ABSTRACT
The publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, set publishing records, selling 8.3 million copies in its first day of release (Blais and DeBarros, 2007). Even as the Harry Potter books have been heralded as a publishing and cultural phenomenon, they also have been the subject of challenge and controversy from the publication of the first book through the last. The Harry Potter books were the seventh most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 (up from forty-eighth on the 1990-1999 list) according to the American Library Association (ALA, 2007a). Objections to the books stem from their controversial content-from the centrality of magic to the topic of death to scenes that some believe are too violent, intense, or scary for children.
