Christian Fantasy

Hello to you all,
I got an email from one of you regarding the subject of Christian fantasy. The writer wanted to know my thoughts on the subject particularly for junior high and above. I hope that I will be able to help, but this is a subject that
Personally, I am not a huge fan of fantasy or science fiction. There are some fantasy books that I have read and enjoyed, but for the most part, that is just not a genre that I know well or am interested in reading more about. It is my opinion that we need to be very careful exactly what we put in our SDA school libraries in these two categories.
Some people make a distinction between Christian fantasy and fantasy while others make no distinction at all. My American Heritage dictionary defines fantasy (referring to books) as “4a: Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements.” We can all agree that we don’t want supernatural elements in our libraries. We likely can all agree that we wouldn’t put J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books in our libraries, too. But what about C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books? Max Lucado’s books? Or John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress? Are these books OK or not?
I believe that C. S. Lewis’ books, Max Lucado stories, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress are allegorical. By allegorical I mean they are symbolic rather than fantastical. An allegory helps explain ideas or principles through characters and events. Some would disagree with me that Lewis’ work is worthwhile for an Adventist Christian and that is fine. This is something that you will need to thoughtfully consider and then make your choice as to whether or not you put this genre in your library.
Here are a few items that may help you when making a decision.
1. Have you read the book in its entirety thereby knowing exactly what is in the book? If you aren’t sure about a book, you really should read it first to make an informed decision.
2. Does the book have magic or occult happenings in it? Does this look or sound attractive in the story? I am not talking about sleight of hand magic tricks, but supernatural magic.
3. Does the book promote Christian values and virtues?
4. Is the book useful in the curriculum in some way?
With all the fantasy in the past decade that has come out such as Harry Potter, the Twilight vampire books and movies, and other Harry Potter wannabes, it can be hard to find something that will interest children who are watching and reading the fantasy genre. Some people will say that anything that will get kids reading is good no matter what it is. I can sympathize with that to an extent but I do think that we can find other, better reading material for our children. This can be hard work, I know.
I hope this has helped you in some way. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject. If you know of any titles that we librarians and teachers can suggest to kids who love fantasy, please send them to me. I know we all would appreciate any suggestions. For the record, I do have the Narnia books, Max Lucado’s books, and Pilgrim’s Progress in my library.
I hope you have a good week.
Audrey