Banned Book Week

I actually just started it a couple of nights ago. I'm reading it slowly, just a couple of chapters before bed every night. All the other English classes read it in high school. I remember people complaining about it a lot. I'm only about 5 chapters in but I'm enjoying it. I'll add the movie to my list after I finish.

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I would encourage you to read, To Kill A Mockingbird and not because it was banned but because it is a poignant story. I do have a copy on my bedside though I will admit sometimes I do move it to the bookshelf. I don't usually like movies made from books, but I also love the movie. If you've not seen it, I'd recommend it also.

I have to say I really don't get the whole banning books thing in general. There may be books that I loathe or think are horrible but who I am I to say no one else should read them?

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But I find myself compelled to read some of the classics. Curiousity is an evil thing. But that is the thing about blogs - you *can* have a lively discussoin about those things.

And I'm with you on it being more interesting too.

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has a special section of books that have, at some point, been banned. It's a rather large section and always fun to peruse.

There are the obvious books, such as Ulysses, but lots of surprises, like To Kill A Mockingbird. Can you imagine what people were thinking?

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I have to say I agree with her totally. I brag quite often about having two degrees in English (BA and MFA) but have never read most of the classics -- and don't intend to. Most of what I was force-fed should have been banned for being pure torture to read and we should have had lively discussions about the use of the objectionable words in Tom Sawyer, including a bit of a sociology lesson in how language shapes our culture and how language and culture both change over time.

To me, that's more informative than the symbolism in Hester Prynne's world. *blech*

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about Captain Underpants. I'm really not familiar with them but if a kid is going to read and be happy about it why take it away from them? Talk about spoilsports!

Denise posted something about children's lit at Fast Times at Homeschool High this week that touchs on what kids want to read vs what adults want children to read. Clicky ( http://fasttimes.clubmom.com/fast_times/2006/09/th... )

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One of my ... well, really, it's my family's favorite, is the Captain Underpants series. My son's elementary school library won't carry it, although they are careful to say that it's just not something they purchase because they'd like to steer the children to better things.

I see that point, sure. (one of my favorite reasons for banning it is that it promotes bad spelling -- hello? And Junie B. Jones doesn't promote bad grammar? Have the banners ever SEEN the way a first grader spells?)

But I also know that it was the first non-picture book my son latched onto. That he's taken every book in the series out of the public library numerous times. That my four-year-old daughter and I spent the day yesterday reading the latest.

That thanks to Captain Underpants, my kids read (or demand to be read to, in my daughter's case) as voraciously as their mother does.

Ban THAT. *snort*

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I mean, I have no desire to read Howard Stern's bio and the fact that it's banned doesn't make it more appealing. I don't think I know anyone who reads these books just because they are challenged without thinking about *why* they have been challenged. I think we all question that no matter what side of the argument we fall on.

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I can understand the "not all banned books are created equal" aspect of her post. I certainly find no redeeming value in Howard Stern's bio, and if I were a parent I would probably question its presence in my kid's school library, but I don't see how spotlighting challeged books is celebrating the challengers' failures. I have to make a harsh comparison here, but isn't that like saying putting a pro-choice sticker on your car celebrates the failures of anti-abortion protesters?

Have you done Huckleberry Finn? It would be a good companion to Tom Sawyer.

Although if you want to go in a different direction Roald Dahl has a few books on the various lists.

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I was just writing earlier this week that I needed new reading material. thanks for the reminder of Banned Book Week.

Now to look at what is appropriate for my kids so we can celebrate - they really enjoyed Tom Sawyer, we just needed to talk about some of the words used. Heck, we had to do that with the Little House books, too.

Rachel
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That was the book I read last year for Banned Book Week. I had seen the movie on tv at some point and I got really confused in the book I was waiting for some things to happen that didn't (mind you my memory of the movie was pretty fuzzy).

I loved Slaughterhouse-Five. Hmmm I think I might need to pick up a copy of that some time.

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But I'm with you, her argument really didn't work for me at all.

Hmmm I wonder what she would think of you grabbing the Booker list...

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I was honestly shocked when I found out that Blume's books were challenged. Growing up I never had anyone tell me what books to read or not read. The whole concept of banned books is a bit foreign to me.

Hmmm I am the Cheese - I'm positive I read that as a kid and I can't remember it at all. I may need to add that to my list too!

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I think my favorite banned books are "A Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut.

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Leapin Jots is interesting but her issues aren't swaying me at all.

Celebrating a book because it has been challenged by reading it, with that challenge in mind seems, like a good thing.

People read every book on all sorts of lists, simply because they've made the list - why not Banned Books? (or challenged books, more accurately)

She probably wouldn't think much of me grabbing every book on the Booker short list simply because those books are on the list, would she? Maybe I'll go ask her tomorrow. :-)

~Denise
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I love Judy Blume! Hers were the first books I read that really showed childhood as it is, warts and all.

I've got a few banned/challenged book reviews up already, and I have A.M. Homes's Jack and Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese in my queue. Most of the books that made the ALA's list (save for Heather Has Two Mommies, which I'm sure had it been around when I was in school (catholic school) would have been off-limits) were on my high-school's reading list!