LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Here's another message on Harry Potter for your files.
Susan Martimo Choi
Manager, Library Services
Santa Clara County Office of Education
San Jose, CA
smchoi@ix.netcom.com
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From: "Jo Ellen Misakian" <jmisakian@fresno.edu>
To: "Calib K-12" <calibk12@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Subject: Harry Potter
Date: Thu, Sep 28, 2000, 9:46 AM
Fran Lanz gave permission to post this great article she wrote for a
Christian publication on the Harry Potter saga. It draws some interesting
parallels between these books and a few of the classic books for children.
Do the Harry Potter books threaten children=B9s faith?
By Francess Lantz
If you are reading this essay, you are probably a literate Christian adult.
Assuming this, I will make another assumption: as a child you read, or
had read to you, many famous works of fantasy. Think back. Do you
remember your favorites?
The Wizard of Oz perhaps? Wasn=B9t the Wicked Witch of the West scary? And
didn=B9t you love it when Glinda, the good witch, helped Dorothy return to
Kansas?
Or maybe you were an Alice In Wonderland fan. Whew, that was one wacky
alternate universe Alice tumbled into!
Many boys loved reading the tales of King Arthur, and dreamed of being a
brave knight in shining armor with a magical sorcerer like Merlin as their
friend and mentor.
And don=B9t forget that perennial favorite, Peter Pan. After you read it,
didn=B9t you dream that you, too, could fly?
Now ask yourself this: After you read an exciting, enjoyable fantasy
novel, did you suddenly stop believing in God? Did begin praying to
Glinda, the good witch of the South, for guidance? Did you replace your
belief in an afterlife with a belief in Neverland?
Of course not! You might have pretended that the fantasy novels you loved
were real, or even wished they were. But if you were old enough to follow
the plot of Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz, you were also old enough to
know that Neverland, Oz, and the creatures that inhabited them, are all
make-believe.
The same is true for the children who read the Harry Potter novels. They
know that Harry, his friends, Hogwarts School, and the evil wizard
Voldemort are pretend. In fact, if you asked most children whether reading
Rowling=B9s novels had effected their belief in God, I=B9m quite sure they
would have no idea what you were talking about. The stories of Harry
Potter and the principals they learn in Sunday school are two completely
different things.
I make this claim with one caveat: the Harry Potter books are middle
grade novels, appropriate for children aged nine and older. Unfortunately,
the books are being read to small children, often by adults who make no
attempt to explain the plots or discuss the themes. Naturally, these
children may be confused or frightened by the stories. They may even
believe they=B9re true. But that is the fault of the adults in charge, not
Scholastic Press or J.K. Rowlings.
If the Harry Potter novels have no negative impact on appropriately aged
children, what are the positive effects? According to Jo Ellen Misakian,
president of the California School Library Association, "The positive
effect Harry Potter books are having on kids is that they are reading!
Many kids, especially boys, are reading these rather long books with lots
of pages for the first time."
While the plot elements in the books are clearly fantastic, the themes are
universally positive and can be applied to the readers=B9 real lives.
Phyllis Mindurski, librarian at Virginia=B9s Northhampton Middle School,
agrees. "Harry and his friends are good role models," she says. "They
stick by each other. They aren=B9t exactly the coolest kids in the school,
but they manage to triumph over evil."
Misakian believes "we need to expose our students as much as possible to
information, different ideas and concepts, people and cultures. How can
they make intelligent decisions without a robust knowledge base?"
The Harry Potter books are part of that knowledge base. They are
well-crafted fantasy novels that entertain our children (and us) with
exciting tales of friendship, bravery, and the triumph of good versus evil.
Reading them allows our children to imagine, to dream, to grow.
Francess Lantz is the author of 30 novels for children and teenagers,
including STEPSISTER FROM PLANET WEIRD (Random House) and FADE FAR AWAY
(Avon). Her website is www.silcom.com/~writer
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