Its hard to remember now where we were in the pre Harry Potter world....
primary school age boys did not read
at all because there was nothing for them.
It was a massive issue for teachers and school governors and librarians to find books that boys and their dads would be willing to read.
A call was put out to advisors and ministers and the great and the good to find books that boys would like and then JK was found - he was amazing, he tapped into what boys (and incidentally girls) wanted to read.
The books kept coming and by the time the misogynistic decision makers realised that JK was most definitely female they had to accept that she spoke to boys better than any of the men they have hated her ever since.