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See, I don't see these books as making witchcraft seem attractive. Magic is not real. 'Real' witchcraft is nothing at all like Harry Potter. What these books make attractive is imagination.

Do you know why the Potter books struck a cord? Not because they were about magic, but because at long last someone gave kids books that weren't about pimples and 3rd grade bullies and how life sucks. Let kids be kids; let them read about dragons and Elves and even magic! They'll find out - most likely they already know - that it's not real, but why deprive them of phantasie?

"I repeat, children who have firm Christian groundings will not be threatened by Harry Potter. They may not enjoy the books, either, but they will not need to fear them."

Don't get me wrong. I love fantasy literature. But if you think about many of the classics, the witches are clearly evil. The main characer is the good guy, battling a thinly veiled demonic bad guy.

Sometimes a "good witch" or wizard turn up, but they are often downplayed as a secondary character. As a chiild I remember the Sword and the Stone. More kids emulated Ward than Merlin, whom my husband contends represents more of a prophet or an angel.

The same thing occurs in Oz, where the good witch is a secondary character, and the wizard turns out to be a sham.

I would understand Christains taking offense to these "good witches" as well. Bbut at any rate, they didn't seem to inspire the fascination with the occult like the Potter books do with succeptible kids.