Thank you ladies! The three of you have hit up on the key item that is the most important factor: the involvement of the parents.
I could argue both sides of the coin. The Bible warns that we should not cause a brother to fall. From past experiences, I have seen that exposing some children to books with magic and sorcery ignites a burning desire for the youth to become involved with pagan religions. I believe a susceptible person should be kept away from material that would weaken them. We do not know, by sight, who is susceptible and who is not. The innocence of books such as Harry Potter and the Magic Tree House Series could be argued to be "innocent" tools the devil uses to grab the attention of our youth much like the drug dealer gradually uses stronger drugs to hook the junkie.
The flip side of that is that both good and evil are presented....fights between the light and the dark. As parents, it is important that we monitor what our children are exposed to. Books with magic can be used to illustrate good and evil...the power of God vs satan. It is up to parents to decide what is appropriate for their own family and to mentor their children. CS Lewis successfully used fantasy in the much loved Narnia series.
I know there will be times that I present reviews of books that some people consider inappropriate. Your comments are always welcom.
Unfortunately, as Lynne stated, today's media is different. And, we have all heard or read the statistics of latchkey kids and the disintegration of the family unit.
