Controversy Over Harry Potter

National Braille Press, a nonprofit organization that makes Braille books available to blind children at the same cost as print hardcovers, selected the Harry Potter books to offer. NBP’s flier advertising the Potter books reads: “If you want your child to read Braille and enjoy it, pick the best books to read.”

I couldn’t agree more, and I am grateful that NBP introduced my blind son and me to the Harry Potter books. Every night we read the books together, taking turns reading aloud, my copy in print and his in Braille.

Part of the “magic” of J. K. Rowling is her ability to appeal to both adults and children by writing on different levels of understanding. For example, in the first book, when Harry returns from the Muggles to the wizard world, one of the characters says, “Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back.” I laughed at the obvious reference to the song from the old sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter.”

All of Rowling’s characters are well-drawn examples of the hero and villain archetypes Joseph Campbell describes in his books on mythology and its significance in life and literature. The Harry Potter books are brilliant in many aspects, and anyone who doesn’t recognize this needs to do some more reading!

ROBIN ROSSO

Westlake Village

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Re “Parents Scorn Book, Pupil Transferred,” Oct. 7.

I spoke with a staff writer in regard to a number of articles that have been written about the Harry Potter books. One inaccurate statement in those stories needs to be corrected. That statement is that one Moorpark couple transferred their son out of his fourth-grade class where his teacher was reading a Harry Potter book aloud.

The truth is, the book was not being read aloud at this time. We requested our fourth-grader be transferred to a different class for other reasons that cannot be discussed at this time. We never requested a school transfer.

TERESA SCHMIDT

Moorpark