In the news business, we never lack for sources to stuff into our stories.
Take, for instance, those who are willing to help children suck up the expected dark ending to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final volume of the schoolboy wizard series. The book goes on sale at 12:01 Saturday morning.
The book is said to involve such scary topics as death and dying. For some kids (and thank God we have a specialist in this day and age to sort it all out for them), the book’s affects could be downright debilitating.
Heavens, how did my generation survive the endings of Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Yearling and The Red Pony? But then, maybe we didn’t.
Be strong, children of 2007.
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on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 2:59 pm and is filed under All, Media, Books, Culture.
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In the news business, we never lack for sources to stuff into our stories.
Take, for instance, those who are willing to help children suck up the expected dark ending to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final volume of the schoolboy wizard series. The book goes on sale at 12:01 Saturday morning.
The book is said to involve such scary topics as death and dying. For some kids (and thank God we have a specialist in this day and age to sort it all out for them), the book’s affects could be downright debilitating.
Heavens, how did my generation survive the endings of Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Yearling and The Red Pony? But then, maybe we didn’t.
Be strong, children of 2007.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 2:59 pm and is filed under All, Media, Books, Culture.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I BAWLED at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows, which I believe I read in 3rd grade. I even got a beagle in later life because I loved Big Dan and Little Ann so much. And I will never read that book again because it just broke my heart, but I did survive. And it made me stronger, as it did my now 15 year old when he read it.
I am leaving my house in 1.5 hours to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I am sure I will cry as I read it tonight until I just can’t anymore, or maybe tomorrow as I finish it -fast reader - (just reread the Order of the Phoenix this week to be ready and cried) but so be it.
My entire family is better for reading literature that makes you think, feel and grow. Bless JK Rowling for making my kids want to read.
July 21st, 2007 at 10:06 pm
It was probably a function of my age (14) at the time I read it, but Flowers For Algernon is about the saddest thing I remember reading.
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:49 am
In a church class for young women a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about sacrifice–the young women took us on a ten minute discourse talking about sacrifice in the Harry Potter books. Some of the adult leaders were a little disconcerted–HP wasn’t exactly the source material they were looking for–but I think getting important principles from multiple sources is always a good thing.
Old Yeller was the first movie that said life doesn’t always provide unalloyed happiness. As a teen, I remember being filled with an ineffable sadness that Frodo’s work in the Lord of the Rings saved their world, but also made it impossible for him to stay in that world.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:49 am
My 5th grade teacher got all of the girls in our class crying at the end of reading us “Bridge to Terabithia”.
I read in an interview of J.K. Rowling recently where she believes that being up front about the reality of death is healthy for children. I’m pretty sure I agree. But I also wonder about being honest about other realities of this world. I just finished reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” last night, and felt that at least one other reality was ignored - sexuality. Those who have read or reading will probably understand why the story feels very unrealistic with this issue in this book more than any of the others.
That said this book feels the least like a children’s book of all the Potter books, although they’ve gotten to be less and less for children as Harry has grown up.