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Home : 2001 : November : 11

HP
By Julianne

I was just having this conversation with my 14 year old son. He was aghast that anyone would ban Harry Potter. We started talking about all the great things about these books:

The writing is some of the best we've seen
in a children's book in a long time. It ranks up there with the writing of Madeline L'Engle and C. S. Lewis.
The characters are well written, rounded out and believable.
The interpersonal problems Harry and his friends find themselves in are similar to the ones every child encounters in school and at home. Harry encounters bullies, bad or "mean" teachers, angry parents, unfairness,

and fear. He doesn't use magic or witchcraft to overcome these problems. Because everyone in the story has similar powers he has to use common sense and hard-earned wisdom to overcome his troubles. He also has to learn kindness, honesty, trust and friendship the same way ordinary Muggle children do.

The end of each tale is unpredictable and appropriate. Harry doens't get everything he wants. Just like in real life he has to make do with what really happens, no making it better with magic.

I think there are dozens of great children's books out there to share with our classes. We don't really need HP. But, it's unfortunate Harry Potter has been singled out lately for censure. Must make the books more appealing to the children of the censors, don't you think?