning when you learn new words?
Yes, because I'm learning something that is real but maybe fake.
And is Harry Potter the biggest book you've ever read so far?
I would say yes.
Do you know how many pages it has?
No, I haven't read the whole book yet.
How many chapters? Are you done with the first chapter yet?
I'm done with the fourth chapter.
Wow! How much of that did you read versus how much of that was your parents?
Well, I read one chapter by myself, which was the boy who lived and and then again with my mom, and then I read it by myself.
I think that's pretty amazing. I think Harry Potter is pretty complicated stuff for a 5-year-old.
Yeah, it is. Plus, it's a really long book.
It is a really long book. I think of 5-year-olds reading little tiny books. You're reading huge books. Are some of the sentences long for you, or you have no problem with long sentences?
I have problem— I don't have a problem with long sentences.
So have you seen the Harry Potter movies?
I have, but only the first one.
Do you think that when you read the book, are you imagining it to be like the movies, or do you imagine it in a different way?
I imagine it just like the movie.
Do you think the movie did a good job of the character of Harry Potter?
Yes, I did. Because I made the exactly same words, the exactly same chapters, just like in the movie.
Do you like the character Harry Potter?
I do.
And I forget— go ahead.
But the most character I like is Harry Potter. And Dumbledore.
Why do you like Dumbledore?
Well, he teaches everyone and picks everyone into groups, and he's like all— and he's like the teacher of every class.
Do you think he's a good teacher?
Yes, to me.
And— Go ahead.
He's good, and he and him and Hagrid and Professor McGonagall make a really good team.
Why do you say they make a really good team? What about them makes a really good team?
Because they pick up witches, so because they make up, um, children to make up witches to fight Voldemort and beat him.
I see. What do you think of Voldemort?
I think he's a pretty mean character. That's what I think.
Do you— why do you think he's so mean?
Because he's like trying to get something from them without even asking, and he's even trying to take the Sorcerer's Stone without even telling one of them.
Well, I think that we should really dig into Harry Potter. I did not know that you had started reading it. I am really impressed. So thank you. I think I'm gonna let you go ahead and have a wonderful day at the beach today. And I should be able to— I'm sorry, I've been traveling a lot the last few weeks. I should be able to Thank you. I should be able to be more regular again. And yeah, the fact you're reading such a big book, we can really try to figure out what's going on with Harry Potter and Dumbledore and Voldemort and everybody else. Who are your other favorite characters there? Do you like any of the other characters so far?
Um, I would say— I would say— The hat that picked the children that needed to be in every group.
Okay. Do you think that you would like to be part of— be with Harry Potter? Would you like to live in that world?
Yes, I would like to.
Why?
I've always dreamed to fly on a witch's broom.
I see. Even though there's Voldemort in that world?
Well, there could be another world without Voldemort, Death Eater, Quidditch.
So you want the broom flying most of all?
Yeah.
Okay, well, until we get broom flying, maybe we'll have to settle for boogie board surfing. How's that sound?
Okay.
Okay. All right, well, I will let you, uh, go back to having it. Have a wonderful day, and let's start talking about Harry Potter next week, okay?
Okay, next week. Bye-bye. Bye, see you soon.
