There is almost

no single skill that is more important to our children and their success

in academia and eventually their careers than reading.

If you are

fortunate, you have children who naturally enjoy reading. If you have

worked hard at it since your children were small, they at least enjoy

reading sometimes.

If you are

a regular reader of this column, you know that we do not watch television

much in our home. There are several reasons for that, but the main reason,

replace reading time with watching TV.

There has been

a lot of press in the past few months about Harry Potter. I have read

news accounts, editorials, and commentaries about the books, the content,

and the author, J.K. Rowling.

In Reader's

Digest letters to the editors just last month, a concerned parent complained

about Reader's Digest's expose on the author of Harry Potter books. This

reader argued that the books promoted witchcraft and were unhealthy for

children. I disagree.

There is no

doubt that Harry Potter books involve witchcraft, sorcery, and other activities

that religious families may find offensive. If so, don't read Harry Potter

books. I would argue, however, that the presentation of fantasy material

does not necessarily promote the concepts contained within it.

After all,

Jean Val Jean in Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" stole bread,

but surely Hugo wasn't promoting the stealing of bread any more than he

was promoting war by discussing the French Revolution. I read "Treasure

Island" when I was just eight or nine years old. Was Robert Louis

Stevenson promoting piracy?

Children will

fantasize about many things and development of their imaginations is important.

That is one of the many joys of reading. I encourage my children to read

a broad range of things from the classics to stories that are simply fun

to read.

I don't consider

Harry Potter in the same category as "Les Miserables," but the

fact that my eight-year-old daughter has read two of the 500+ page books

is encouraging to me. I'm glad she is reading.

Obviously,

parents need to exercise some supervision over the content of what their

children read. However, simply because the content of Harry Potter books

involve sorcery, does not automatically mean the books are promoting the

activity.

In fact, among

Christian circles, almost no story is more well known than "The Lion,

the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. In this story, magic,

witchcraft, spells, and goblins are used to tell a fascinating story,

but I have yet to hear Christians argue that Lewis was promoting witchcraft.

Almost every

week my family goes to our public library and we check out books. Everyone

in the family reads, from my four-year-old son to me. Books can be found

in any room in our home.

I am happy

when my children read a classic piece of literature - Hawthorne's "Scarlet

Letter," Miller's "The Crucible," Alcott's "Little

Women" or some other work that has great meaning and literary quality.

But I am equally excited when my children tell me about a fun story, like

"Green Eggs and Ham" or "Crocodiles at the Airport"

that they have read at school or checked out of the library.

I read to my

child's third grade class every week. Their imaginations soar when they

read and so does mine. I applaud J. K. Rowling for creating exciting tails

that encourage children to read.