I’ve been mulling this over all weekend.
Banned Books Week started on Sunday, October 4th.
I have read plenty of the widely banned books. And so have you.
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White about a lonely pig who just wanted to live and the spider who helped with the advertising.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins about a grotesque demand from an all powerful government that was still bent on punishing their people for a failed uprising by sacrificing 23 children per year., spread out from all the states (districts).
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher about the reasons a girl has for committing suicide.
The Handmaid’s Tale By Margaret Atwood about totalitarianism/patriarchy and the rules for women and childbirth and the control over women and children in the religion’s name.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee about racial injustice in the South.
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult about a school shooting.
These are all important stories to be told. Stories are told because the author is trying to get an idea across about a situation, to create understanding of a situation. Stories are not told because the author wants to be banned.
No author puts hundreds of hours into a book, sweats over it, fights with their editor over it to desire the banning of said book.
If a book is saying something that you don’t understand or you don’t want your kid exposed to, fine. Don’t buy the book for your child.
But I think you should read the book that you want banned. That should be the ground floor of all bans. Not because you want to be popular with the others. Not because you want clicks and likes.
No, it should be required that all book and wanna be book banners read the books they are objecting. Not only that, they should have to write a book report so that the library association can ascertain whether or not the book banner understood the book. And all book banners need to stand in front of the author and defend their book ban and explain where they got the money.
The Librarians, an Emmy winning documentary by Kim A. Snyder about a book ban that started in Texas is available to rent or purchase on streaming sites. The players, the books, the power behind the book bans.
I saw this last year at a library and I cannot recommend it enough. It shows the power behind the book ban movement and, spoiler, it is not concerned parents.
