This week is Banned Books Week, an event sponsored by the American Library Association and many other organizations to raise awareness about censorship. Have you read any of these books?
- The Great Gatsby
- Gone with the Wind
- The Catcher in the Rye
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- Captain Underpants
- Looking for Alaska
- The Kite Runner
- The Glass Castle
- The Hunger Games
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- The Chocolate War
If yes, you’ve read a book that has been challenged or banned.
Word Nerd Notes on BBW
If a book has been challenged, it means that an individual or group has petitioned a school or library to remove a book from the curriculum or from the school or library.
If a book has been banned, that means it has been removed.
Usually, the people challenging books have good intentions to protect children from inappropriate material. (Most complaints include offensive language and sexually explicit content.)
As a conservative mom, I understand this motivation. However, this is a First Amendment issue. In short, I don’t have the right to tell other people what they can read. I agree with Free Access to Libraries for Minors, an interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (ALA’s basic policy concerning access to information) which says, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.”
Yup. I have issues with Looking for Alaska. So I’m asking my kids to wait to read it. But I’m not trying to pull it out of the school or public library. Also, I’m learning to use controversial content as a springboard for conversations, even if it’s about stuff that’s hard to talk about.
Banned Book Review
Come back on Friday for my review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I’ll be giving away a Barnes and Noble gift card. You can also visit Carol Cooney’s blog and Sheila at Book Journey to find more discussion of banned books and more giveaways!
Read on!
Julia
Yes, the bottom line for me when it comes to banning books is the unbelievable audacity in people assuming they should get to choose what other people read. And it comes down to cowardice in parenting. If you are concerned about what your child reads, monitor it, talk to the child, express your concerns and why you do or do not want them to read something. Amazing how much EFFORT some people will put into banning a book to get out of having a conversation with their own child!
Good point, Dianne. Seems like the energy could be directed more constructively.
I’ve read a bunch on that list! It’s strange to me that some on the banned books list are the ones that we end up studying in school 🙂