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Originally Posted by cuteASAbug
does anyone else think that the Harry Potter series, particularly book 7, is a good way of introducing kids to the Holocaust?
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Originally Posted by lovelyivy84
No.
It's a fantasy story with a happy ending. Not something I would use to introduce the topic of genocide, but YMMV.
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I would tend to agree, especially if one means reading the books and then saying "now, let's talk about the Holocaust."
However, in the best tradition of fantasy, myth and fairy tales, these stories do portray the best and the worst in people, and life and death, in a way that helps kids start to get a handle on them. They do lay some groundwork, so to speak.
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Originally Posted by ISUKappa
There's definitely a running theme of the strength and depth of a mother's love through the series, which makes sense as JK had two (I think? maybe all three?) of her kids while writing them.
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Her oldest daughter was already born when she started writing the series, but her other two children were born during. She said in one interview, that if she saw a boggart, she would see what Molly Weasley saw -- her own children dead.
Also, her mother died (of MS at age 45) while she was writing Book 1.
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Originally Posted by ASUADPi
Maybe it's just me, but I didn't find the book too predictible, especially the end. I didn't expect DD to tell Snape that Harry had to die and Harry to walk up to Voldemort and "give" himself up.
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I wasn't expecting that either, but when I got to it, I felt like slapping myself on the forehead. She said back in 2000 that she was glad no one had quizzed her too closely on her religious beliefs, because then they'd see where the books were headed.
At the core, the books are about the power of love, and "greater love has no man than this, that he lay his life down for his friends."