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| Middle and Upper School Banned Books Week Display 2012 |
In honor of Banned Books Week (September 30−October 6, 2012), the library created a display that educates students about the importance of free speech and the harmful effects of censorship.
First launched in 1982 by the American Library Association, Banned Books Week is an annual event that draws together the entire book community in order to highlight books that have been banned or challenged across a number of institutions, including schools, libraries, bookstores, and more.
Initially, many
students thought that our library had banned
these books, and they stormed in, outraged. But once they understood,
many of them were shocked to learn that books are still challenged and
banned in our current society. The BCS students were especially shocked to learn that such books like Anne Frank and The Giver have been challenged for various reasons over the years.
Bernie, a 5th grader who frequents the library said, “A lot of those [books on the display] were totally irrational. I don’t know how The Giver was sexually explicit. I don’t know what the point of banning Anne Frank is? I mean, it’s the Holocaust; what are you expecting it to be, My Little Ponies?”
Fellow 5th grader, Dora, agreed, saying, “I think people should be able to read whatever they want.” For her, she can understand why some people might ban movies, which she describes as very visual, but since “books allow you to create your own picture in your head,” it’s harder for her to conceptualize.
The students disagreed with banning and challenging books, and were adamant that all books, despite their content, had a place on the shelves.
When asked, “If
you could save one book from being banned or challenged, which one would
you
save and why?” many middle-schoolers answered: the Harry Potter series. As middle-schooler Bernie put it, “because
it’s Harry
Potter and everyone in the world deserves to read [it].” According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more that went unreported. By their definition, a challenge is, “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.”
The top 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:
- ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons:
offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to
age group
- The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited
to age group
- The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive
language; occult/satanic; violence
- My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons:
nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint;
sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity;
offensive language; religious viewpoint
- Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons:
insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
- What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity;
offensive language; sexually explicit
- Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons:
drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive
language; racism
While this list includes some classics, many of the most frequently challenged books in recent years have been popular young adult and middle grade novels, such as The Hunger Games and the ttyl series.
Click here for more information on Banned Books Week or to see a timeline of significant banned and challenged books titled, “30 Years of Liberating Literature,” click here.
What do YOU think makes these books so threatening to the people who want to ban them? Do you agree or disagree with banning books?
