Mundie Moms

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Banned Books Week: The 3 Reasons Why Books Usually Get Banned


You know what I love about Banned Books Week, the fact that so many readers and organizations come together in support of books. What is book banning? Book Banning is when a person or a group of people challenge a book, and successful get it BANNED/removed from a school, library or any public place. The result, now no one else can read that book. While I get people have a right to ban a book, I also have that same right to read whatever the heck I want to read. Not only do I not support the right to have someone tell me what I can and can't read, I do not support that this is even allowed. 

I learned something new this week. Per Epic Reads's Banned Books Week feature, they mentioned that the practice of banning books has been around since 387 B.C. I had no idea! Today in all 50 states they are cases of books being censored, banned, challenged or altered in one way or another (quoted from Epic Reads). You know what I love, that Harper Teen/Epic Reads has this really cool Banned Books Week post over on their site to help raise awareness on this subject. Not only do they have these fabulous Banned Books Week buttons like this image one:


and the one that's in the right hand side bar, (you can see a lot more  of them here), but they also have a list of their banned books, a link to a teaching guide, and an open discussion happening in their forums about Banned Books Week. They also feature a video Sophie has posted before on the blog:




I saw this yesterday on their Tumblr, and totally had to share it here.  Aw, poor book! I wonder what this book contained to get himself/herself banned. 




Did you know that there's usually three reasons why a book gets banned:

  1. The books is unsuited for the age group
  2. It's too sexually explicit
  3. It's full of offensive language
There's also religious reasons, and the reason of narrowmindedness. Okay I included that last one myself. I am extremely passionate about this cause. I've said it so many times on the blog before, just because a book doesn't fall under your personal values, religious beliefs etc, does not mean you have the right to tell someone else they can not read it. I understand parents not wanting their children to read books for the three reasons listed above. I'm a parent and there are some books I will not let my kids read at this moment, but I would never threaten to have the school remove that book. You know what, some kid that's been sexual abused at home may find the voice they needed to speak up in reading a book that I or someone else deem as sexually explicit. If you don't think books have the power to change a child's life, I'd urge you to ask Ellen Hopkins how many letters she gets from kids saying how her books changed their lives. After she read a few of those letters a couple years ago at the Austin Teen Book Festival, I swear there wasn't a dry in that auditorium and you could hear a pin drop. Again, I don't want to be responsible for banning a book that could have changed someone's life, all because I didn't personally agree with the book's context. 

No one has the right to take your right away from reading a book. 

Join in the festivities this week. Read banned books, spread the word about them, join in the Twitter fun using #BannedBooksWeek, post about it, talk about it, donate banned books, or hold giveaways. There's no right or wrong way to celebrate Banned Books Week, well that is unless your actively trying to get a book banned.

4 comments:

  1. We just don't have this in Australia. I've never heard of a book being banned. Ok I'm not sure if there are books not allowed in school libraries, but if a kid wanted to get it they could from any library or book store. I mean 50shades is being sold at the checkout of my local supermarket LOL
    Interested to see what other countries are like

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    1. I am totally interested in what other countries ban books too. I seriously find it ironic how our country is know for the land of the free, and yet we have so many things in place that prohibit people from truly being free. I know book banning is only one "small" thing, but it's ridiculous! Don't even get my started with the 50 Shades. I'm appauled that classics are banned in some stores, and yet a store will carry that. I'm going to bite my tongue on my thoughts on that entire issue right there. lol

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  2. Sadly this is where our freedom is a double edge sword! I read 'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry' in elementary school and I have never forgotten it. It opened my eyes to how people are wrongly treated and I think it made me a better person. I can't imagine my daughters not having the chance to read such amazing books as that one.

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    1. And I forgot to mention that I love that Bookmans video!

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