Youngsters getting excited about books is a refreshing change.

It’s always kind of exciting to see young people get excited about a book.

Stories in Thursday’s Journal-World tell about two books that have captured the attention of young readers. One is an international phenomenon, the other a local controversy.

The popularity of the Harry Potter books has been well documented. Some adults have expressed concern about the influence the magical themes of the Potter books would have on children, but who would have thought the book would have physical consequences for its readers?

A letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine calls attention to an ailment a Washington doctor has labeled “Hogwarts headaches” after the magic academy attended by Potter and his partners in adventure. Last summer, three otherwise healthy children visited the doctor complaining of headaches. Unable to identify the case, he did a little research and discovered that all three had been engaging in marathon reading sessions after the release of the 870-page “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

The doctor didn’t advise his young patients to forego reading the book, but he suggested they might take more breaks from the muscle-tensing activity. However, he said, at least two of the patients chose to simply take a pain reliever and keep reading.

Students in nearby Baldwin are getting excited about another book for a different reason. The book, Robert Cormier’s “We All Fall Down,” has caused quite an uproar in the community after being pulled from a high school class by the Baldwin school superintendent. Two parents had complained about the book, which deals with alcoholism, violence and other adult themes.

To protest the action, four Baldwin High School students planned to distribute copies of the book at Thursday night’s football game.

This certainly isn’t the first time a book has caused controversy in a school. Thirty years ago, parents were worried about the themes in the classic “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The Baldwin school district has gone back and forth on how to review books and determine whether they are suitable for the classroom. The American Civil Liberties Union is being invited to get involved.

Nothing makes a book more attractive to young people than to tell them they shouldn’t read it. It’s just human nature.

An article that drew front-page play in many national newspapers this week decried the fact that children who grew up in households where televisions were usually on lagged behind their peers in reading skills. In a time when young people spend so much time watching TV or playing video games, it’s nice to see them paying attention — for almost any reason — to books.