Re: Harry Potter Commentary Daven daven@priest.com Tue Oct 17 09:34:14 2000 A sugguestion, if I may? Give the first book to your sister. Let her read it, and tell her that you would like to give the series to your niece. Ask her permission. That way, you avoid the whole mess. And it keeps her from screaming about prostelyzation since she has read the content of one of the books and (probably) approved it. However, if she says no, take that for an answer.*p*There are many other books out there that would get the same thing across to your niece without bringing Harry into it. The Chronicles of Prydain for example by Lloyd Alexander is a REALLY good introduction to Welsh myth. I read them voratiously in my childhood, and now that I read the Mabinogion, I am shocked at everything I learned from them.*p*Daven*p*DebbieG wrote,*br*: <sigh>*br*:*br*: I just don't understand this... I really don't.*br*:*br*: My family are voracious readers. Always have been. My dad *br*: introduced me to my first sci-fi and fantasy novels, and *br*: we've all happily read Madeline L'Engle and Terry Pratchett.*br*:*br*: My six-year-old niece knows that she gets books from *br*: "Aunt Debbie" at all gift-giving occasions. Other *br*: things too, but always books. Sometimes even books that *br*: <gasp> aren't "appropriate" for a *br*: six-year-old, because, you see, we read _to_ her or _with_ *br*: her and answer any questions that arise.*br*:*br*: After taking her to see the musical Cats, I gave her Ol' *br*: Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Some of the poems in that *br*: book can certainly be considered racist by today's *br*: standards, but when we read it together and discussed how *br*: much opinions had changed (and for the better) since it was *br*: originally written, it gave us an opportunity to discuss *br*: social issues in the context of a book and a musical that *br*: she adores.*br*:*br*: But now, because my sister knows I'm pagan, I have to be *br*: concerned w/ whether I can give Tyler the Harry Potter books *br*: without being conceived as having "an agenda" of *br*: some sort. Would this have been a consideration without all *br*: this media hoopla? No, of course not. While my sister isn't *br*: particularly understanding of my religious choices, she also *br*: knows that I'll respect her wishes and not *br*: "proselytize" to a six-year-old. There are tons of *br*: books out there w/ magical characters and "witchy" *br*: themes... why, suddenly, are these particular books evil? *br*: And why, just because I _am_ pagan, should they suddenly *br*: become "suspect" if I give them as a gift?*br*:*br*: Sorry for the rambling rant... I just don't understand why *br*: there's such a reactionary fuss surrounding perfectly *br*: innocent books.*br*:*br*: Debbie G.*br* Re: Harry Potter Commentary DebbieG 645 Sun Sep 24 20:46:13 2000