On Campus
Popular books also the most challenged
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
The hottest children's story to hit bookshelves in years may be charmed, but it is also being challenged in some parts of the country.
Harry Potter books are fantastically popular, but some people have taken issue with the wizardry and otherworldly characters that make the books so magical.
As children and adults alike buy tickets to the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," some children's book experts predict such widespread attention may bring more complaints about the popular series of books by British author J.K. Rowling.
Targeted by some conservative groups, complaints about violence and occult themes have sent the Harry Potter series to the top of the most-challenged books list the past two years, according to the American Library Association.
Harry Potter already has surpassed J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" on the list of challenged books since 1990.
It is included on a list of perennially complained-about books such as "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "Heather Has Two Mommies" by Leslea Newman and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was first released in Britain in 1997. The U.S. audience was won over quickly to the American edition (retitled "The Sorcerer's Stone") and the series, four books published in 16 countries.
In Hawai'i, librarians receive relatively few complaints about books.
Virginia Lowell, state librarian, said she isn't impressed with complaints based on the occult content. If librarians got rid of all books that refer to witches or magic, the stories by the Brothers Grimm and Shakespeare's "Macbeth" would be off the shelves too, she said.
"Kids love these books and adults love these books," Lowell said. "The more people read, the better off we are as a society. Harry Potter is an irresistible invitation to reading."
Anyone with a complaint about a book can fill out a form and explain why it should be pulled from the shelves, she said.
"We have a selection policy. We whip that up and show it to people," she said.
While school libraries have a more rigid selection process that considers the age of children on campus, public libraries generally won't pull a book unless it has been deemed illegal in court because of obscenity or child pornography.
"Society is always going to have that kind of tension. People feel differently about issues and books," Lowell said. "You can object, as long as you're not imposing your criteria or principles on someone else who doesn't have that approach."
Instead of focusing on it as a challenged book, Lowell likes to think of Harry Potter as a tool that teachers and librarians have been able to use to get children excited about reading.
Besides, she said, the theme of the books isn't the occult, but the struggle between good and evil, and the way children who are different try to make their way in the world.
"I just want people to read. Read, read, read, read, read," Lowell said. "As a learning tool it's invaluable."
Better yet, she said, it gets kids to turn off the television for a change.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
