Young 1
J.K. Rowlings has created a fortune for herself with the creation of the Harry Potter Series. Kids around the world have lined bookstores anticipating the release of these books. While children are excited by the series many parents are questioning the content of these books and if it is acceptable for their child to read. It has some parents in an uproar trying to have the books banned in the school systems and others rushing their child to get a hard copy on the release date.
Imagination is a key role in a child’s social/emotional development. However, is the Harry Potter series promoting witchcraft and wizardry to children? No, it is simply a storyline that tells the life of a young wizard whose wizard parents were killed and on his 11th birthday he receives an invitation to go to a school of wizardry. Throughout the story line Harry Potter experiences several situations that promote positive morals for children such as standing up for yourself, including others regardless of their differences and that it’s not ok to bully. Janet Seden, professor of the School of Health and Social Welfare at Open University concluded that enjoyable fictional experiences as a child “create empathy in the reader and enable us to confront the need for imagination as parents and practitioners” (Seden 296).
The series also captures the attention of young children. In today’s digital society that is hard to do. Instilling the value of reading in children can promote lifelong readers. Elementary school principal, Dennis Edge, spoke about how the books have positively affected the reading as his school. He said that he would not suggest Harry Potter is “single-handedly solving our reading problems” but he did note that “once students become successful at reading that encourages them to read more” (Kennedy-Ross).
Young 2
You can’t deny the fact that there is presence of “evil” in the books. Critics disapprove of the novels' portrayal of the occult as a positive lifestyle (Booth 310). In chapter five, Harry discovers a dead unicorn in the forbidden forest. “Out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast.…The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.…The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry – unicorn blood was dripping down its front”(276). J.K. Rowlings acknowledges that there is a dark side to her storyline but
