The remaining three unwritten books in the eventual seven-book series will follow the young wizard through adolescence and his foes are sure to grow more dangerous and threatening. If parents don't want a child to read certain books, they have the authority as guardian of that child to prevent him or her from reading material they find offensive or counter to their religious beliefs. The Harry Potter books, while clever and imaginative, deal with dark subjects including death and sorcery that are inappropriate topics for younger readers. There are many reasons for not banning Harry Potter books, but perhaps the most important one is that in an era where children would rather play video games than play outside or watch TV instead of read a book, the young wizard and his friends have magically engaged millions of kids in reading. To ban the magical and fantastical is to ban all fairy tales.
Children recognize the difference between fantasy and reality.
There were 478 efforts to remove books from library shelves and classrooms in 1998-1999. Over the years, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Diary of Anne Frank have been banned in schools and libraries. The week before the fourth Harry Potter book was released the first three books occupied the numbers three, four and 12 spots on the New York Times fiction hardcover best seller list. Family Friendly Libraries, a Christian organization, opposes the presence of Harry Potter books in schools. Harry Potter Scholastic's official site for the best-selling series of books features trivia, discussion boards and other information.