Ahmed is 12, and he is trying to cajole the librarian at Maadi’s Public Library to let him borrow the only copy the library owns of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The system is down, she tells him. Dejected, Ahmed takes the copy and walks away to the far end of the junior reading room.

Ahmed goes to a language school in Maadi, but still cannot afford to buy Harry Potter books. I have seen all the movies, and borrowed Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from a friend. It was super, he tells me. Has the Harry Potter craze caught up with Egyptian children too? According to bookstore owners around town, at time of press, customers were waiting with bated breath for book six of the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, hitting the Egyptian market on the 16th of July — the same overseas release date.

The poster for the new book winks at you from the windows of many of the capital’s biggest bookstores, tantalizingly promising the release date. Stores like Diwan have opted not to go with a waiting list this year, and are going to sell the copies on a first-come, first-served basis. The bookstore at Wadi Degla Club has a long waiting list, and is stipulating that a down payment be made in advance. But is it really the children who are waiting for the book? We hit some playgrounds and clubs, asking the children some O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) questions.

I don’t really like to read. I mean I do but I’d rather watch the movie. I do enough reading during school months. Sure, I like Harry Potter, but I do not know what the next book is called. I’ve seen all three movies. I like them. —Omar, 11

My mom has all the books. She loves them, and is dying for the coming book to come out. I have tried to read the first chapter of The Order of the Phoenix. I soon gave up. It’s funny, but too big. Maybe I’ll read the new book this time. —Nancy, 10

Harry Potter? Yes, I know who he is. I liked the last movie a lot, but I haven’t read any of the books. I would like to read one, though. I don’t mind. A new book is coming out. —Dunia, 8

Warner Bros The movie versions of Harry Potter, also a wide success

My father promised to buy me the new Harry Potter book the day it comes out. I love the books. I read The Order of the Phoenix three times. I just finished reading it for the third time. I am getting ready for the new book. It is called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I went to the website, and it says the Half Blood Prince is not Voldemort. It is not even Harry. This is so cool, I wonder who it is going to be. I also read that Grawp is going to have a bigger part in this book. So will Moaning Myrtle, who is coming back, I hear. Sure, the movies are fun. I think the best was the last one. But I like the books better. Although I did log on to the Goblet of Fire website. They are filming, and it should come out next winter. —Amr, 13

I can’t wait for the new book to come out. I have put my name down on the waiting list. I am going to be there first thing in the morning. This is so exciting. I am really glad J.K. Rowling worked on this one fast. It took her years to finish book 5. But it is going to be shorter than Order of the Phoenix. Not so short, longer definitely than Azkaban and even Goblet of Fire. I think I read about it being 600-something pages. I really hope Hermione and Ron finally get together. They should. You can feel Ron has a huge crush on her. I hope Harry is happier in this part. I cried so hard when Sirius died. Do you think he’ll come back as a ghost? The last pages of the last book show that Harry would like him to. I hope he finds a new girlfriend. Cho was so difficult. —Mariam, 16  et