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Bad influence of Harry Potter

I have read the first three Harry Potter stories, and while I enjoyed the suspense, mystery and character development in them I still fail to see what the fuss is about.

It has been stated in a number of publications that the books portray magic as a real-life option. Maybe they do, but how is that different from television programmes such as Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch or even Bewitched. Charmed especially, as the club the sisters run has had genuine bands appearing. It's possible the magic has been softened in Sabrina and Bewitched by the comedy element, but the shows are still portraying the characters as real people.

If anything is going to be a bad influence on children, it's the Tellytubbies. Eh-oh Lala...
 
I think the only reason why some people have these views is because of the popularity of the series. There's so much attention on it that maybe because it does deal with evil, that people are against it. Which I personally think is ridiculous because nearly all children novels deal with a form of evil in their own way.
 
LetterHead - what do you have against the Tellytubbies?

I've never seen this programme, but I heard that it's very popular amongst children.
 
It's probably an unfair comparison to make, as HP and Tellytubbies are likely aimed at different age groups. As for La-La et al, the main thing I hold against them is the language they use. If the programme is aiming to be educational, talking in barely understandable child-pidgin is not the way to do it, in my opinion.
Still, it is colourful and makes a great electronic babysitter.
 
*sarcastically* Well, if a fantasy series is popular and children are reading it, then it must be satanic! Ban it all! *snorts* Do these people even read the books? If a school or library or parent is going to tell kids not to read Harry Potter, then logically they should tell them not to read Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, the Narnia books, Tamora Pierce's books, and hundreds of other fantasies. Kids are not going to think that just because a book says that you can fly or talk to animals or do magic that you actually can. Some people give kids no credit at all.

letterHead, when did you read the first Harry Potter book? How old were you? The first two books are more simplistic than the later ones, so you probably wouldn't be hooked to them.
 
I have only read the first three books. Yes, I did enjoy them. I would also like to read the rest. As to when I read them, it was last year and I was 42. They were recommended to me by my older sister-in-law.
 
letterHead, some people restrict themselves to reading only certain genres, claiming preconceivedly that some kinds of books are not worth their attention. It's good you weren't put off by the fact that this is a "children fiction" story. I also like to read some book for children from time to time, especially if I missed some good one when I was a kid. It's never too late to catch up on a reading backlog. Besides, there are new, interesting children fiction book published all the time.

You writes that you enjoyed Harry. But, do you think there are any parts inappropriate for children?
 
My teacher told me the book's evil.

I say it's really up to the reader to decide whether he/she should "worship" the devil or get into occult practices etc. etc. etc. For heaven's sake, they're just BOOKS!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter's just pure entertainment.
 
I think you've hit the nail right on the head when you say the people all for banning them haven't read them. They hear it's about "witches" and are off to make a stink at the school board meeting. When I did a book group about this, one teacher spoke of her difficulty with parents raising a fuss about a book they haven't read, just based on the cover. And I think it's fair to say that parents should have an understanding of what their kiddos are reading anyway, and discuss with them any issues they feel need to be addressed.
 
Stella Leanna said:
My teacher told me the book's evil.
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Lots of people say that. But did she give any resonable arguments? Are there pentagrams on each wall in Hogwart? It's difficult to discuss such a general statement.
 
Idun said:
Lots of people say that. But did she give any resonable arguments? Are there pentagrams on each wall in Hogwart? It's difficult to discuss such a general statement.
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And it annoys me when they say that. >=(

She said that it had witchcraft in it, which she said were works of the devil. I told her that I read the books so that I could be entertained... not so that I could become one of satan's little followers. =P
 
The whole point of reading a book is to be entertained, to escape from your own world for a little while and live through someone else's. As a little kid I remember being fascinated by the idea of magic, and I read every fantasy book I could get my hands on. It all comes with cultivating the imagination, and if children aren't exposed to all kinds of ideas (such as magic), their imaginations will suffer. I think more than anything, these books are beneficial to children, and there are many arguments to support that.
 
My sister is a first grade teacher, before Harry Potter came out she said that a few kids in the class wanted to learn how to read, the rest of them could have cared less to learn, and didn't even like books. Now she says that every child in her class has been read Harry Potter by their parents and seen the movies. They can't wait to learn how to read the Harry Potter books themselves, even the boys in the class, no offense, but to captivate a boy with a book is more difficult than trying to captivate a girl with a book. If childern are excited for these books and movies to come out, and are reading them, I don't think it matters what the book is as long as they are reading it.
 
h_carnahan said:
My sister is a first grade teacher, before Harry Potter came out she said that a few kids in the class wanted to learn how to read, the rest of them could have cared less to learn, and didn't even like books. Now she says that every child in her class has been read Harry Potter by their parents and seen the movies. They can't wait to learn how to read the Harry Potter books themselves, even the boys in the class, no offense, but to captivate a boy with a book is more difficult than trying to captivate a girl with a book. If childern are excited for these books and movies to come out, and are reading them, I don't think it matters what the book is as long as they are reading it.
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Agreed. Plus, the HP books are more about good vs evil, not how one should go around participating in occult activities. Magic for the kids in the book is rather like we "muggles" would use strength or intelligence...its just something natural that they possess. It can be used for good or bad, but it in and of itself is not bad.

Getting children to read is far more important. I've seen so many children excited by these books, that it makes me excited. Children need to see reading as fun, which seems to be lacking these days.
 
I think that the children's desire to read HP is caused more by clever marketing and publicity, not greatness of the book. And comparing it with Alice or Narnia is improper. Sorry, it's not the same level...
And what about the bad influence? I thonk that it's never straightforward. Futhermore, I can't agree with the opinion that no matter what children read as long as they do.
 
Beatrycze said:
I think that the children's desire to read HP is caused more by clever marketing and publicity, not greatness of the book. And comparing it with Alice or Narnia is improper... Futhermore, I can't agree with the opinion that no matter what children read as long as they do.
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The books like Alice and Narnia, I hated as a kid because they were on the recomended reading list that the teachers would give out over summer vacation. I loved to read the crapy books that teachers said were pointless... the ones where something really neat and exciting happened which incouraged imagination, like magic.

I think that the books are selling because of what they are, not for their marketing or publicity. Toys sell because of marketing or publicity, not books.
 
h_carnahan said:
The books like Alice and Narnia, I hated as a kid because they were on the recomended reading list that the teachers would give out over summer vacation. I loved to read the crapy books that teachers said were pointless... the ones where something really neat and exciting happened which incouraged imagination, like magic.

I think that the books are selling because of what they are, not for their marketing or publicity. Toys sell because of marketing or publicity, not books.
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There is a lot of inspiring magic in Narnia and Alice, if you haven't noticed. ;)

Teachers' recommendation automatically causes students being suspicious and disencouraged, which may be often unjust for the books, and I think it was in this case.

Starting from "crappy" books for someone who hasn't touched a book before is a good start- but you need to move to something more sophisticated later on. As Chinese used to say, who doesn't move further, goes back.
 
liv said:
The whole point of reading a book is to be entertained, to escape from your own world for a little while and live through someone else's.
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You're right here, Liv, where it comes to a most books purpose, but you don't need a "magic kind" book to forget about reality. You may as well imagine yourself living in a little farm and milking a cow every day if you haven't done it before and you think it could be kind of a fun, or to think about something widely regarded as exciteting, travel to the North Pole. It can also have good influence on childrens' imagination. Fantasy books don't have monopoly on developing childrens' imagination.
 
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