My children have read the series by Lemony Snicket called "A Series of Unfortunate Events." They include The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, and The Hostile Hospital. A rather grim set, in which the children barely snatch victory from the mouth of defeat each volume, and it offers a lot of vocabulary. I read the first couple out loud, then the kids took over on their own.

Down here in the Bible Belt in Texas several diligent christian parents have tried to have the Harry Potter books banned from schools. They're reminiscent of Canute with his broom, considering the tide of popularity that Harry Potter is riding. One can only assume that since they can't appropriate the materials contained in the novels, they would stamp them out. Kind of like Halloween. Every October 31 the children at my son's school have class parties. A flyer comes home from the PTA that they may not mention or represent witches or ghosts or pumpkins. . . they generously call it an "Autumn Festival" and the kids come home with candy in orange wrappers.