and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore’s face had disappeared. ‘He’s gone!’ ‘Well you can’t expect him to hang around all day,’ said Ron. ‘He’ll be back…’ ‘But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos.’ ‘Do they? What, they don’t move at all?’ Ron sounded amazed. ‘Weird.’ (Rowling Harry Potter And the Sorcerer’s Stone 102-103)Unfortunately because of the opinions of a few parents and religious right groups, many schools are conceding to the group’s demands. Renowned author Judy Blume had this to say about the recent banning of Harry Potter books:The real danger is not in the books, but in laughing off those who would ban them. The protests against Harry Potter follow a tradition that has been growing since the early 1980’s and often leaves school principals trembling with fear that is then passed down to teachers and librarians. What began with the religious right has spread to the politically correct…And now the gate is open so wide that some parents believe they have the right to demand immediate removal of any book for any reason from school or classroom libraries. The list of gifted teachers and librarians who find their jobs in jeopardy for defending their students’ right to read, to imagine, to question, grows every year (Blume). Judy Bloom, author of such titles as Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, and Forever, knows what it feels like to have a book banned. Not shocked by the recent uproar by censors, Blume stated that, “I knew this was coming. The only surprise is that it took so long – as long as it took for the zealots who claim they’re protecting children from evil (and evil can be found lurking everywhere these days) to discover that children actually like these books. If children are excited about a book, it must be a su...
