Millions of people wait in line at midnight every time a new Harry Potter book is released. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” was released in July and boasted the largest initial printing in history at over 10 million books. According to Wikipedia, the title sold seven million copies within the first 24 hours.

On the other hand, the Harry Potter books are also some of the most controversial in the United States. The American Library Association lists the series as either being first or second on the list of most-challenged books.

Joanne Marshall, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies, has published research that encourages using “Harry Potter” in K-12 curriculum. Her plans would help middle school students think critically about the books by testing their comprehension skills and making judgment calls based on the books. In the end, they list pros and cons and decide whether they are for or against “Harry Potter.”

“Comprehension comes first, then judgment calls,” Marshall says. “Stories affect us emotionally.”

Marshall says she chose to use the “Harry Potter” series because of the attention it has received. She says it’s important to recognize they have a powerful effect on people.

“It’s wildly popular and really controversial,” she says.

Her program isn’t so much about “Harry Potter,” though, as it is about getting students to think critically about literature, she says. “Harry Potter” just happens to provide a very good vehicle for the objectives.

Susan Yager, associate director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching on campus, says although she isn’t a licensed educator in K-12 curriculum and hasn’t had the training in adolescent psychology or other courses that K-12 teachers have, says she can see the advantages of using “Harry Potter.” Yager has taught several honors seminars in the past that explore “Harry Potter” and banned books.

“You can do it on anything, you can do it on any book, but why not do it with a text that is really compelling and many people would find really speaks to them?” Yager says.

Jerri Heid, Youth Services Specialist at the Ames Public Library, says she thinks the books are popular because they have relatable characters.

“I think people can identify with Hermione or Harry or Ron, and they can identify with that and can identify with the bad things that happen in their lives, and they see there’s not always a positive result, but [Harry] deals with it, and any of them deal with it, and he goes on,” she says.

Yager says she understands the importance of students developing analytical skills through what they read, and the series could be particularly useful in that.

“As a literature professor, I could certainly say that forming ethical judgments and learning how to think critically is one of the things literature does for us, and it’s one of the things that I’ll call the ‘traditional’ stories will do,” she says. “I would certainly expect for ‘Harry Potter’ to be taught as a tool for reflection analysis for really doing literature.”

Marshall’s framework uses eight questions to help students make decisions concerning the books. They cover the hero, villain, violence, Christianity and religion, world view and culture, moral lessons and authority in the series.

She says the program helps students discern what the books mean to them by applying the stories and themes to the larger aspects of their lives. Parents can also ask themselves if the books are consistent with what they want their children learning.

This program is important for parents because it gets them interested in what their children are reading, and it may also assuage some reservations they have about the series, Marshall says.

Heid says she hopes parents would read them with their children anyway.

“There’s controversy there, or ‘the talk,’ and I’d assume as a ‘good parent,’ you’d want to know what that was about,” she says. “It could be a domino effect of positive things.”

Marshall says that it was interesting when she presented the program to a church group in Illinois because, of the 52 people in attendance, most of them were already “Harry Potter” fans.

There are many people who are also skeptical of the books, however. Two families in the church group had children who were negatively affected by reading the books. Marshall says one family’s teenager became interested in the occult because of the books.

Heid says she thinks people have a problem with the magic in the series because they forget that “Harry Potter” is fiction. She says controversy in the public schools would stem from that because, if it was part of the curriculum, it would be required reading. School libraries have to act in ex-parentus, or in children’s best interest while they’re away from their parents. Cheryl Robson, Ames Middle School Library Media Specialist, however, says she hasn’t had any complaints at the school.

“To my knowledge, at this time, I have not had any personal concerns about ‘Harry Potter’ at this moment,” she says.

Robson says she does think “Harry Potter” should not be integrated in school curriculum, though, but not because of their controversy. She says the series is just one example of children’s fantasy literature, and there are many other choices.

Hopefully, Marshall says, her program will spark discussions between parents and children about the books. She says it is just as important that adults know how to make judgment calls, such as deciding whether children are mature enough to read the “Harry Potter” books or not.

Heid says she thinks that maybe Marshall’s program could be well implemented in a public library because students would choose to participate rather than be required to read the books.

“I think it would be fabulous because I think the books are too, personally. She has wonderful characterization and plot development, and it would lend itself to wonderful discussion no matter what age they would be in school,” she says. “The magical part of it is just a small part. It’s about Harry Potter and the growth of a young man and the development of people around him and the relationships.”