I read a lot of young adult literature since I majored in English Education. I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series, both the books and the movies, and allowed my 11 year old daughter to read them all. I was a little uncomfortable because my parents were very strict Christians: we couldn't go to movies, we didn't read many fairy tales because of spells, witches, and fairies, and even "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" was off-limits. So for me to allow my own child to read a book with witches and wizards as the heroes was really strange for me. But after she finished the first book, she said, "Mom, it's not really about witchcraft. It's about bravery and friendship."
She's now almost 13 years old and she and I plan on going to the movie theater together to see the last movie! (She watched all but the most recent one on DVD at home.) We're looking forward to it.