I Read Banned Books! Do You?
Banned Books Week!!! I love this week! (Although I wish we didn’t need it in the first place). Today is the beginning of Banned Books Week which runs from today, September 26th, to October 3rd.
From the American Library Association:
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
Don’t think that challenging and banning books is something that doesn’t go on anymore. Check out this map which details where book censorship’s are taking place. Weird, how there is nothing in my home state of Utah! According to the ALA, in 2008 more than 500 cases of challenged books were reported with 70-80% go unreported.
I’ve been watching both Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Halse Anderson with interest as both are dealing with their books being challenged in the past few weeks. Hopkins just had an author visit (which she donated!) canceled at a middle school after a parent complained about her newest book Glass. She’s been tweeting her way through the challenge and canceled visit. Anderson’s (one of my favorite authors) books aren’t new to the banning circuit but is under a new round with Twisted and Speak and you can read her response. Fuel for the fire leading up to Banned Books Week!
Puppet video!
I was looking through a bunch of lists of challenged books and decided that I would quickly pull from my shelves books that I haven’t read yet (or way back in high school). In just a few short minutes I pulled the following:
I also realized that I have reviewed a lot more challenged books then I thought!
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
- How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
- Journey to Topaz by Yoshicko Uchida
- Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
- The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
- What Jaime Saw by Carolyn Coman
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Witches by Roald Dahl
- The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
- Letters from a Slave Girl by Mary Lyons
- The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
- Out of the Dust by Karen Hess
So yes, I read banned books. Do you?
Linkage galore:
- ALA: Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read – September 26-October 3, 2009
- ALA: About Banned & Challenged Books
- ALA: Banned and Challenged Classics
- ALA: Most Frequently Challenged Authors of the 21st Century
- ALA: Activity Ideas for Banned Books Week
- School Library Journal: Celebrate Banned Books Week, September 26–October 3
- Random House: Censorship Causes Blindness Poster
- Random House: First Amendment First-Aid Kit
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Challenged Children’s Books
- American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
- Banned Books Week website
- National Coalition Against Censorship – The Kis’ Right to Read Project
- National Council of Teachers of English: Anti-Censorship Center
- Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
- J.C at The Bibliobrat is hosting a reading challenge during September to read banned/challenged books. Do check it our for some great linkage of banned book reviews from bloggers.
Last year I read and reviewed one banned book a day for Banned Books Week. At the end of the week I rounded up all the bloggers who also took the challenge to read banned books during the week. I think I’ll let J.C do the rounding up this year (see linkage above) as she’s doing an awesome job already. I had a great time last year and am committing myself to do the same this year. It was busy crazy as I didn’t read ahead and I haven’t read ahead this year either So I need some great cheerleading this week to get one done a day! I’m going to choose from the books I’ve listed in the photos above. Likely, the short ones.
I went back and looked at my post for Banned Books Week last year and I really don’t have much to add to what I already said, which was:
I for one, don’t like everything that I read (I’ve always admitted my dislike for harsh language and graphic sex) but everybody has the right to choose for themselves what they want to read. I don’t want anybody to tell me what I can or can not read and I certainly couldn’t imagine making that decision for others. I wholeheartedly admit there is a lot of trash out there amongst a lot of great books, but one should never take away someones agency to choose what they can or can’t read.
As a parent, it’s my responsibility to know what my children are reading and help them choose books appropriate for their age and maturity level. And then when the time comes, trust that I have taught them well enough to make those decisions on their own.
So, what about you? Are you planning on reading a banned/challenged book this week? Let me know if you are!
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Tags: banned books week, discussion questions
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Thank you for the mention and this great post highlighting (and linking to) the sites, people, and reviews supporting our freedom to read.
on September 26th, 2009 at 4:40 amYeah, I love Banned Books Week, but I hate that there’s a need for it.
on September 26th, 2009 at 7:30 amThanks for the post. I enjoyed the video and plan on posting it at my site to help spread the word.
on September 26th, 2009 at 7:35 amYikes, I could spend all day just following the links in your post. I just might! I just did a post today reviewing And Tango Makes Three. http://infantbibliophile.blogspot.com/2009/09/banned-books-week-review-of-and-tango.html
on September 26th, 2009 at 8:18 amShel Silverstein?! I think you’ve inspired me to get A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends out and review them this week (maybe even order my own copies). I’ve been waiting until I thought my son was old enough to enjoy them, but they were huge favorites of mine when younger. I considered doing a children’s book per day, but it will depend on whether I get to the library today.
