Pablum
Stephy Says: Sure, C.S. Lewis was a much better writer than J.K. Rowling (who writes Harriet Potter), but she also has no illusions that she is doing more than drawing in, involving children, and she doesn’t barely hide Christian morals and ethics under every shrub. Also, I’m not sure Harry Potter is read-to-me as much as a phenomenon for the young reader to discover and read to oneself. We can’t discover magic for anyone but ourselves, and this series is aimed at an 11-13 audience. Not many adults understood the Beatles in 1961, but many of us found magic there. Popularity and staying power for children are sometimes given to the undeserving, witness the Barbie Doll versus, say, a Tonka Truck, and that which engages children is frequently disdained by grown-ups. It’s the mark of a fogie, being able to judge what children love as unworthy. (This doesn’t apply to junk like Cap’n Crunch cereal.)
Frankly, I prefer Harry/Harriet to pablumized Jesus. One never knows: Will Harry have to lie down on the big table and die for his friends like dear old Aslan? Like sweet little E.T.? (“Ouch”) Will the kids have fun reading the books? Isn’t that the point? I hope we all have read enough Science Fiction and Fantasy that it all seems hackneyed to us, but we aren’t the audience. The fact that so many fundie Christians hate Harry says a lot to me about the power of Harry’s magic. If they hate it, it has to have some serious value. That it is hyped to death is an unfortunate part of our culture. (Who among us didn’t own a coonskin hat or hula hoop, or a trendy Yogi Bear/Star Wars/whatever lunchbox?)
Will Rowling’s books stand the test of time? I surely don’t know. There are children who flock to the local library in search of Harry Potter books; Children who have not been motivated to read by anything else that has come their way. Our librarians have seen circulation go up in the “If you liked Harry Potter, maybe you will like…” category.
I don’t care if they read comic books, as long as they are reading. Once they get the habit of reading, we can hook them on stronger stuff: plots, words, character development, thinking, ideas. It’s heady stuff.