This week our library joins others across the nation in the celebration of Banned Books Week. It's a time to celebrate the freedom to read and highlight instances of censorship around the globe. You might be surprised at the books that have been challenged or banned. Many books from the Library of Congress's "Books that Shaped America" exhibit have incited the ire of censors. Books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Call of the Wild, The Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, The Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, Leaves of Grass, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Where the Wild Things Are have all been challenged. You can find out more about why people wanted to remove these books from the shelves at Banned Books Week's website. The American LIbrary Association also has an excellent interactive timeline highlighting the thirty year history of banned books week and stories of books that have been challenged in that time frame including The Golden Compass, And Tango Makes Three, The Giver, and the Harry Potter Series. To learn more about where and why book challenges happen, visit the interactive map recording bans and challenges from 2007-2011. For more resources visit the Banned Books Week website or the American Library Association. You can even become a fan of Banned Books Week on Facebook. There are many ways to celebrate Banned Books Week, so visit your local library, speak out against censorship, and exercise your freedom to read!
Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
Archives
May 2023
|