Rambling

I have been reading a lot recently (many of you may know, that this is equivalent to saying, "I have been waking up in the morning and going to bed at night"... a rather common occurance for Jessica.) Be that as it may, I have been reading children's literature. I will always be a firm believer that true children's authors have spoken truths more profoundly than most adult literature will ever do.

I have read the first two books in the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling. They are wonderful adventure stories. I fully intend to finish the series. So far, I have found them enjoyable, exciting, tantalizing, humorous and clever for sure. I was surprised to find clear lines drawn between good and evil, and I was grateful to find them there.

Then, I am embarrassed to say that I have finished, "The Princess and the Goblin" by George MacDonald for ONLY the first time. Beauty was found with the turn of every page. The truth was stated firmly, but gently. Political correctness was gratefully abandoned, so that pure love and sincerity were seen in their truest forms.

As a young mother, who seeks to instill true desire for the good in the heart of her little ones, "The Princess and the Goblin" surely shone out as a guide. I will continue to finish the Harry Potter series and probably find them enjoyable, and yes, I will allow my children to read them when they are older (but under much guidance and direction!) But I am sad for Ms. Rowling, that she felt the need to be careful with the truth. I felt as if she wrote to modern childhood, as opposed to writing to the heart of childhood itself. She fails to capture the wonder that is found in the work of George MacDonald. In light of George MacDonald's work, I am ashamed that Ms. Rowling felt obligated to announce that one of her good characters lives in deep mortal sin. Fiction is no place for that kind of moral confusion. As great fiction writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald and so many others would be profoundly disgusted with her misrepresentation of true fiction.