LISNews: Librarian News

"GP Taylor, an Anglican vicar, one-time roadie for the Sex Pistols and former all-around sinner, was roaring across the Yorkshire moors on his Yamaha XV1100 in a lightning storm when the idea for his hit Christian children's book, "Shadowmancer," came to him.

Like some other committed Christians, he had been disturbed by the amount of witchcraft and the occult in children's literature. "Harry Potter," for instance. The best-selling author J. K. Rowling gives too much power to the forces of evil in her books, he told parishioners. Well, one congregant replied, why not write your own book then? Read all about it.

JK Rowling has been presented with the prestigious 'doctor honoris causa' from Edinburg University (Scotland) for her contributions to children's literature. According to Professor Pamela Munn "the impact of the Harry Potter series of books on children around the world has been phenomenal. Reading has become cool with even the most reluctant readers, in the shape of teenage boys, being caught up in the world inhabited by Harry Potter."

The degree is one of the University's highest honors. No word from [Dr. Rowling] though about the next Potter novel. Read More.

phoenix04 spotted a NYTimes Piece on the debut of J. K. Rowling's home page last month. www.jkrowling.com is smoothly "executed and witty." The author is said to have written it entirely herself to help dispel rumors, share unpublished material and hint at what's ahead in Book Six, the penultimate volume of the Potter saga.

Interesting piece from the Hartford Courant about why the Harry Potter series is seldom assigned for serious study in jr high and high school classrooms, but seems to make an appearance on college reading lists. While many secondary school educators dismiss the books as low- or middle-brow, college instructors have embraced the series. Trista M. Merrill, who received her doctorate last year from the State University of New York at Binghamton often uses the series in courses.

"I remember one day we started having a discussion about the house elves: whether the way they were being treated was fair or not. It led to a discussion of apartheid and slavery in our own country."