There are often arguments within schools and communities about banning books from their libraries. One person’s favorite book, such as the Harry Potter series, might be thought of by others as inappropriate, scary, or dark. But does that mean that children in the school should not have the freedom to read that book if they choose? This is an important question to think about. Librarians generally believe in “the freedom to read,” which states that it is in the best interest of a community to offer lots of different perspectives and ideas in the books we have on our library shelves. Click here to read the complete Freedom to Read statement.
- Banned because “they promote witchcraft, set bad examples, and are too dark.”
- A challenged book is a book that a person or a group has attempted to remove from the library shelves and/or a school classroom because of objections regarding the book’s content.
- A banned book has been successfully removed from the library shelves and/or school classrooms.
Interesting web resources and videos about banned or challenged books:
- Frequently challenged books of the 21st century
- Whoopi Goldberg reads a poem from one of Shel Silverstein’s banned books
- Challenged Picture Books
- Challenged Chapter Books
- Ohio’s Intellectual Freedom Committee shares ways you can celebrate Banned Books weeks
- Bookmans independent bookstore does banned books virtual read-out
- Poem that led this book to be banned:
How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes
If you have to dry the dishes
(Such an awful boring chore)
If you have to dry the dishes
(‘Stead of going to the store)
If you have to dry the dishes
And you drop one on the floor
Maybe they won’t let you
Dry the dishes anymore
(Light in the Attic, Harper Collins, 1981)