Top YA authors like Maureen Johnson and Laurie Halse Anderson continue to face attempts to ban their books. Read Laurie Halse Anderson's response from her blog here.
I think the emails and letters from kids whose lives were changed by her books say it all.
Censorship is wrong and un-American. And when you ban books that deal with tough subjects for teens, people can get hurt. Teens need to know that if they make a mistake or suffer a tragedy, all is not lost, that they are still valuable, that others have been through similar experiences and come out stronger on the other side. If that resource is taken from them, they may suffer irreperable damage.
Thank goodness for organizations like Kids' Right to Read, which confronts challenges to books all over the country.
Banning books makes me want to go out and buy tons of the banned books and distribute them for free to every teen I see. Instead, I might reread Halse Anderson's brilliant, award-winning Speak.
Next week is Banned Books week. What banned book will you be reading?
1 comment:
i agree. they are missing some good books!
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