Oftentimes fantasy books are written in a series or cycle. Many readers of this genre become fans of the characters and enjoy learning more about them with each book.
Fantasy usually has characters that are witches, fairies, magic, wizards and vampires, which has caused many of them to be forbidden and censored.
One of the most important elements of Fantasy is the theme. Fantasy allows the reader to explore world outside of their own and the theme is very important to this. Many times the thing can be a way of looking deeper at what it means to be human. Often times the things are good versus evil but sometimes deeper issues are addressed such as the way people are treated if they are different from society.
One increasingly popular thread of fantasy is science-fiction. Stories containing time machines and outer space adventures and creatures from other planets have received huge followings. Thinking back to my childhood I remember stories about telephones that had television screens where you could see the caller. It is interesting how close those are to modern times. This could be a big reason why so many people get wrapped up in the science fiction and science fantasy themes, because it is fun to fantasize about what a future world may be like.
A fun thread of fantasy that I have enjoyed is fractured folktales. The stories use traditional folk tales and put a contemporary twist on them. An interesting aspect of these tales is the change from the traditional role women play in the original folktales to a more assertive nontraditional roll in fractured fairytales.
Although some people really enjoy books written in the fantasy genre, there is great concern among some people that some of these stories will be dangerous to the minds of children and, therefore, many have sought to censor these books.
Censorship
Some people have very strong reasons for wanting a book to be censored, or taken out of the library or classroom. As a school, classroom teacher, or librarian, it is important to allow these people to express their opinions to you and to listen and respect those opinions. One way to assure that these patrons have truly reviewed the works they are requesting be censored is to have them fill out a form requesting reconsideration of the work. This is important because one person can stir up many and some in opposition will not truly know the facts but will go on hearsay. It is also important to remember that parents have the right to disallow their students from reading books that they deem inappropriate. Our job as educators is to assure the students know about the First Amendment and to not just try to please one or two parents. It is also our job to provide alternative reading materials for those students whose parents have shown that they truly have investigated a work and found it unsuitable.
For instance, when my children were younger a group of books came out that many were opposed to and at the same time many were very excited about these books. I read some of the books and did not feel that the theme of the books was one I wanted my young children to embrace. It was not the fantasy behind the book but rather the disrespect for authority that I felt as I was reading. As my children got older they could've read these books if they wanted to but I did not allow them when they were younger. All parents have this right and while we need to be respectful of this it does not control what we offer in our classroom. As with my children, the things that I taught them at home allowed them to make good choices on the books that they read and I learned to trust them and allowed them to make choices on their own as they got older.
All of these things considered, it is important to realize a purpose for why authors write books is to express their feelings and opinions on things. Opinions can sometimes turn into agendas for which books are a good medium. Since the agenda presented in a book may be different from what parents would like their children to embrace, it takes mutual respect on the part of the teacher and the parents for students to get the best reading experience possible.
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