Virtual Read-Out
Here’s a video from the Virtual Read-Out of The Book Thief author Markus Zusak reading from his favorite banned book. You can watch the whole playlist on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel. Since it’s FridayReads today, tell me what you’re reading or what your favorite (banned) book is. What book changed your life? What was your favorite book to take out of the library or your favorite thing to do there? Would your life be any different if you hadn’t had access to that book?
Wanted Read or Alive
Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association
Happy Autumn, readers! We’re mid-way through Banned Books Week, so here are some fun ways to get involved. To start, there’s always the Banned Books Week website, where you can find a list of Banned Books Week events by state, participate in the Virtual Read-Out, and find out more information. There are also resources for artists, booksellers, teachers, kids, librarians, teachers, publishers, students, and writers.
If you e-mail a picture of yourself reading your favorite banned book to Random House Library, you’ll be entered to win a Random House Library tote full of banned books. Find out how here or follow them on Twitter. Sharp-eyed readers may recognize my dog reading Bridge to Terabithia on their BBW Pinterest board.
You can download free BBW graphics here if you want to spread the word on your own blog or change your Facebook profile/cover photo to raise awareness. To see where notable challenges/bans have taken place in the US, check out this map.
MORE BANNED BOOKS FUN: Read More…
Banned Books Week: Guest Post From Bound and Gagged
Fellow blogger Miss Articulate invited me to do a guest post on banned books over at Articulate and Intricate. Without further ado, here’s a crash course in banned books, Banned Books Week, and the Comics Code Authority. Banned Books Week artwork courtesy of the American Library Association.
Hi, all! This is Shannon from Bound and Gagged, a blog dedicated to banned books and other censorship/intellectual freedom issues. I was asked to talk a little bit about banned books, censorship, and how it pertains to genre fiction and the Comics Code Authority.
As some of you may know, this week (September 22-28) is Banned Books Week, an event started in 1982 to bring awareness to banned books and book challenges. The event is largely focused on book/library challenges within the United States, as it is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), as well as a number of other American organizations, including the Library of Congress. However, book banning is a global issue and Amnesty International has brought the event into a more global context.
The topic of book banning is a broad one with a long and complicated…
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Avast, Matey! Cap’n Slappy Talks About Reading on “Talk Like A Pirate Day”
A belated Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day! This memory, of reading a book one had been discouraged from attempting, seemed right up Banned Books Week’s alley. The amount of books banned for being “unsuited to age group” is staggering and oftentimes children are kept from something like Anne Frank or Zlata’s Diary out of concern that they are too young for its darkness or won’t entirely understand it. The same goes for classics deemed too complex for children or YA novels parents often naively feel their teens aren’t ready for. Sometimes we need to trust kids and teens to know what they’re ready for or mature enough to handle. They just might surprise you.
Judy Blume: Censoring Puberty
http://www.makers.com/judy-blume/moments/censoring-puberty
Today is the beginning of Banned Books Week, when libraries and individuals celebrate intellectual freedom and draw attention to banned books/book challenges. I’ll be posting more throughout the week, but I thought we would get the ball rolling with some words from Judy Blume. A force to be reckoned with, both for her decades of classics and her dedication to fighting censorship, Judy Blume’s work has touched countless lives and influenced other writers and creators who have gone on to touch more lives and get banned themselves. So I tip my hat to her today. Thank you, Judy, for all that you’ve done and all that you continue to do.
Ixnay on the Atinlay
I hope you all enjoyed my Bridge to Terabithia review. I’ll have the movie review up soon.
I’m in the process of moving and job-hunting this month, not to mention I have a friend’s wedding and two cons to attend in the coming weeks. Thus, my reviews may be sporadic, but I’ll try to post them as regularly as possible. In addition, Banned Books Week is coming up, so I’ll definitely be posting things then.
In the meantime, however, I bring you this:
Burning Bridges
- My own Prince Terrien got in on reading Terabithia.
THE DEFENDANT: Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
THE VERDICT: Bridge to Terabithia is a perennial classic, which sadly means it’s also a perennial banned book. It was the 8th most frequently challenged book in the 90s, according to the ALA. It continued to grace the ALA’s Most Frequently Challenged Books List from 2000-2009, but dropped down to #28. However, it was back to #8 again in 2002 and #10 in 2003.
Bound and Gagged 