I'll chime in here with a few: Roots Anyting by O'Henry Red Badge of Courage The Hiding Place Three Cups of Tea (every young person should see how one person can change the world) The Kite Runner In my opinion, classics are over-rated. There are hundreds of modern stories that are well written, moving and more relevant. Sure, I guess every kid should read a smattering of Hawthorne, Dickens, Shakespeare, etc but that doesn't mean that any of the classics is MORE valiable than modern day works...but the cultural familiarity is important I guess. We are going to have our kids read a bit of this and that for familiarity, but will encourage them to look at current offerings as well, as there are some incredible authors out there writing about today's world in ways that will help our kids think more deeply. I say all that, and newly adopted kids home brely a year just finished abridged versions of A Tale of Two Cities and Heidi, so what do I know??? Hahahaha!
Agreed. FYI, Greg Mortenson has written a follow up book called 'Stones into Schools', which is just as good. In the same vein, I'd highly recommend 'The boy who harnessed the wind', by William Kamkwamba.
Me, too! And I did enjoy it! Hey, has anyone read "Pride, Prejudice and Zombies"? I started it, and while not a "classic", anyone who has read the original will get a real kick out of it!
OK, I'm going to broach the difficult topic! Having read several of the Harry Potter books, I find them extraordinarily well written. Frankly, I was surprised at all the hoo-ha a few years back, about them promoting witchcraft and the rest, because Brits don't view them that way at all. So many fairy tales told to British children involve good witches, bad witches, and the like. It's fantasy, and no one gets hooked on witchcraft because of them. I was so relieved when an excellent Christian speaker, David Feddes, made the same point. As he put it, the Harry Potter books have clear good guys and bad guys, and we can determine which is which by their actions; there's no pretending that bad things are OK. Loyalty and humility and courage are lauded, whereas treachery and pride and cowardice are condemned. So, if I'm honest about it, I would include the Harry Potter books as perhaps the best children's writing of our era. Our children have read them all, thoroughly enjoyed each one, and it hasn't affected their faith one iota.
I feel the same way about the Harry Potter books as well as fairy tales. My dd14 hated reading even though she reads on a much higher level than her grade but she LOVED the HP books. She has read every HP book since we moved here in June.
All I'm going to say is, yes, they can and do. I know a young adult who recently was saved and is battling breaking free from witchcraft. Harry Potter was a gateway for him, so-to-speak. It was also used in a nearby city to promote the Wiccan classes offered. Just sayin'.
You're not alone, Steve. I simply adore Harry Potter and find the magic within no better or worse than the magic in fairy tales. Have you read The Gospel According to Harry Potter by Connie Neal? It's a quick read by fairly meaty. Based on content and release date, I think only the first four Potter books were written when Neal wrote this one. I'd bet there's a more complete edition somewhere or a book 2 or something. I plan to use it in companion with the books when my boys are older.
A friend of mine once mentioned a book that explains the Christian symbolism in the Lord of Rings; I'll have to look it up. Frankly, the Christian message saturates that trilogy. Ronald Tolkien and Jack (CS) Lewis were good friends. Having written about their own fantasy worlds, I'm sure they would have enjoyed a chat with Jo Rowling.
I think Harry Potter is a lot like alcohol. For some it is very dangerous, for others it isn't. That's why it needs to be an individual decision. Rachael can probably watch it without any problems; I'm not sure that's true with Faythe. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone simply because I don't know how it would effect that particular person. (And yes, I've read some but not all of the books, and I've seen all the movies except the latest.)
I don't think I need a book for LOTR and especially not for Narnia (though I have one that's an educational resource for children called Roar). This book for HP is more like little devotional-type lessons. Just real short but meaty. Truth is, I probably don't need one for HP, either, but sometimes it's nice to let someone else do the thinking (lesson-wise) for you! ha!
You're probably absolutely right about that. Kind of like homeschooling: I know we are, beyond a doubt, doing what God told us to do. But if someone comes along and tells me that God told them to send their child to public school, I have no right to question that.
