Children and Book Bans

Part II of Media Making discusses how popular books can be controversial. Working at a library, I run into this every so often. One book mentioned in this section is the Harry Potter series. Once, a little boy asked me where they were. I showed him and he was so excited when I handed him the first in the series. Then, his mom came down the aisle asked what book he had. Reluctantly he told her. She told him to put it back immediately. She turned to me and said, “We’re Christian. We don’t read those kinds of books.” She turned and left with her son. Well, I happen to be a Christian too. Anyone that has looked at the books knows they are not about really about sacrificing animals or blood or dark arts stuff. Actually, the books have a very Christian message. You can survive great and multiple hardships and your sacrifice can save others. Hello-that’s a Christian message. Not to mention a very human message. Small girls tend to flock to the Disney fairy tales. But every so often a girl asks me for the old tales which have dark content and don’t sugarcoat everything. I see parents open to it and others tell their children they wouldn’t like it. When children are so young and haven’t tasted much, I feel that they should be given the chance to try and pick out what they want. News flash to over protective parents the world is not a Disney fairy tale and sooner or later your child will find that on their own.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVByHK_ZHUE ( A clip showing that how J.K. Rowling's mother's passing influenced the Harry Potter stories and not dark arts)