If you’ve been around my articles for any amount of time you may have noticed my links to the organization called Banned Books Week. There is an actual week of activity and runs the last week of September every year. The campaign was founded in 1982 by prominent First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug … Read more
This is getting ridiculous. A Study In Scarlet has been removed from a Virginia 6th grade curriculum–why? Because some of the passages are florid descriptions of what Arthur Conan Doyle believed were Mormon religious views and activities. And yes, again, on the basis of ONE complaint, a book that had been taught for years as … Read more
I have to say, that reporting on these banned books stories is discouraging. Especially when I thought this particular problem was put to bed, as it were. But no. A school board decided to not allow the use of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” in ANY grade level. The original contention was … Read more
I don’t read young adult literature, and don’t have any young adults around at the moment who do. So, I’m not in a position to say whether all the books out there for teens are full of horrific violent profanity ridden dreck or not. But apparently a writer for the Wall Street Journal has read … Read more
I’m sorry, but if you haven’t had any discussion with your child about the basics of reproduction by the age of 10, it’s you that have the problem, not a school system that starts teaching sex ed that grade level, and not the school’s library carrying a educational book explaining the things you haven’t gotten … Read more
I checked out Banned Books Week’s facebook page, and found a link to this question-should literary classics be sanitized? In this time of political correctness, derogatory names and nasty words are forbidden in literature. You won’t see many novels calling ethnic groups slang names, or using the ‘n’ word, even if the character within the … Read more
When I read something like the following article I found on Banned Books Week , I realize how darn lucky I was growing up in a world that hadn’t yet discovered political correctness, school book censorship by parents, and banned books because of outside interference. I just don’t understand parents who believe they need to shield their children … Read more
One woman’s quest to ban a book in a Middle York, PA elementary school library continues on, even though district officials and educators deemed it acceptable reading in March 2010. The book in question is Stolen Children by Peg Kehret. A quick synopsis: A 14 year old and the child she’s babysitting are kidnapped, held, and … Read more
