Latest Harry Potter book flying off the U.S. shelves

New York, July 11 (Reuters) - Fictional wizard Harry Potter has once again cast a spell on American children, and his latest adventures have sent U.S. book lovers scrambling for copies of British author J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

Rowlings's fourth Harry Potter book, which is published by Scholastic Corp. (NasdaqNM?:SCHL - news), hit U.S. bookstores at midnight on July 8 and early reports show that more than 3 million copies have been sold.

Scholastic, which initially printed 3.8 million copies of the book that chronicles the magical life of the orphaned Harry Potter, said it is going ahead with its planned reprint of 2 million copies and intends to add another 1 million copies because of the book's phenomenal popularity.

And for those who have yet to experience the magic of Harry Potter's previous adventures, Scholastic said it will be releasing 3.2 million copies of the paperback edition of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" on August 15.

"It is extremely gratifying to publish a book which is being read and loved by so many children and adults", Scholastic's President Barbara Marcus said in a statement. "Jo Rowling has written wonderful novels; and we are confident that Harry Potter will be treasured by future generations."

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is the follow-up book to J.K. Rowling's three No. 1 New York Times bestsellers "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".

There are currently more than 20 million copies of the first three books in print, including three hardcover novels and the paperback edition of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", Scholastic said.