I am a voracious reader. I would read a phone book if there was nothing else to read. I read every single night and finish 2 to 3 books a week. My son, who is 24, loves reading too. Every year when he was in school he tested at a much higher reading level than the grade he was in. I remember (back in the 90’s,) when the school he was attending in Texas wanted to ban Harry Potter. I hadn’t read it at the time even though my son had and kept asking me to read it too so we could talk about it. When it became an issue at the school and other moms were asking me to sign a petition to get it banned, I read it and loved it. (I would never sign a petition unless I first educated myself about the subject.) After that, my son and I read all the Harry Potter books as they came out.
I guess I forgot that there are schools/parents/groups that continue to try to get books banned from libraries until Hannah from Fulltimenanny.com sent me this great article on banned books and whether you should let your child read them. As I was reading this article and researching some of the top books that are challenged every year, I was totally surprised to see that the Captain Underpants series has made the top list in recent years. We happened to love that series when my son was growing up.
If a book was banned from your child’s school library, whether they are in elementary or high school, would you allow your child to read it? Here’s another great article on this subject…
I personally believe you want books, (just as with movies or video games) to be age-appropriate and based on your child’s maturity level. To Kill A Mockingbird, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, continues to show up on the “banned” list in some areas because it touches on rape, racial discrimination, and uses some “bad” words. This happens to be one of my all-time favorite books and I love the movie. I first read it when I was in 4th grade. Why did my mom let me read it at that age? Because she had read the book and knew that I would be able to comprehend the content and was emotionally ready.
In all honesty, I believe that reading such a wide-range of books, touching on subject matters I might not have even thought about, has made me more understanding as an adult. For me, if a book was banned from a school library, I would read the book myself and then make the call.
The American Library Association has a list of the most frequently challenged books and banned books…I think the list will surprise you.
Oh, boy! This is a tough one, but I’ll try to give it a stab…….
I agree that some printed materials are not appropriate for little children’s eyes. However, rather than banning books that are being challenged , why not simply place them in a section labeled “Subject To Parental Approval”. I’m with you in that I don’t believe others should be making decisions like that for us as parents. Every family has its own unique set of values and I believe the decision to allow or disallow our children to read the books in question should be ours alone.
Thanks for keeping us all on our toes with these great “food for thought” questions, Tammy!
Thanks Colleen…and I like your idea about the “parental approval” section idea!