Harry Potter

I think the book should be used in the classroom. It's fun and exciting for children to read, and also an easy read for adults and teens. I remember when it was published, everyone at school was talking about it. We all loved the ideas and creativity put into it. Back then, I never heard anyone question whether it should be used in the classroom or not. I read it in the 8th grade, right after it was published. My language arts teacher used it for a class read aloud and we wrote in our journals about the book and characters. About two days a week, we were allowed to bring blankets to put on the floor and we gathered with a few friends to listen to the story. It was great! We were comfortable and that helped us to listen better, too. My teacher read with so much enthusiasm and excitement, we all wanted to have read-aloud everyday. (That never happened!) We looked forward to read-aloud and our teacher did too! I would love to use this in my classroom, only if parents and the principal would allow it. I love reading aloud, so I would probably use a similar activity as the one in 8th grade. It was a simple activity, everyone paid attention, and it helped us to understand the book much better. Harry Potter books show creativity, adventure and imagination, and I agree that I all children need these to be interested in a book. If we take those things away, then we wouldn't have books and stories like Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For teens and young adults, the Twilight series has become popular. So, should those books be banned from schools? I don't think so. The same creatvity, adventure, and imagination is put into those books, just like Harry Potter. Children need to read and I don't think we should limit their choices. I wouldn't want to read biographies and informational books all the time. So, I don't think its appropriate to take away a childs choice of book, especially when they are excited about reading it! Just like Michael Dirda states in the article, "Make movies of great books, and then forbid children to see them." We all know children are sneaky and 'most' of them get their way, so I am sure if they can't read a book, they will want to watch the movie. Either way, its the teachers and parents choice to step in and tell about the good/evil and what is right/wrong. If the children never know the difference, then it could lead to bad behavior in the future.