The fantasy genre has had little to controversy until the advent of the Harry Potter series began in 1992. The discussion between good and evil has surfaced over and over in classrooms and religious forums alike. There are two different approaches to the Harry Potter books: the conservatives want to censor Harry Potter books from school libraries because they think that the stories will make children break rules, be violent, and worship the devil. On the other hand Harry Potter fans see this book as a source of fantasy and creativity that encourages children to read more.
Conservatives, especially Christian conservatives, are very strict in their way of thinking. They believe children imitate what they see. One argument against children reading Harry Potter books is that it encourages children to break rules, and later they could break laws. For example, they see the main character, Harry, deliberately breaking into forbidden places and putting himself in dangerous situations. Thankfully, there is a majority of people who is against the censorship of Harry Potter books and thinks a child can differentiate fantasy from reality and right from wrong.
Conservatives also think that some children are too young to experience killing and magic; such things could cause children to have nightmares and trouble sleeping. For example, in the book a unicorn is killed; children could think that a unicorn really exists and that it could be right to kill one or other animals. Instead of censoring these pieces of art and hiding the issue, the issues might be resolved by parents reading the book to the children and discussing what is right and wrong, what's fantasy and what's not, just in case their children don't know.
There are scenes where Harry uses magic to fly in a broom; children might believe they could fly themselves so they could jump out a window and get hurt. Also, just like the characters in the book use spells, kids might think they could use them to solve their problems or maybe get what they want.
