More than 350,000 people preordered book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, from online book giant Amazon -– far more than the 43,000 who preordered John Grisham's The Brethren in March -– and the Harry books occupy the top four spots on Amazon's bestseller list.

Then there's the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster and Harry video games. Harry has his own official websites in both the U.S. and in Britain, and there are scads of others devoted to both lauding and bashing him.

But if there's a fantasy life to be lived before J.K. Rowling produces Harry 5 and before someone develops a virtual Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, it may be found in good old fashioned ... books.

Libraries began assembling lists of recommended books for those who caught the Harry craze well before the July 8 release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and book enthusiasts are predicting the series' smashing success will inspire a renaissance in children's literature. There couldn't have been a better time, they say, for Harry to have taken off on his broom.

"When people felt kids were only involved with video games, it's heartening to see a book so well received," said Neal Coonerty, president of the American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independent bookstores.

"Without something like Harry Potter there'd be a dumbing down of children's literature," he said. "I don't think publishers would expect that kids could plow through a 700-page book, and they have -- they've gobbled it down. What we'll see are some Harry Potter wannabes but also some good, longer literature for kids."

Virginia Walter, president of the Association of Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association, said that many librarians have effectively capitalized on the Harry hype, sponsoring "read-alikes" of books similar to the Potter fantasies, and posting recommendations on the Internet.

"At this point they seem to be drawn to the other fantasies," Walter said. "What J.K. Rowling has done is taken the wonderful tradition of fantasy and the school story. The survivor tales, the action tales would also be sold to kids who liked Harry Potter."

Ga Lombard, the children's book buyer at Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, has been touting Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, both of which show up on a number of recommendation lists for kids who have read Harry ad nauseum.

Other popular choices are The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, The Hobbitt by J.R.R. Tolkien, and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

"But in some cases they just want to reread Harry Potter over and over again," Walter laughed.

In that case, if the Internet gave Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire enormous reach, it can do the same for other books, said Lauren Wohl, vice president of marketing at Winslow Press, all of whose books include links to their own Web pages and to other sites relating to the stories.

"The purpose is to bolster a child's love of reading, not to give another acceptable alternative," Wohl said. "An Internet experience will lead children to other books and other books and other books."