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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hundreds of kids lined up to buy one. They saved their allowances, begged for an advance on a birthday present, and held pajama parties outside bookstores all over the world. What's their obsession? A young boy and his adventures learning to use magic have made "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" a kid's craze this summer.

Each Potter book follows Harry, a young wizard, through a year of his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In his fourth year ("The Goblet of Fire"), a magic goblet selects Harry and three other kids to compete in the international Triwizard Tournament. The plot is similar to the first Potter book, in which Harry played in a wizard sports match called Quidditch. Yet "The Goblet of Fire" has more intensity because Harry confronts his parents' killer, the evil wizard Voldemort.

J.K. Rowling developed her main characters more thoroughly than in previous Potter books. Harry learns to see his friend, Hermione, as more than a studious teacher's pet; she is an actual girl who can look pretty for the school ball. Harry's closest friend, Ron, no longer follows him around like a puppy dog, but even temporarily abandons Harry because of jealousy and mistrust.

Settings play an important part in "The Goblet of Fire." Harry competes against a possessive mother dragon by the caretaker's shed, he searches for his friend, Ron, in the shadowy lake by the school entrance, and he races through a dangerous maze on his school's sports field. The dining hall is like a scene from Hamlet or King Arthur's court.

Although Rowling develops her main characters well, she adds too many new ones. Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, and Draco Malfoy--names like these are hard to keep track of. Also, Rowling makes certain characters important, such as headmaster Dumbledore, but she never involves them deeply in the plot.

Rowling allows some fiction hero stereotypes: Potter comes from a rough background. His parents died by the wand of an evil foe whom he confronts several years later. A character who acts nice most of the time becomes an antagonist in the end.

The controversial topics of witchcraft and wizardry limit Christian readership of Harry Potter. Concerned parents fear that the books will encourage kids to experiment in witchcraft.

Yet Rowling does what many authors have accomplished in the past. Like C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," Rowling's Harry Potter draws readers into a magical world of strange creatures and unusual circumstances.

Generally, young children will have difficulty differentiating between imaginary worlds and reality. Consider saving this kind of literature until the child is old enough to separate the two.

Yet rather than abhorring Harry Potter books as if the devil wrote them himself, Christian parents and adults should guide older children in evaluating Potter from a Christian worldview. What does Harry do that is good? What does Harry do that is wrong? Does Rowling draw a distinct line between good and evil?

If Christians help children process the information in Harry Potter and fiction like it, the children will learn how to respond to differing worldviews. They will find out how to live in this world but not be of it. Don't burn Potter at the stake before considering the benefits of sharing him with kids. These books have rekindled a love for reading in youth and adults alike. Ideally, this love will continue in them long after Rowling puts down her pen.