Over the past few years, in the light of the popularity of The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter,  I have wondered that there have not been comparable accolades for Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, which begins with The Golden Compass. The elements of a classic are all there- superb writing, an engaging plot and characters, appeal to both children, who will enjoy the action/adventure aspect of this fantasy, and adults, who will appreciate the fantasy, but also the satire and the deeper philosophical significance of this appocrolyptic struggle between good and evil that takes place on the very edge of scientific reality. Now that a movie of The Golden Compass has finally been made, the controversy is already raging.

Whatever philosophy  or religious concepts make up your personal lifeview- the hallmark of an educated person is exposure to many streams of thought;  keeping what you can use and rejecting the rest. Narrow experiences build a foundation of fear and distrust; and lay a foundation for a society of sheep. The backlash of fear that accompanies any work of art that thinks outside the box can distract us and prevent us from asking questions about crucial issues. If you read these books and do not want for your children to  read them too- Think. Isn't it better for children to embrace a personal philosophy based on a decision they informed from knowledge, rather than by being blindly led by  dogma?

The protagonist of The Golden Compass is Lyra, a 12 year old girl who is living as an orphan of sorts among scholars at Jordan College of Oxford; living on the edge of sophisticated pedagogy while associating and adventuring with a motley assortment of Oxford locals. One day Lyra is snooping around the preparations for a large academic conference, when she is forced to hide in a wardrobe to avoid being caught by her guardian. While she is hiding, the conference begins, and she hears of a wondrous particle, microscopic as in quantum physics, a magical dust--found only in the Arctic regions where the aurora borealis originates,  where the ozone layer is thin--that is rumored to possess profound properties underlying the composition of life itself, and its origin. As with all great theories, there are those who fear the particle to the point where they will stop at nothing to destroy it, those who embrace scientific advancement at the expense and risk of all else, and moderates who wish to balance both states. It becomes apparent that Lyra has an essential place at the center of the controversy. She crosses into parallel universes, transcends time, and journeys into danger, where she is forced to seek aid from witches, gypsies, and armored bears. Even her parentage becomes a pivotal point in solving this grand mystery.

The series, which also includes Book 2 The Subtle Knife and Book 3 The Amber Spyglass, is adventure-packed, apocrolyptic, and full of cutting-edge scientific theory/technology. Pullman imparts allegory to sociological phenomena such as how crowds act, how groups function around an issue, shows the range of liberal, conservative, totalitarian, and strictly scientific philosophies that sprout up to do battle with ideas. To truly understand the ideas presented, a person needs to be fully grounded in the principles of world religions, and history, as well as technology and science. This is a great opportunity for parents to use literature to communicate with their children.  It is well-written, with multi-dimensional characters you can care about. I will not give away the end of the final book, but will say that people who believe in the Bible can find evidence of God's hand in the final decisions that are made; and those who don't can find comfort in the constants of science. Philip Pullman is known as an outspoken atheist, but he is a keen observer of human nature, and a scholar of the underlining principles he is writing about; he did not destroy religion in its pure form; but placed a hammer squarely on the heads of hypocrisy and dogma.

Since its release, these books have been at the center of controversy, like the Harry Potter Books, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia. In fact, Fundamentalist Christians have made an issue of the often critical view presented of Christianity in these novels. There has been debate about whether this trilogy was an antithesis to The Chronicles of Narnia, with its thinly veiled creationism. Indeed, this is the Darwinian schism presented anew. The Catholic Church features prominently in this struggle, joining in chorus with other recent fiction such as the popular Dan Brown novel The DaVinci Code, juxtaposing ancient cults and mysticism against the backdrop of modern scientific advances such as cloning, genetics, and black-particle Physics. The moral dilemmas we face in our modern world - poverty, corruption, totalitarian governments, and philosophical issues about the existence of God and the place of religion in society are all key elements of the story. Most important of all is that this is presented in an exciting, suspenseful, and surreal manner in the guise of this amazing little children's book, which deserves a lot more attention than it has gotten so far!

The "His Dark Materials" trilogy consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. It is appropriate for, and understandable by, readers aged from 12 years to adult. Hopefully, the motion picture made from The Golden Compass is of the superior caliber necessary to take the viewer beyond the quest and adventure to accurately reflect the book. And if it does, hopefully we won't let fear remove the questions generated from open debate.

In 2005, the author, Philip Pullman, who teaches at Exeter College at Oxford, was joint winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's literature.