Harry Potter: Parents’ Opinions on its role in Children’s ...



Harry Potter: Parents’ Opinions on its role in Children’s Culture

ABSTRACT

The modern world of children’s culture is marked by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. The Harry Potter book series, however, is caught in a debate based on the books appropriateness for children. The opposition against Harry Potter is largely based on religious notions of the inappropriateness of magic, particularly in children’s literature, while the support for Harry Potter is rooted in the books as potential guides for children’s moral development. However, there is little research on parents’ opinions on Harry Potter. This paper will address the research question: what do parents think about Harry Potter in terms of likes and dislikes in relation to the existing arguments? Particularly, what role do they see Harry Potter playing in their children’s lives? The major finding of the research is that the parents interviewed all approve of their children reading Harry Potter, mainly for the reason that the books are attributed to a revival in their children’s interest in reading. In addition, the parents interviewed also did not display any opinions that were similar to those raised by Harry Potter supporters or opponents.

Bibliography

Abanes, R. (2001). Sorcery in a stone: A closer look. Adventist Review: Online Edition.

Retrieved June 23, 2003, from

Binnendyk, L. & Schonert-Reichl, K.A. (2002). Harry Potter and moral development in pre-

adolescent children. Journal of Moral Education, 31(2), 195-201.

Blake, A. (2002). The Irreststible Rise of Harry Potter. London: Versco.

Book sales go potty as Harry sets new Australian record. (2003, June 27). ACNielsen.

Retrieved August 1, 2003, from

Denton, P.H. (2002). What could be wrong with Harry Potter? Journal of Youth Services in

Libraries, 15 (3), 28-32.

Gish, K.W. (2000, May/June). Hunting down Harry Potter: An exploration of religious

concerns about children’s literature. The Horn Book Magazine, 76, 262-271.

JK Rowling Live Webcast Transcript. (2003, June 26). MSN UK. Retrieved July 27, 2003,

from

Kline, S. (n.d.). Lecture 4: Books, education, and literacy. Simon Fraser University. Retrieved

July 30, 2003, from

Kline, S. (n.d.). Lecture 6: Films and TV: Stories and the rise of children entertainment. Simon

Fraser University. Retrieved August 1, 2003, from



Kline, S. (1993). Out of the garden: Toys, TV, and children’s culture in the age of marketing.

Toronto: Garamond Press.

O’ Brien, M. (2000, October 22). Some thoughts on the Harry Potter series. Catholic

Educator’s Resource Center. Retrieved June 20, 2003, from



O’ Brien, M. (2001, April). Harry Potter and the paganization of children’s culture.

Catholic Educator’s Resource Center. Retrieved June 20, 2003, from



Oliver, A. (2001, December). What do we do with Harry Potter? Adventist Review: Online

Edition. Retrieved June 23, 2003, from



Poe, E.A. (2002). Defending Harry Potter. In N.J. Karolides (Ed.), Censored Books II:

Critical Viewpoints, 1985-2000 (pp. 206-212). Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Parents and children vote Harry Potter number one (2003, March 4). Government News

Network. Retrieved August 3, 2003, from

's+Releases+Frame/F155D681434E4AA

E80256CDF003D220B?opendocument

Reichman, H. (2001) Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools (3rd ed.).

Chicago: American Library Association.

Rowling, J.K. (1997). Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2000). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury.

Saric, J. (2001). A defense of Potter, or when religion is not religion: An analysis of the

censoring of the Harry Potter books. Canadian Children’s Literature, 27 (3), 6-26.

Stephenson, S.K. (2000, August 2). The real magic of Harry Potter. The Looking Glass, 4

(2). Retrieved July 16, 2003, from rabbit/4.2/academy.html

The magic behind Harry Potter (2003, June 16). ACNielsen. Retrieved July 15, 2003, from



Whited, L.A. & Grimes, M.K. (2002). What would Harry do? J.K. Rowling and Lawrence

Kohlberg’s theories of moral development. In L.A. Whited (Ed.), The Ivory Tower and

Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon (pp. 182-208). Columbia: University

of Missouri Press.

Zipes, J. (2001). Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children’s Literature from

Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. New York: Routledge.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download