Harry Potter: Parents & Kids Guide

Harry Potter: A guide for parents and kids to share
By Sarah Louise, Children's Librarian

Parents guide

Parents, the best thing you can do for your kids if they want to read Harry Potter is read the books yourselves. If you don’t have a lot of time to read, I recommend the audio books: you can listen to them on the way to work or while you’re doing errands. Jim Dale, who does the audio books, is great at doing voices, and I bet you’ll find the books very entertaining.

I would not recommend these books for kids younger than 10. Jo Rowling did not intend to write a children’s book when she wrote the first book, and it wasn’t until she’d written half of it that she realized it was a fantasy novel. She herself does not believe in the magic in the books:
From every indication given in both her books and in her interviews, author J.K. “Jo” Rowling has no intention of drawing children into the occult. Of the magic and wizardry in her stories, she says, “My wizarding world is a world of the imagination. I think it’s a moral world.” She even goes on to say, “I don’t believe in the kind of magic that appears in my books.” (Source: Lindy Beam, writer for Focus on the Family) http://www.focusonyourchild.com/entertain/art1/A0000580.html
The reason I would not recommend them for kids younger than 10 is that once they read one, they’ll want to read the whole series. By the time you’ve gotten to the sixth book, Harry and his friends are 16 going on 17 and the stories are darker and there is a lot of snogging (kissing). Most eight-year-olds don’t have the maturity for that kind of a story.
This is very hard for me to write, because I read the books as an adult and I don’t have kids. I can’t tell you how to parent, but I want to help you field this HUGE cultural phenomenon.

So here are some keys:

1. Read and discuss the books with your kids if they want to read them. If they don’t want to read them, don’t push the issue. There are tons of other great books out there, and I’ve listed some of them below.

2. Be aware of your kid’s personalities. If your kids seem too interested in the occult or witchcraft, maybe Harry Potter isn’t the best choice for your kid’s reading. Although for most of us, the books don’t pose a danger, there are some people who shouldn’t read Harry Potter. Educate yourself by reading What’s a Christian to do with Harry Potter by Connie Neal (well written and a fairly quick read) or by visiting her website, www.connieneal.com.

Kid’s Guide
Stuff about Harry Potter, by Sarah Louise, Children's Librarian

Q: Should Christians read Harry Potter?
A: This is a big question. There is no right or wrong answer. Talk to your parents about Harry Potter. The writer of the books is a Christian, and doesn’t believe in the magic in the books, but there are some scary things in the books, so talk to your parents about this. It’s a great way to talk to your parents, because they probably have questions about this too.

Stories in the Bible to look at:

• Daniel (who studied with magic men in Babylon)
• Acts 10: Peter saw that what God had called unclean was no longer considered unclean. God changed the rules; what had been forbidden for Jews to eat was now allowed. What does this say about what God allows for us?
• Romans 14:10-23 The same behavior can be right for one Christian and wrong for another.
  

Here’s a knock knock joke:

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Harry.
Harry Who?
Harry come! (Here I come)

Books that I like, that are kind of like Harry Potter. Can you see why?

Mandy, by Julie Edwards: The story of an orphan who finds a deserted cottage that she decorates for herself.

The Melendy Quartet (4 books) by Elizabeth Enright: a family of four (then five) kids who are motherless. They have a great dad and a Cuffy (their housekeeper) and they live in New York and then they move to the country.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: one of my grandmother’s favorite books. It features Rat, Toad, Mole, and Badger, all good friends. They have many adventures.

View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg: Four sixth graders who are friends get together to compete in an academic contest. (There are sea turtles in this one!)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: Orphaned Anne gets into all kinds of trouble with her friends Diana and her enemy Gilbert.