What’s happening in your schools or libraries for banned books week?
I kicked it off early by reading some of Looking for Alaska for my first chapter Friday in my 10th grade classes. A student checked it out immediately after.
Our school library also has a big display encouraging students to try out some frequently challenged books.
One of my 9th graders asked me about the display and why someone would ban books. I explained the reasons for a few of them (the N word in Huck Finn, some explicit scenes in Looking for Alaska, the portrayal of sexual assault in House on Mango Street and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings). As she put it, “It’s pretty dumb that they try to ban those. It’s just stuff that happens in real life.”
When I was growing up, my parents let me read just about anything I wanted, although my mom may have been a little surprised when I read Game of Thrones before her and then gave it to her next. (I was fourteen at the time.) But you know what she did? She talked to me about it and gave me her perspective and listened to mine. And then she bought me the next two books in the series.
That would be my advice to any parents who are concerned about the topics in a book. Read them with your kids. Have those conversations, even if they’re uncomfortable. Know that the things you’re worried about in books are things they may experience in real life-and talking about them in a book lets your kids know it’s okay to talk to you about their lives.