Banned Books Week is coming up. This is an annual event celebrating the fabulous First Amendment and our rights to access information. Not surprisingly and unfortunately, there are quite a few kidlit books out there that have been banned. Many of them happen to be classics such as: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger, THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie, the HARRY POTTER books by J.K. Rowling, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, BLACK BOY by Richard Wright, and FOREVER by Judy Blume. (And these books are all FANTASTIC.)
When I skim through the stories behind banned book challenges, a common pattern arises: A parent is bothered or feels threatened by something in a book their child has access to, and so they launch a campaign to have that book removed from the classroom or library so no other children can have access to it. As a parent myself, I can understand why parents would want to screen their children's reading materials. And certainly, if a parent finds something they perceive as "questionable," they have the right as a parent to keep their own child away from it. HOWEVER, I don't think it's fair for a parent to make that kind of decision for other people's children. That's where I have to draw the line.
There's lots of information out there on Banned Books Week. Here are a couple of web sites (and there are more out there):
