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8:35:00 AM EDT
Hearing Oswald -- it's a TV show about an octopus.
Banned Books
Over at her Bibliophiles Journal, Marigolds2 reminds us all that this week is Banned Books Week, to commemmorate the books which get people so hot under the collar that they try to make sure no one in their communities (or at very least, the kids) read them out of their local and school libraries. Aside from the legal issues involved, this sort of thing never works very well -- if you want to make sure a teenager actually reads a book, try to get it banned.
With that in mind, here's the American Library Association's list of Most Challenged Books between 1990 and 2000, a list that includes the Harry Potter series, Huckleberry Finn, and A Wrinkle in Time. Now, the book list also includes tomes like Madonna's Sex, and Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, which shouldn't be banned but definitely should be avoided, purely on the grounds that they're awful reads, and I have to admit that personally, I'd prefer my local library to commit its strapped resources to better books than either of those two wastes of trees. But there's a difference between saying a book is bad and shouldn't be bothered with, and that a book is bad and people should be prevented from reading it.
Has someone tried to ban a book in your neck of the woods?
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I don't know whether or not there are any actual banned books where I live but it surely would not surprise me. One of my son's teachers actually called me at work (they call me a lot) to question my judgment in allowing my then 9 year old son (now 11) to read the Harry Potter books.......My response....."At least he's reading"
BTW not only do I personally love the Harry Potter series I am proud to admit I have read no less than 53 of the books on the list........YAY me....Rebel with a cause (literacy).
http://journals.aol.com/st0rmwhispers/SWAOS/ -
wow. summer of my german solider by bette greene and the giver by lois lowry were on that list! i cant believe it. in 7th grade (2 short years ago), i read that in school. very interesting. thanks for all the interesting info, john. (p.s. i wrote about u a couple days ago. go check it out)
XO Vickey XO
http://journals.aol.com/hopelessBlondie/VictoriasJournal -
we send soldiers all over the world to defend the First Amendment and yet here at home it's constantly under assault. We need more librarians and fewer soldiers to defend our freedoms.
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Wow... I really can't believe that 'The Anarhcist Cookbook' isn't in the top 10 (currently listed as #53)... I have a copy in PDF format if anyone would like a copy... I believe it is still banned by law in most countries around the world, or at least it should be, especially given the current state of affairs... If you'd like a copy, please e-mail and I'll send it on...
http://journals.aol.co.uk/davethesod/WorldOfTheSod
10/1/04 2:48 AM
http://hometown.aol.com.kfbof
I'm often asked why A Wrinkle in Time and other books of hers are so often challenged. I've never gotten a definitive answer, but part of it seems to stem from mistaken identification of the Mrs Ws as literal "witches" and the Happy Medium as a literal "fortune teller." *Sigh*
When I was in junior high, our English teacher, Miss Pisano, told us of parental objections to several books she had in the curriculum. (She was the department head.) A Separate Peace was a problem for some people, and Lord of the Flies, possibly the Yearling, and of course Huckleberry Finn. Miss P. implied that the adult who objected to Huck Finn was a racist. We kids were mostly flabbergasted that adults could be so boneheaded. All of the books continued to be taught at F-M. Quite right, too, although I personally hared Lord of the Flies. - Karen