Quote from N.D. Wilson, and a blog about stories. (1st of a number of interactions with quotes from Wilson's new book)

"I am often asked why I write fiction for children. Because those whom I am called to feed are still children. Because I am still a child. Because the world is big, and the world is wonderful, but it is also terrifying. It is an ocean full of paper boats. And for many children, the only nobility, the only joy, the only strength and sacrifice that they see first-hand- that they see enfleshed- comes in fiction. Imagined friends and heroes can shape loves and loyalties and choices as much (or more) as real ones. Even when children have plenty of joy in their lives, good stories reinforce it. And I write for children because I have read more than my fair share of adult ideas set out and explained by adult thinkers and theologians, philosophers and pundits, and I may as well admit that I have been more influenced (as a person) by my childhood readings of Tolkien and Lewis, and by those moments listening to tales of Tiny Tim, and by that stack of pages my father handed me about an imaginary goblin war, than by any idea books that I read in college and grad school. The events and characters in Narnia and Middle Earth shaped my ideals, my dreams, my loyalties, and my goals. Kant just annoyed me."
-A lengthy excerpt from "Death By Living: Life is Meant to Be Spent" by N.D. Wilson.


I  love this book, and the quote in particular here really stuck out to me, for a couple of reasons. Both reasons have to do with it being very true, though one is perhaps more so true for me than for others.
First then: This is true for me because it ALMOST exactly mirrors my own experience. While I do occasionally enjoy a good dig into a philosophical or theological mine, burrowing amid the thick verbiage and brushing aside heavy phrases in search of nuggets of wisdom, the fact is that I much more enjoy, and much more learn from, stories. If C.S. Lewis's "Surprised by Joy" had simply been theological treatises, I would have yawned and closed the book halfway through. It was the story that filled the pages that made the theology live, walk, and speak into my ear as a friend the truths I would gain. (Though let it be noted that even so the theological bits were questioned well on entry into my mind)
The need and the power of story is a reality that is true more and more for all of our generation, a fact that Christian churches are finally waking up to (though for the most part their responses are weak, if not wrong). We learn from stories. Stories are, in fact, made to teach lessons to us.
It's perhaps more obvious when we're dealing with fairy tales and children's books. The Cat in the Hat and so many other children's stories are full of morals and lessons. But so, too, are all stories- some just hide it better than others. Harry Potter may not teach your child that magic spells are real and can be used- but if it does, it is not through the foolishness of the child who failed to discern the difference between fiction and reality. It's through the foolishness of the author who made a story in which good people use, and need, magic to accomplish the work of good.
On the other hand, Harry Potter could also teach you that fighting evil is a difficult business filled with tragedy and serious effort, and that love and sacrifice (thoroughly Christian values) will always triumph over evil. In creating a Christ-like narrative of sacrificing one's life for others to defeat the power of the devil, and then returning to destroy him, Harry Potter could very well familiarize many children with the story of Christ before they ever hear it from a preacher.
I am neither condemning nor advocating for the reading of Harry Potter to children- I'm simply illustrating the point that stories teach. The more you're aware of this, the more you will awaken to the good lessons and absorb them, and the more you will (hopefully) recognize and reject the bad lessons.
And that is where the other truth comes in, one that I think we can all agree with. Stories teach, and that makes choice of story and the weight of responsibility on the author all the more important. It is not enough for a Christian to write a story, or a poem, or make a movie. That story, poem or movie MUST convey a Christian morality, must portray the world in real terms, and must speak whether overtly or indirectly of a God that matches the Christian one. Because our stories teach children, and they are very, very impressionable.
More important even than that is the weight of responsibility on parents, teachers, and all others who are involved in the raising of children. Satan is quite busy in the world in his efforts to subvert God's people through the use of story. There are lies all around us, clothed in likable characters and simplistic love stories. It is not simply enough that we allow and introduce stories to children - they must be good stories, stories that will shape and will grow. Not stories that will lead astray and tear down.
Finally, it is important that we are aware of the stories that WE are fed with. No matter who you are, your ideas and beliefs ARE shaped by stories. You may read something and recognize it as false, but to recognize it you have to be looking. Will you fill your life with stories about fake and misleading love between unrealistic people and so in time breed contempt for the gift of the love story you are living? Will you read stories about characters who, while "nice" and "good," are living lives entirely and cheerfully against the will of God? Is it enough for a story to be "better than most of Hollywood" or should we require it to be great?
Whatever your answer, it cannot be enough to simply feed on stories indiscriminately.