Banned Book Week Thoughts

I’ve invited my mother, Tina Barnhart, to join me for this post.

Since it is “Banned Book Week” we decided to write our thoughts on banned books.

Here are some questions we had as we started discussing this topic of banned books:

So what is a banned book?

According to the American Library Association , “a challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.”

How does a book get on the list of banned books and where is this list?

Well, there are several “lists” of banned books depending on where you look. The American Library Association compiles a list of the top ten most popularly banned books each year. There are also lists of books we now deem as “classics” that are in their own list, and there are lists of the most popularly banned books of certain decades. Really, it all depends on where you look. Each library, school, and community create and maintain their own lists. Some schools shy away from an actual “banned book list” as not to draw more attention or controversy over a certain book.

The biggest reason for “Banned Book Week” is to promote censure awareness, and the freedom to read. Often the reasons for challenging these books are pretty self-explanatory, but that doesn’t mean that no one should be able to read them. I know many people who take this week to explicitly draw attention to books that are “banned” and to give them as much positive press as possible. Isn’t it interesting that some of the books I have seen on banned book lists are now classics? What makes a story a classic? Did they become classics because they were banned, people became curious about them, and then decided to read them? Or did people want to ban them because they were already so popular?

This is the first time I’ve really paid attention to “banned” or “challenged” books.As I look over the list from the past few years, I notice that some of my favorite reads are mentioned. I too was surprised to see how frequently some of my favorites showed up on the lists. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie has been on the list since 2010. I have two copies of it on my classroom library shelf and often recommend it to readers who enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid and are ready for the next level. Some of these books are memoirs and autobiographies. How can one determine to ban another person’s life story?!

The Hunger Games, along with the number one challenged book of 2013, Captain Underpants, were shocking additions to the list in my opinion. Two books that I was not surprised to see on the list, but whose authors I am looking forward to meeting next month are The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

So, just because a book is mentioned on a banned book list somewhere does not mean that you should not consider reading it. Being that it is Banned Book Week, what a great time to explore some new titles and see what all the controversy is about!

What do you think: should books be banned?