 
 

Shallowater teen's passion for Potter the ticket to London vacation

Published: Friday, July 15, 2005

David Baker of Shallowater is one of the 10 young fans of Harry Potter whose essays about the literary wizard have earned each a four-day vacation in London.

The 13-year-old is excited about being introduced on this morning's "Today" show on NBC as one of the winners, the only one from Texas.

All 10, with their chaperones, will board a free overseas flight at midnight tonight and be handed a free copy of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" as they enter the aircraft.

Lubbock bookstores also will begin selling the sixth volume in the popular Potter series at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

While reading on the Internet what he could find about the new Potter adventure, David happened upon Scholastic Publishing Co.'s Web site and found its essay contest. Students were asked to write about why they love reading Harry Potter novels. Copies of the book were being given away just for trying.

But David did not read the rules very closely.

"I thought it said the essay had to be at least 300 words," he said. "I wrote hundreds of pages. Then my mom saw that the rules said a maximum of 300 words. I started cutting it down. Then my mom went through and showed me what she liked, and I told her what I thought was most important."

He finally focused on how the Potter books have helped him deal with personal peer pressure problems, comparing the use of the books' Sorting Hat to being placed into different groups in school.

"But you learn that sometimes it just doesn't matter," he concluded. "Sometimes you know which place is the best for you to be."

David writes in his spare time, often developing long, J.R.R.R. Tolkien-like tales, but has excelled in math and science.

He will transfer from the Shallowater to the Frenship school district when entering the eighth grade this fall. David is looking forward to new opportunities there, such as classes in computer Web page design.

The Bakers voted to forgo the family's annual summer vacation so that David could accept the London trip. There was no dissension.

"Even my sister is so happy for me," said David, who devoted days to researching London and has mapped out the best routes to use his free time to see the National Maritime Museum, Westminster Cathedral, Big Ben, London Tower and Tower Bridge.

He and his mother also will attend a dinner and medal ceremony upon arrival.

The farthest that David previously has traveled was a lengthy family vacation by car to Walt Disney World and Epcot theme park in Orlando, Fla. Not even his mom or dad, Ricky Wayne - much less he or his sister, Jessica Dianne, 9 - have ever experienced a transcontinental flight.

As they look forward to tonight's flight, Michelle cannot hide her pride.

"David's always been a hard worker," she said. "I'm glad he's gotten recognition. We live in the country, and his favorite place in Lubbock is Barnes & Noble. He's earned 1,000 points in his school's (accelerated reading) program."

David, however, repeated that his victory astonished him.

"Really, all I was trying to do was win a free book," he said.

To comment on this story:

william.kerns@lubbockonline.com 766-8712

shelly.gonzales@lubbockonline.com 766-8747







 
 

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