JCPL Teens

What is Banned Books Week and why is it important? BBW is a celebration of your freedom to read, your freedom of speech, and your freedom to make your own choices about where you get your information. It is firmly rooted in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas wrote in 1953 that the “restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”

The theme this year is “Think for yourself and let others do the same.” The blog posts during BBW will all be about challenges to books that have come up recently or reviews on some of your favorite books that have been banned or challenged across the country.

Did you know:

• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling has been challenged, banned, and BURNED because some people believe the books promote witchcraft?
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is challenged almost every year and has been removed from a classroom because a parent objected to the language used in the novel?
• Or that two parents from California demanded that The Giver by Lois Lowry be removed from the school reading lists and the libraries because they were appalled by descriptions of adolescent pill-popping, suicide, and lethal injections given to babies and the elderly?

Why are some books banned or challenged? YA author Judy Blume says, “I believe that censorship grows out of fear, and because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed. Book banning satisfies their need to feel in control of their children’s lives. This fear is often disguised as moral outrage. They want to believe that if their children don’t read about it, their children won’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, it won’t happen.”

For more information on Banned Books Week or a list of books that have been challenged or banned and why, visit http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ or visit your local library for more information.

What are you thoughts on Banned Books Week?