Banned Book: Harry Potter

Bless me Albus Dumbledore, the Harry Potter series tops the list for most frequently banned books. Wizards and magic pull the Harry Potter books onto this list. In one year, there were over 25 challenges to remove any trace of Harry from school bookshelves in 16 states. It is now children's fantasy books that are the most frequently challenged books of the new millennium.

Some people cannot see that Harry, Snape, Dumbledore, and “he who must not be named” spring from the imaginative and creative mind of author, J.K. Rowling. These critics claim that the children of today are not able to separate the imaginary world of Harry and his friends from the real world. It is said the witchcraft of the books “clashes with Christianity.”

In addition, what started out as a satire piece in The Onion about Harry Potter as satanic has now been actually cited as proof of it. The famous or infamous opening of the satirical piece is:
“ I used to believe in what they taught us at Sunday School,” said Ashley, conjuring up an ancient spell to summon Cerebus, the three-headed hound of hell. “But the Harry Potter books showed me that magic is real, something I can learn and use right now, and that the Bible is nothing but boring lies.”
This is all a parody, yet some have difficulty accepting that .

The Superintendent of Schools in Zeeland, Michigan directed his teachers to stop using the book as a read-aloud. However, he didn't' stop children from checking the book out of the school library, if they had parental permission. Many challenges have been declined, but it is suspected that controversy surrounding children reading the Harry Potter series will continue.

For available Harry Potter materials, take a look at CDPL's catalog.