British author J. K. Rowling, whose name will forever be linked to the Harry Potter mania, read excerpts for the series’ ending book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” to New Orleans schoolchildren Thursday.

J. K. Rowling’s American book tour has been a massive success so far, with thousands of young fans thrilled to meet one of their favorite writers and talk with her.

The 42-year-old author triumphantly launched her U. S. book tour on Monday in Los Angeles, with 1,600 schoolchildren gathered at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to receive J. K. Rowling’s autograph and hear her read from bespectacled wizard boy Harry Potter’s final adventures, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

On Thursday, more than 1,500 students from 80 New Orleans area public schools attended the event, and listened to Rowling read from the seventh and final book in the series. She also signed copies of the book, which she gave to the children.

Again, questions were asked and the writer gracefully answered her young fans. She said the first book that awakened her appetite for reading was “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. This was the book her father read to her when she was 4-years-old and sick with the measles.

As to how to become a good writer, she advised her young audience: “Read a lot. And write what you know.”

Scholastic, the U. S. publisher of J. K. Rowling’s books and the organizer of the current Open Book Tour, donated 10,000 copies of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,” Rowling's first Harry Potter book, to Orleans Parish public school students.

The company also announced it is donating a complete set of the Harry Potter series to each public school and public library in New Orleans, a city still recovering from the havoc and destruction created by Hurricane Katrina two years ago.

Monday, the author was enthusiastic about meeting her readers. “This is an amazing treat for me,” she said, as she signed book after book after book. “I really miss being able to interact directly with the readers. Everyone keeps saying, ‘It must be so onerous. Doesn't it hurt your hand?’ But, honestly, that's the bit I really enjoy,” Rowling told reporters.

Rowling’s next scheduled stop is in New York City on Friday, October 19.