Great post! I could never keep up the book-a-day pace, but I certainly hope to read one banned book this week.
on September 26th, 2009 at 10:15 amI love this week too and will celebrate and promote it. But as far as actually reading a banned book this particular week, I’m not sure! We’ll see I guess. Great post and lots of info here. Thanks!
on September 26th, 2009 at 10:24 amI’m joining in and reading “The Great Gatsby.” Will be trying to read many books on the list next year – there are some I’ve been wanting to read but haven’t gotten around to it. Will make a goal for next year to read at least one a month. Thanks for all the wonderful links.
on September 26th, 2009 at 10:38 amCute video!! I do intend to read at least one, if not more of the banned/challenged books this week! Let’s just see if I get around to actually writing the reviews too!!
on September 26th, 2009 at 11:33 amAwesome post, was going to write one but I couldn’t have said it better, think I will just quote and link to you.
on September 26th, 2009 at 12:07 pmThere’s so many great books on that list- I really don’t understand why some of them got banned. What’s wrong with Julie of the Wolves? or the Midwife’s Apprentice? I read that one a few years ago, and it seemed pretty tame.
on September 26th, 2009 at 12:45 pmI have mixed feelings on banned books. So many of the books that are challenged are by school librarians who are probably concerned with books that may be inappropriate for a certain age group. I think a school librarian should do that since she/he needs to determine on which books to spend the budget. If parents or students complain, a group should consider the situation.
As a parent I controlled to some extant what was available for my children. Is that book banning?
On the other hand, now that I’ve played the devil’s advocate, I am not in favor of banning books. I do think there’s a difference between banning books and a librarian making choices of which books are appropriate for her age group school library.
I may be out in the dark, though. If so, it’s probably because I don’t understand the situation as well as I should. I am always open to discussion.
on September 26th, 2009 at 1:43 pmYes I am a banned book reader (the horror!) LOL
I looked over your list and had read several that you had posted and I did not even know they were banned books. I feel…. rebellious… ha ha..
Reagan at Miss Remmer’s Reviews is sending me a I Read Banned Books button… I hope it gets here yet this week.
I am going to check out the challenge.
on September 26th, 2009 at 1:57 pmGreat post! I’m celebrating banned books week over at Chick with Books and took up J.C.’s “read a banned book” challenge! And I just love that YouTube video! Imagine banning The Joy of Cooking!
Suzanne
on September 26th, 2009 at 5:22 pmThank you so much for this–I’m here because of the video that CB posted on his blog; it’s great. I suspect I’m too late for the challenge, but I will definitely try to read at least one Banned Book this week. Now to hit the site & see if I can score a button to alert other folks. Thank you for all the work you put into this post!!
on September 26th, 2009 at 10:19 pmI am also reading 1 book. Only 1 since I am in-between 2 books at the moment.
http://ivan-ulrich.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-banned-books-week.html
on September 27th, 2009 at 1:06 amGreat post! I’ll be linking to it in my Sunday Salon post where I will be blogging about banned books (stupid thing banning books).
on September 27th, 2009 at 4:11 amYou are the type of parent that every child needs. (And the ones that librarians adore!)
I’ll be checking back throughout the week. I’m so glad to see that you’re celebrating, too.
on September 27th, 2009 at 12:37 pm[...] over at Maw Books has a thought-provoking post with a list of books that have been banned at some point – some of them may surprise you; and she [...]
on September 28th, 2009 at 5:44 amOh man, I had every intention of writing up an amazing (!) post about banned books. Then I read yours. I guess I’ll just link. Really well done, Natasha.
on September 28th, 2009 at 8:56 amThis is an incredible list of links (and I love that you included the puppet video).
Glad to see you have such a good representation of banned YA literature (and so much of it is so good).
on September 28th, 2009 at 6:57 pmI read banned books. I have read them, and didn’t even know that they were banned. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, now that was a good book. I can’t imagine why it would be banned. Probably the reference to witchcraft. How silly.
on September 29th, 2009 at 12:01 am