Banned Books Week-Why it matters
Every year I do a series over the week of Banned Books Week. It's something I believe wholeheartedly in. I think once you start pulling books it becomes a slippery slope to an outright ban.
I have on occasion told my children to wait to read something. They have on occasion read a book with a very serious subject and we've talked about it later. Someone else may say their child can't read that particular book when I say it's okay for my child to read it. And that's fine. We all make decisions for our own children. But when that same parent goes to the school library or the public library and tries to make it so NO child (or adult) can read that book, I have a real problem with that. Don't want your child to read something, be the parent and don't let them. But don't try and dictate what everyone else's child should be doing.
I'm not a big fan of Twilight (*gasp* I know. I've really tried to like it too), which is #10 on the 2010 list of challenged books. I know people who adore it and I know parents who let their kids read it. Just because I don't like it and I think my child should be X years old before reading it, I'm not going to remove from a library.
No one book is going to be liked or "approved" by everyone. If everyone has books removed that make them uncomfortable or they don't like, what would be left on the shelves? Nothing. That's the scary part and the reason this subject matters.
Free people read freely.
Mechele Armstrong
I have on occasion told my children to wait to read something. They have on occasion read a book with a very serious subject and we've talked about it later. Someone else may say their child can't read that particular book when I say it's okay for my child to read it. And that's fine. We all make decisions for our own children. But when that same parent goes to the school library or the public library and tries to make it so NO child (or adult) can read that book, I have a real problem with that. Don't want your child to read something, be the parent and don't let them. But don't try and dictate what everyone else's child should be doing.
I'm not a big fan of Twilight (*gasp* I know. I've really tried to like it too), which is #10 on the 2010 list of challenged books. I know people who adore it and I know parents who let their kids read it. Just because I don't like it and I think my child should be X years old before reading it, I'm not going to remove from a library.
No one book is going to be liked or "approved" by everyone. If everyone has books removed that make them uncomfortable or they don't like, what would be left on the shelves? Nothing. That's the scary part and the reason this subject matters.
Free people read freely.
Mechele Armstrong
posted by Mechele Armstrong at 11:55 AM
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