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Banned Book Week

Tiff

Tiff

I don't need no stinking playlists!
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Jan 8, 2010
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I visited my library today and was intrigued by their display for Banned Book Week. I didn't even know that books still got banned!

They had a fun display with warning sings, and if you flipped up the sign, it showed a banned book and why it was banned. Some of the reasons seemed really puzzling. Like...

1984 banned for a PRO-communist message??
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Wizard of Oz banned for women with strong leadership roles
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And The Lorax is hard on the logging industry
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There were recent books banned, like Harry Potter and Eleanor & Park
 
very interesting! Our library is having a fire safety thing this weekend, so we're going then... but I wonder if they will have anything similar. I know colleges I've attended have classes for a whole semester about different banned books. Very funny reasons, some of them!
 
Hhhmmm, I would have to check our library too, they are moving this month to a new buildiing. I'm wondering if they would mention such books.
It's indeed a strange feeling, that in 'modern' times books get banned for such funny reasons...
 
Huh. Some of those reasons are interesting. I read the Lorax for a children's lit class in college. It was weird to me how controversial a children's book was.
 
how strange - i would have thought Dorothy was more at the mercy of the Tornado than having any really significant leadership qualities!
The Lorax? Oh come on - that's like banning the movie Wall-E becos it is anti-humanity and depicts humans as large and lazy
Why was Eleanor and Park banned out of interest? It's been a few years since i read it and can't remember much besides it reminding me of All the Bright Places relationship wise
 
When I was a kid J.D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut were banned in my school and community libraries. We found them and read them anyway. But I also remember 1984 as required reading in later grades. I think mostly so we could discuss the horrors of communism...
In my opinion there is nothing in print which should be banned. I may not subscribe to the ideas, or like the content, but I will support anyone's right to read whatever they want...
 
Lindzee said:
In my opinion there is nothing in print which should be banned. I may not subscribe to the ideas, or like the content, but I will support anyone's right to read whatever they want...
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Agreed! Also, that Oz "theological impossibility" comment made me giggle.
Having said that, there are a few books that we have told DD she can't read until she's older. I don't think of it as censorship so much as good parenting.
 
I find it interesting that Eleanor and Park was banned. My daughter attends a private Catholic high school and it was the required summer reading book for freshman this year. I looked at the other grades as well and they had much more controversial choices than what was on the list at my son's public high school.
 
My favorite book (Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell) was a banned book for its portrayal of slavery and use of words like "darkies."

There are many books that are better read as an adult, but I don't think that they should be banned. If parents are involved in their child's education, they can see what their children are reading and help them make good choices.
 
Yes, E&P banned for offensive words like "God."
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I have a pretty hard time just getting my son to read, I can't imagine ever telling him he couldn't read something.

I thought it was a fun thing how the library was encouraging people to read a banned book.
 
gonewiththewind said:
My favorite book (Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell) was a banned book for its portrayal of slavery and use of words like "darkies."

There are many books that are better read as an adult, but I don't think that they should be banned. If parents are involved in their child's education, they can see what their children are reading and help them make good choices.
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Agree. Certainly conscientious parenting is a must, but especially with reading I've tried to participate and provide feedback rather than restrictions. Occasionally my children heard of or wanted to read something I felt was too mature for them. Usually after a few pages they decided on their own it was just boring or stupid, or we needed to read it together.
 
This discussion reminds me of my daughter's (about to turn 15) recent request to read Room. I kinda freaked and wasn't sure where she heard of it. I do tell her all about kidnappings and things on the news to keep her aware. Teens really do have that "nothing can touch me" syndrome. I had seen the movie but never read the book. But she insisted she would be OK. The movie was hard to watch and had me in tears a lot. Plus it was pretty graphic and disgusting sexually, what this guy was doing to her with the little boy right there all the while. So I can only imagine what the book might contain. BUT ... in the end I picked up the book for her (and incidentally had a long talk about letting my daughter read it with the library staff when picking it up too, because she couldn't help but discuss it herself!) I guess on one hand you want to protect them from the ugly (... but she'll be driving soon ... getting a job ... going off to college ... ) but you also want them to "know" about the ugly that is a real part of this world too.

I know so many moms around here that complain about every single book these HS kids read (under Common Core). These are books that aren't banned but these Moms want them to be at least as for as in the HS is concerned (mostly for sexual content). And I wonder how sheltered some of these kids are ... I think I'd rather my child hear about some of these things while they are still home and can have open discussions about the content. (whether with me or in the classroom with their peers and a teacher moderating).

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My desire is that if a teacher requires the reading of a sexually explicit novel is that they offer an alternative book for those parents with concerns. Regardless, I think it is a parent's responsibility to know what their children are reading until they reach high school.
 
BevG said:
My desire is that if a teacher requires the reading of a sexually explicit novel is that they offer an alternative book for those parents with concerns. Regardless, I think it is a parent's responsibility to know what their children are reading until they reach high school.
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she is HS! she's a sophomore.
 
Actually, my daughter is a sophomore and I still "censor", "highly recommend or not" what she reads.
 
I wish my teens liked to read! My daughter hates to read and my son just never has the time with all of his school work. I was surprised that my daughter's (Catholic HS) school required so many books that had questionable content (tough issues, rape, poor moral choices, etc.) but they seem to be hitting these issues head on, exposing them to the bad and helping them through how to handle it.

jenn mccabe said:
I guess on one hand you want to protect them from the ugly (... but she'll be driving soon ... getting a job ... going off to college ... ) but you also want them to "know" about the ugly that is a real part of this world too.
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This is my dilemma every single day. We live in the city of Chicago and the kids see a lot of "bad" on a daily basis. At times I really wish they didn't see so much, but on the other hand, we've had numerous real life teachable moments that I hope help them make better choices down the road. We had one just this week. I could tell my son that drugs are bad until I was blue in the face and he would agree, but not fully get it. Tuesday while sitting on the steps after school got out, he saw a girl he knew on drugs (not a close friend, a friend of a friend). He spent the next two hours trying to keep her safe until her parents came as she kept trying to run out into traffic or was pounding her head on the concrete. School staff, security and the police were involved. I wish he would have never had to deal with that... but because he did, he's seen first hand the really ugly side of it all. And hopefully that will keep him even further away from that scene.

So back to the point... I think, although it's hard to let them read some things, there are so many opportunities for good teachable moments when they read some of those books (but the key, to me, is having those discussions with them as they read).
 
BevG said:
Actually, my daughter is a sophomore and I still "censor", "highly recommend or not" what she reads.
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ok, i thought that's what you meant ... censor until done with HS. I do too, but I guess I am trying to make sure she is aware of what the world is really like bf she leaves home. it's tough. the decision to let her read Room did not happen easily. sigh.
 
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