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�It�s exciting� and sold out Mail Tribune/Jim Craven Kyle Kohlmann came to Saturday�s Harry Potter party at Bloomsbury Books in Ashland dressed like Potter, the junior wizard who stars in the best-selling series of books. Kohlmann, 10, of Ashland, was among the lucky children who got a copy before the books sold out. Latest Harry Potter saga flies out of stores By Jessica Smith Muriel Johnson has something a lot of young readers want � 30 unclaimed copies of the latest chapter in the Harry Potter saga. "It�s kind of a secret," Johnson said late Saturday, the first day book stores everywhere could sell the fourth installment in the series by British author J.K. Rowling. Johnson, owner of Tree House Books in Ashland, said she expected to sell the remaining copies by the end of today. Other local book sellers, however, exhausted their supply of the coveted novel by Saturday morning. Hundreds of children and parents crowded into Barnes & Noble in Medford at midnight to stand in line for copies � the store wouldn�t reveal numbers � and celebrate the book�s release at a party with costumes, cake and trivia games. Tree House also opened its doors to sell books beginning at midnight. At Bloomsbury Books in Ashland, owner Sheila Burns sold the last of the store�s 25 unclaimed copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" about 20 minutes after the shop opened at 9 a.m. Customers � including some of the 170 or so who pre-ordered the book � crowded into Bloomsbury to celebrate the return of hero Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "It�s exciting!" said Kyle Kohlmann, 10, of Ashland. "I�ve read all three books three times. They�re fun and they give good descriptions." Kyle, wearing a black cap and wizard�s hat, perched on the edge of a bench and began reading immediately after he picked up his reserved book. Kyle was one of a number of Harry Potter look-alikes at Bloomsbury Saturday. The store encouraged kids to come in costume, many of them with faux forehead scars like the mysterious lightning bolt that marks Harry Potter�s head. Kids lined up for punch from the Leaky Cauldron and some who participated in Bloomsbury�s Quidditch broomstick contest won books and other treats in a drawing. Lila Schreiber, 10, of Ashland, recited a rhyme about the Sorting Hat � the magical hat that determines in which "house" Potter and his fellow Hogwarts� students spend their boarding school days � before the kids drew teams for the trivia game. "That�s my favorite part about Potter," said Lila, who said she�s memorized most of the first book. "My friends and I have a game we play every day called Potter Trivia. One of my friends even plays like Regis Philbin on �Who Wants to be a Millionaire.�" All this for a children�s fantasy. But this isn�t just any book, kids, their parents and teachers insist. Magic and adventure mixed with likable and despicable characters, Potter books are finding an audience with children that previously sat and stared at a screen all day, they say. "Whatever you want to say about the book, it�s turning kids back to reading," Burns said. "It�s building their vocabulary and their imaginations � you can�t do that with video games." About the only problem Saturday was the shortage of books, said Burns, who tried to order more after realizing her original request for 200 fell short of the demand. "One of the worst things has been telling kids they can�t get a copy," she added. "I even asked all the employees who had reserved copies to give them up." But fans who struck out at Bloomsbury and other stores got another shot at nabbing a copy of "Harry Potter" at Johnson�s Tree House Books. "People have been amazed that we have any left," Johnson said Saturday afternoon. "Everyone is so happy." Including retailers. Shop owners who ordered hundreds of copies of the 734-page tome of wizardry never got a chance to shelve the books. "I�ve never seen anything like it, where we�re out of books and the wholesaler is out," said Burns, who isn�t sure when she�ll get another shipment from her distributor. Likewise for Barnes & Noble in Medford, where "Are you getting more copies?" played like skipping record Saturday. "That�s the question everybody is asking," said store manager Bruce Budmayr. Of the 5.3 million copies printed in the U.S. and England, it seems most have already been snapped up, he said. "I don�t know if there�s a secret stash somewhere or if this is it," Budmayr added. "But it wouldn�t surprise me if it already has to go to a second printing." �Cool� action line captivates readers An old mansion. An evil wizard and his sidekick. Three people dead. If you want to know more, read the book. That�s what millions of children everywhere did Saturday after the release of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the fourth in a seven-part series about a boy wizard and his friends. "It�s really cool!" enthused Ariston Vallejos, a 12-year-old Klamath Falls boy who picked up his copy at Barnes & Noble in Medford. "This book starts out with action, not like the others," said Ariston, who bets he can read the 734-page novel within a couple days. "It�s pretty good," agreed Ariston�s friend, Chris Fink, 9. Chris said he likes "all that witchcraft and wizardry" that�s at the heart of every Potter adventure. Chris�s parents, Eric and Helen Fink, shuttled the boys to Medford Friday so they could join hundreds at a midnight party celebrating the return of Potter. Children, some in costume, lined up for the book in the crowded store. "We had to wait in line quite a while, but it was worth it," Ariston said. On a quieter aisle, away from the customers and long lines for cake, David Melendez of Medford was reading the first chapter to his son, Eli. "We�ve read �em all � twice," Melendez said. Ariston and Chris weren�t the only ones who traveled a long distance to get the book. Ginni Lyles, 12, of Cave Junction, read a few pages early Saturday morning. By Saturday night, she was to chapter four. Harry Potter and his best friend Ron�s family, the Weasleys, were headed for the International Quidditch Cup tournament. Harry also met Ron�s big brother, Bill, for the first time. "It�s really good so far," Ginni said. "I like how it stays with the same story lines." For Ariston and Chris, getting a copy of the "Goblet of Fire" was unexpected. "We were completely surprised until we got there," said Ariston, explaining that Chris�s parents didn�t tell the boys where they were headed. "When we saw it was a bookstore and all the cars in the parking lot, that was like a big hint about the Harry Potter books." After the party, the boys set up a fort with blankets and pillows in the Fink family�s car, where they could read by flashlight. "We set it up like two rooms so the light wouldn�t bug Chris�s dad," Ariston explained. "Then we read until we fell asleep." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA