Zhen Chen, 11, reads a book in the Teen Zone at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt. Chen has read all six of the Harry

A display at Borders books & Music, 700 N.H., offers readers books reminiscent of the Harry

When “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” hits shelves July 21, it will represent the end to one of the most successful and beloved fantasy book series ever.

With this seventh – and final – entry being released in J.K. Rowling’s saga of a headstrong wizard, young readers aren’t the only ones who will be on a quest for more magic. The publishing industry also is hoping some other enchanting epic will fill that substantial void.

“The scale of ‘Harry Potter’ dwarfs everything else,” says Lisa Bakke, manager of Borders Books & Music, 700 N.H.

In addition to the half-dozen large displays dedicated to the boy wizard that pepper her store, Bakke points to a towering one labeled, “If you like Harry Potter, try these books …”

The shelves display a multitude of recent titles, including Christopher Paolini’s dragon-heavy “Eragon” and Suzanne Collins’ “Gregor” (part of “The Underland Chronicles”), which details how a young boy and his sister find a mysterious world beneath New York City.

“As far as the next big thing – I don’t think we know it,” she says. “In general, there’s a lot more science fiction/fantasy for kids than there used to be. For example, this entire section has certainly gone up since ‘Harry Potter.’ There are all kinds of things being published that would never have been without ‘Harry Potter.'”

Readers aren’t just being directed toward brand new series, however. Many that spawned decades ago are being marketed to young book lovers in hopes of generating “Potter”-like mania.

In addition to obvious titles such as “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” – which both have received enormous boosts from their mega-hit movie adaptations – other lesser-known works are being “regifted.” Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising Sequence” – which debuted in the 1960s – is again a hot item, as is Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” from the ’60s.

“The thing that ties them all together is that suspension of reality that most of us live in. That’s what made the ‘Potter’ books so popular,” Bakke says.

Popularity contest

Ten-year-old Ian Pepin is scouring the stacks of the Children’s Room section of the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

His choice for a hero after Harry? That would be Percy of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”

“I like Greek gods and stuff – mostly for the monsters and things, like in ‘The Lightning Thief,'” Ian says of the first book in the series.

The 2005 effort from author Rick Riordan concerns a boy about the same age as Pepin who discovers he is the son of the sea god Poseidon and must find Zeus’ lightning bolt in order to prevent World War III.

“It’s been a challenge for librarians while kids wait for that next ‘Potter’ book. What do they read?” says Joyce Steiner, the library’s youth services coordinator.

“When you ask, ‘What’s going to replace it?’ I think that’s one of the reasons why something probably won’t replace it. (‘Rings’ author J.R.R.) Tolkien is about as close as I can get because it’s read by everybody. His books have always been popular and will perhaps remain classics longer than ‘Potter.’ But who knows? It’s hard to say what the years will do to ‘Harry Potter.'”

Steiner mentions new entries that have been favored by younger readers such as “Eragon” and the “Septimus Heap” tales by Angie Sage (which likewise concern a boy wizard and are penned by a female British writer).

She also notes Brian Jacques’ “Redwall” series, which has resulted in 19 books involving a world of anthropomorphic animals.

“‘Redwall’ has been a hit with boys,” she says. “But that’s the thing with ‘Harry Potter’ – it’s very popular with both boys and girls. Whereas ‘Redwall’ is much more popular with boys because of the violence, probably.”

No longer scary

Steiner says she is “amazed” by how much detail youngsters can evoke when it comes to Rowling’s works. She attributes it to the time and dedication even very young bookworms will put into absorbing the seven “Potter” works through multiple readings. (Steiner admits she’s read each of the books only once.)

“I noticed before ‘Harry Potter,’ if you did try and get the kids to read longer books, for the most part they would say, ‘Thanks but no thanks.’ Now they’ve gotten over that idea that a big book is scary. It’s OK, and they actually like the fact it’s long. It’s something to go after,” she says.

Whether another character will ever have the same bewitching effect on pop culture is hard to predict. But while Harry Potter may be embarking on his last adventure, that doesn’t mean young readers have to depart with him.