What is funny to me is that everyone knows as soon as you tell somebody not to do something, or watch something, or read something....yep, that's the first thing they are going to do. I do appreciate the fact that these people are at least paying attention to their children enough to know what they are reading. But don't they realize that there are going to be WAY bigger battles to fight down the road?
Let's say your child is curious about magic. Wouldn't it be better to let him read Harry Potter to satisfy his curiosity then drop out of college someday to join the circus? Okay, so that's an extreme example, but I know that anything I was denied growing up, I completely longed for. For the record, I wasn't denied much, except a dog, because of my allergies.
And even if they don't agree with a certain book for THEIR child, should they really be given the power to make the decision for all children? I think not. Personally, even if I wasn't an author, I wouldn't pay a bit of attention to these lists. We all parent differently. Maybe you feed your kid cotton candy for dinner? I don't agree with it but it isn't my business. Just like it isn't your business what book I let my kid read.
If you want to read more about Banned Book Week, check out this article with Meg Cabot. She says it better than I ever could. http://www.storysnoops.com/blog/?p=596
And don't forget to pick yourself up a banned book this week.
xo,
Stephanie
www.stephaniehale.com
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4 comments:
Thanks, Steph! And speaking as a parent of a reluctant reader, Captain Underpants was one of the few books that I could get my son to read in elementary school, and I will forever be grateful. In fact, we still have the whole series here in our house.
Great post, Steph!
I agree that saying a book isn't your cup o' tea is one thing, and making it impossible or hard for anybody else to read is quite another. Boo book banners!
I loved Captain Underpants too! Great series of books.
Anyway, here's my thoughts on book banning- no current books should be banned. It's just stupid; kids and teenagers are smarter than you think. So instead, I think all classics should be banned because, as you said, more people would read it because it was banned to see what all the fuss is about. That's the way to get kids to read the classics! :D
Well, said! And I have to laugh at Captian Underpants, too. when I taught school I saw so many kids fall in love with reading through that book. ;)
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