Comments on: Censorship

By: MaryWitzl

MaryWitzl — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:07:29 +0000

Bridge To Terabithia and Snow Falling on Cedars...? I'm shocked and stunned. But The Kite Runner is the one that really amazes me. How could they?

I'll make it a point to buy another copy of The Kite Runner.

By: Bernita

Bernita — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:03:27 +0000

I once successfully defended "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher," a delightful middle-grade story, from an attempt to have it banned in our school district.
Such people are superstitious, believing that a book is the equivalent of a powerful, evil spell. Thus they demonstrate little faith in the efficacy and strength of their own religious teachings.

By: Clix

Clix — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:39:39 +0000

While our school library still has the books (so I don't think we make the list), we no longer teach To Kill a Mockingbird or Huck Finn because they both include the word 'n----r.' It annoys me, but there are sooo many other wonderful novels out there that I can live with teaching them instead. However, pulling books from the library, so that NOBODY can read them... that sucks.

By: Gigi

Gigi — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:51:06 +0000

I teach children's and YA lit to college students, and we talk about censorship a lot. Each semester we look at the ALA list, and I'm never surprised anymore by what I see on it. Dismayed, but not surprised. I'm also often dismayed by how many of my students support varying degrees of censorship, even here in "liberal" Massachusetts.

Judy Blume's website has some really fantastic pieces that she's written about censorship. I love what you say about Tiger Eyes. It brings me back to fifth grade when my girlfriends and I passed around a copy of Forever, with all the juicy parts underlined in pink marker by my friend Pammi (i dotted with a heart, of course). I learned more about dating and sex in that book than in all of my health classes and sex ed filmstrips combined. I could just kiss Judy Blume right on the lips.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:40:16 +0000

My husband and I were looking at the list this morning and we laughed about "Fahrenheit 451" (#69)…guess the people who wanted it banned didn't actually get the point of the book. I also couldn't believe "Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret" (#99) – I can remember being about 10 and reading/discussing it with my mom. And "And Tango Makes Three" – really? That was one of the sweetest books I've ever read.

By: Anne R. Allen

Anne R. Allen — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:39:00 +0000

I'm embarrassed by the number of them I haven't read. Comes from having no children to educate me, I suppose.

And that's what this is all about, isn't it? Fear of education? These are mostly great books–ones that make young people think–which is what some parents fear above all else. Children who think may slip out of parental control–become whole humans instead of puppets of the church or community that now controls them. Can't have that.

By: Huntress

Huntress — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:34:14 +0000

A friend of mine hated the Harry Potter books, claiming they promoted the occult.
In the next breath, she bragged about her Halloween decorations that included witches and demon figures.

Trying to understand people can drive a person crazy.

By: WriterGirl

WriterGirl — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:47:05 +0000

seriously who are the people who are complaining about these books? i mean there are so many classics on that list. not to mention the downright ridiculous- when my brother was a kid he read Captain Underpants- not a subtle witty book sure but it's for little boys. I really don't think i'd be able to stand the kind of people who complain about harry potter and holden caufield.

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:39:07 +0000

I'm boggling at Julie of the Wolves too. Maybe the forced marriage aspect? Her husband does try to "mate" her, after all.

I'm a little surprised about the Twilight nod (but really not, because everything gets challenged). Besides some making out, everything sexual fades to black and the protagonists wait until they're married, and I'd have figured the groups that usually protest sexually explicit books would sort of be happy about that. Ehh.

As for the rest of the list, especially the books I love...well, sometimes controversy is the best publicity.

By: Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:55:12 +0000

There were many that surprised me. I recall some hoopla in my hometown in the mid-80s when Huckleberry Finn was banned at the local highschool, but I'd read it before it was banned.

The book on the list that shocked me the most was Julie of the Wolves. I've read that book several times since I was a little girl. Even my mom read it when I was a kid and thought it was good. What is objectionable about it? Not that it matters, I guess. If someone wants to find something objectionable, they will. That doesn't make them right though.