Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

If you know what a muggle is; who the Weasleys are; that the Hogwarts Express leaves from platform nine and three quarters; that the finest wands are bought at Ollivander's in Dragon Alley; who Valdemont is; where you can find a good game of Quidditch; what a Slytherin is; who Hermione is; what you can learn at Hogwarts School; and what little boy has a scar on his forehead and who gave it to him, then you must be a Harry Potter fan. Almost everyone is!

Four of the books in the seven part Harry Potter series have been published and they are getting the fifth one ready now. Harry is just a boy but he took the world by storm and accomplished something miraculous. He got kids to read. When book four was being released, kids had slumber parties in bookstores so they could be there bright and early the next morning for the grand occasion. The movie was a blockbuster success with the highest grossing weekend opening of all time. Not bad for an 11 year old boy. Not bad for his creator, J.R. Rowling, either, who was a single parent living on public assistance with an infant daughter when she started writing the books.

But everyone is not wild about Harry. Some schools have tried to ban his books. The wizardry themes seem to be a little much for some. They don't see Harry as just a fantasy character but a wizard casting a subliminal spell on children, luring them into witchcraft. There hasn't been this much controversy in children's literature since Judy Blume wrote, "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?" I guess attitudes have changed since the beautiful Glenda warbled in that shaky voice to Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz," "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

"Why, I'm not a witch at all," she replied. "Witches are old and ugly and mean."

"Tee-hee-hee!" the Munchkins teetered. Dorothy was perplexed, but Glenda explained, "They're laughing because, you see, I'm a witch."

The Christian community, too, seems to be divided on the merits of the Potter series. Some well meaning Christians have spread false rumors like a Satanist credited the Potter books for bringing 14 million children to his church and that J.K. Rowling thought that was wonderful. Some say the books are evil because they speak of witchcraft. Others feel the books are just fantasy and we should teach our children to differentiate between fact and fiction. It's interesting to note that C.S. Lewis received the same kind of critical response from the Christian sector when his "Chronicles of Narnia" came out because it was filled gods, goddesses, and spirits. But what I find saddest is when people make these judgments without taking the time to read the books. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying the books are good or bad. I'm just saying if you are going to make a judgment in either direction, you should at least know what you are talking about.

There was another boy many years ago who took the world by storm. His name was Jesus. In fact he was about Harry Potter's age when he astonished learned men in the temple with his wisdom and understanding of spiritual matters. (Luke 2:41-49) There has been much controversy about this boy also. Some would like us to believe he did not exist and that he did not do marvelous things. Some would have us believe he was just a boy instead of the Son of God. But before you make a decision on these matters, why not read the book yourself and find out more about him. The fact that most of the world decides to celebrate his birth together once a year might indicate that he was more than just a boy.

©December 2001

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