Readers respond to the 'Harry Potter' hubbub

For today's Public Forum, the Daily News asked readers what they think of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books. Does reading young Harry's adventures promote a belief in witchcraft and the dark side of magic, or are they harmless fantasy adventures that foster a love of books?

What about tales of Merlin or the Wizard of Oz? When I was in school the works of Poe, Hawthorne, and Dickens were required reading for their literary style as well as their moral content. How a whimsical flight of fancy can be mutated into something dark and foreboding is a sign of our descent even further into paranoia. Let the kids have an opportunity to form their own opinions, unhindered by the weight of our own. But above all else, let them read!

-- Daniel F. Taylor, Tujunga