Down with censorship, read a banned book

The American Library Association(ALA) has announced the 27th anniversary of Banned Book Week(BBW) to be September 27- October 4. It will take place in schools and libraries across the country.

I'd heard of BBW before, but I wanted to find out which books specifically had been banned and I was really surprised by some of the children's book titles that appeared on the ALA list of banned books. It wasn't surprising to see Judy Blume mentioned on the list several times, she approached the topics of adolescence with such bare-boned honesty that left many parents squirming in their seats. But Judy Blume was not afraid to tackle these subjects, and she did so in a respectful manner, unlike the trend to glamorize teen sex like is seen now on TV and in movies where teen sexuality is a commodity and the real issues are swept under the rug.

Another title that I didn't bat an eyelash about was J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Extreme Christian parents around the world would no doubt, love to see these books about child wizards, spells, and magic, burned in the public square. But when I saw James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and A light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein on the list of banned books, I really started to wonder what qualifies a book for banning? I found a site that gives a brief and humorous explanation per book, some range from the ludicrous to the ridiculous. But essentially that is exactly what this type of censorship is.

Encourage your kids to read books that have challenged the moral majority and start a discussion about what freedom of speech means and how literature influences our lives. Exercise your rights!