Big Harry Deal

I was very skeptical of the whole Harry Potter phenomenon for many years. A couple of years ago when my boys were about 9 and 10 they asked to see the movies. After discussions about the difference between fantasy and reality, and the fact that magic was pretend and the occult in real life was very bad, I agreed to let them watch the first movie after they had read the book. I watched with them, to be sure it was okay, and found it to be far better than I had anticipated. We quickly moved on to the second and third movies. By the fourth movie I was hooked. I went back and read the entire book series myself, becoming an avid fan in the process.

I recently finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (a couple of days after my boys who read it on our trip back from Florida). I thought it was great - the best in the series. Just today I ran across two posts that I thought were excellent in dealing with the (older?) controversy surrounding the series. One is at Christianity Today: Harry Potter 7 is Matthew 6. The second (full of spoilers, but terrific) is Harry Potter and the Firebreathing Fundamentalists. Previously I had come across the excellent (spoiler free) posting, An Early Look at Halloween, which is one of that after I read it I wished I had written it myself! I'd recommend all of them as they each have a slightly different take on the series. All are very well done. Enjoy.