Poof! Harry Potter books vanished from library shelves in Cedarville School District in Little Rock, Arkansas, last June. It wasn't magic: A parent's complaint that J.K. Rowling's books about magic and spells are bad for kids prompted the school board to remove them. Kids had to get parental permission in order to check them out.
Last week, though, U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren ordered that the books be put back on the shelves. He ruled in favor of Billy and Mary Nell Counts, parents of fourth-grader Dakota. The Counts had argued that the Cedarville district had committed censorship by taking away their daughter's right to receive information.
"Everybody is thrilled with the judge's ruling," said Brian Meadors, the Counts' attorney. Well, perhaps not everyone. The American Library Association says that in 2002, more people complained about the Potter books than any other library books.