Being the parent of three children, now adults, I keenly remember the pleading, begging, and bribing necessary to tear them away from the Playstation and get their noses into a book. And the funny thing, both my ex-wife and I enjoy reading and the kids would routinely find the two of us reading. But it never really rubbed off on them.
However, for my younger two children the situation changed somewhat with the publication of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' by author J.K. Rowling. My two dove right in and in fact read it cover to cover multiple times. 'Potter' came in a series of seven fantasy novels, and I easily remember the kids anticipation as a new publication date approached. It was indeed wonderful to see them reading - and enjoying it.
In fact, the Harry Potter series became highly popular for a multitude of children (and adults alike). Parents had found a panacea for getting the kids to put down the controllers and pick up a book. But of course, not everyone was happy with Mr. Potter and Company.
Turns out there was quite the movement by certain parents and educators to censor Harry Potter. This movement was so powerful that in certain parts of the United States and the U.K., Potter was completely banned from being read in schools, removed from library shelves, and even to the extreme publicly burned. The basic objections leading to this censorship was threefold: the books promoted the occult and witchcraft; the contents set bad examples for children; and, the stories were too dark in nature.
PROMOTING THE OCCULT AND WITCHCRAFT
St. Mary's Island Church of England school in Chatham, Kent banned the Harry Potter Series. Head Teacher Carol Rockwood explained the censorship stating: "The Bible is very clear and consistent in its teachings that wizards, devils and demons exist and are very real, powerful and dangerous and God's people are told to have nothing to do with them." [Brown, Z. The Challenges of a Challenged Book. (Accessed November 15, 2021)]. Rockwood and many others believe that the Potter series will lead children to the belief that real witchcraft exists and as such children will take the Bible's teachings less seriously.
Others however believe children are smart enough to know the difference between a fantasy and a true story. An editorial in Christian Century sums it up nicely: "...critics are right in thinking that fantasy writing is powerful and needs to be taken seriously. But we strongly doubt that it fosters an attachment to evil powers. Harry's world, in any case, is a moral one." [Geist, A., Sloekers, T., and Donnelly, C. The Harry Potter Witch Hunt. (Accessed November 15, 2021)].
SETTING BAD EXAMPLES FOR CHILDREN
Some people find the Potter series objectionable due to the repeated bad behavior exhibited by Harry and his cohorts. They note that Harry repeatedly breaks the rules, disobeys authority figures including the Hogwart's teachers, and often lies but nonetheless he winds up praised for his actions. These are the objectors who maintain that a hero must always behave well and follow all rules, and Harry Potter's behavior does not follow their script.
The contrarian view here is that some believe a little rule bending is essential at times to create a good story. Further they maintain that children are capable of understanding that behavior which makes a story good is distinguishable from good behavior in real life. Some believe that heroes are not perfect and although Harry and Company may break some rules they remain positive role models for our children by selflessly working to promote good outcomes.
THE STORIES ARE TOO DARK IN NATURE
It is the belief of some people that the Harry Potter series is just too damn scary for kids. Harry's parents violently killed by Voldemort, doom and gloom battles of good versus evil, evil Dementor's sucking the life out of you, and much more. It is their position that this goes beyond mere entertainment and is the stuff nightmares are made of.
Others are of the opinion that children can handle this dark entertainment. Some take this to the extreme that Potter's scary stories may actually help children learn to deal with death being a part of life.
The children's literary genre is replete with ghost stories, dark fairy tales and novels where the main character dies or is killed. As this is the case. Harry Potter's spot in the genre is secure.
CONCLUSION
Personally, I read each Harry Potter book in the series before my children. I found nothing so objectionable therein to warrant censoring it from them. In any event, I do object to another parent, teacher, school board, or politician telling me what is appropriate and inappropriate entertainment for my own children. If something needs to be censored from them, that is for Mom and I to decide. After all, ultimately that is our job in raising our children.
What is your take on the censorship of Harry Potter? Please comment below as being a potential grandparent, someday, your opinion is of interest to me.
Oh, and in real life, J.K. Rowling is NOT a witch!