Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) in /r/Ravenclaw Common Room

Oct 11, 2012 Lisa rated it really liked it

This story is a well written, powerful example that not everything can be as it seems and that every one of us is capable of accomplishing something great if we only put our minds to it. It, in my opinions, teaches children about perseverance and to try one’s best at all times. The characters are easy for a young child to relate to, as well as for an adult to grasp onto and see the merits of the characteristics of that individual. And yet, people still find fault in it. A lot of times, the reaso This story is a well written, powerful example that not everything can be as it seems and that every one of us is capable of accomplishing something great if we only put our minds to it. It, in my opinions, teaches children about perseverance and to try one’s best at all times. The characters are easy for a young child to relate to, as well as for an adult to grasp onto and see the merits of the characteristics of that individual. And yet, people still find fault in it. A lot of times, the reason a book makes it onto that list is because it challenges the basic tenets of one religion or another. Do the fanatics remember the constitution? That whole freedom of speech, freedom from religious persecution thing? Yeah, bet they forgot that one.

I refuse to censor what my child wants to read, as a parent.

My thoughts on Harry Potter from a parent perspective:

My oldest child asked for the Harry Potter books for his 6th birthday. Let’s set aside the sheer delight at a child wanting books instead of toys as a gift, especially at 6. That is a whole other blog post that I shall entertain eventually. But let’s look at what my thoughts about the book he asked for were:

Hmmm, Harry Potter, huh? Well, having either seen all movies to date at that time (2009) or read all books, I evaluated my thoughts on whether it was appropriate for my then 6 year old son to read. The answer was yes. As mentioned in the above-referenced post, I do not believe in censoring what my child reads. Yes, I understand there is a bit of violence and a few things some others may not think appropriate for a child his age. I get that. But the difference between me and some other people is this: I view it as an opportunity to learn and teach him. We discussed the parts that others might have thought inappropriate. We also discussed that some of the words in the book are not words we hear regularly, because it was written in England, and there are a few differences in our version of English and theirs. Which then led to a discussion about England and it’s history and culture. See how that worked out there? Great stuff.

This opened a door. Now, at nine, he has read the books, seen all of the movies, and amazingly, he never had nightmares because of it. Now, watching The Punisher with his stepfather, totally different story, that kind of creeped him out a little. But I digress.

Harry Potter is an excellent series that I feel all middle-grade children should read because it can teach them things about life. It opens the door for communication with parents about all sorts of things, not least of all the difference between fantasy and reality. ...more

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