[xsmommy]

ah but there's the rub, there are so many who receive no moral instruction whatsoever, and those of course are the ones at risk always. i am not worried to have my kids read these books, bc they have moral teaching. Rap music, similarly, is not going to cause my kids to act like rappers and hos. but there are those who have no one filling their morality jars and since nature abhors a vacuum, what becomes their morality?

i don't know how i can make my point any plainer, and you obviously disagree, but i see the choice of witches as protagonists as a value judgment in and of itself. It cuts against the stereotype of witches and makes them more acceptable, harmless and even a force for good (how confusing is that?). your cowboy analogy is inapposite as cowboys have no connotation as good or evil in the first place. witches do.

[hobbes1]

Hardly. I mean, take Tolkein for instance, while of the belief that Theology should be left to Professionals, He had deep seated Christian beliefs, however, in his masterwork, he has Wizards on both sides.....Not too much different....

I mean, at the point of the target audience, you are asking for them to be attenuated to subtleties, at a time when the generalities of good and evil should be the operative theme.

Kind of a timing thing.

[secret garden]

cowboys have no connotation as good or evil in the first place
Sure they do! Good guys = white hats. Bad guys = black hats. :-)