A Sense of Betrayal

[Katie]

No: HPFGUIDX 174422

> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sylviampj" <autr61@> wrote:
> >
> > JKR started out 
> > writing delightful children's stories, with which like all good 
> > children's stories are popular with adults who like to escape 
into a fantasy world.
> 
> SNIP


> Allie:
> 
> You'll see them called "children's books" over and over in the 
media and elsewhere, but I don't think that was actually the author's 
> intent.  I've read in more than one place where JKR has said that 
she wasn't writing "children's" books, she just wrote the story that 
she envisioned, and it was purchased in the US by Bloomsbury, a 
children's book publisher.  There are mythology and literature 
references in the books that most children wouldn't understand.
>
***
Katie:
I agree. She wrote books *about* children, not necessarily *for* 
children. And I think that often, criticisms of the books come from a 
POV of seeing them as kids' books, which I have never believed they 
are. Children are often drawn to things that are not really meant for 
them, because at some human level, it connects. For example, my 4 
year old son loves the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". He saw a 
glimpse of it a few times when I was watching it on DVD and he came 
downstairs unexpectedly. (He loves age-appropriate scary stuff). 
Needless to say, I do not let him watch this show because he is far 
too young to grasp any of the philosophical points of the show - 
he'll just be scared to death. 

Now, I don't believe the first 2 books are necessarily too scary or 
dark for kids, but after PoA...it's definitely questionable. I really 
think these books happen to be about children, but aren't really for 
children. Just my POV, KATIE