Inspire Appreciation for Banned Books

This week marks the annual Banned Books Week by the American Library Association. Established in 1982, the week was formed to celebrate and raise awareness for the books that are banned (or were banned at one time), or challenged by schools or libraries. It's a week to celebrate the freedom to read. Readers, literary scholars, booksellers, publishers, teachers, etc. unite this week every year to share their support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, even if they might be "unpopular" or considered "taboo" by society.

Free the books (photo/Fan Fest).

Why is it bad to ban books? It's easy; banning books silences stories. I believe that if you ban, censor, or challenge books from others, you're taking away their free choice to read. Why should some stranger get to decide what I should read? If I want to read a book, I should be able to read that book.

It really shouldn't be that complicated, but believe it or not, books are still banned and challenged today. Just a few years ago, a parent didn't like that her child was reading Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. So, she approached her child's school and requested it was banned from the curriculum and school library.

Banned books (photo/Kasy Long).

Let's think about this for a second: This mother didn't approve of reading this classic work of literature because of the language expressed in it, so she challenged it to be banned from the school library. She wanted to take the book away from every other student, especially the ones who might want to read the book. Because she didn't like the book's content, she had it removed from the library. She ruined the fun for everyone.

So, here's what I have to say about this topic: Don't ban books. If you, as a parent, don't approve of a subject matter in your child's book, then you make the choice and talk to your child. Remove it from their bookshelf. But don't ban it from the school library. You're taking away another student's freedom to read...just because you don't like it.

Don't silence a story. After all, books are important. Reading is important. Books teach valuable lessons. For example, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird speaks on diversity and the racial division in the United States. But, you guessed it; the book was banned for its language and racism.

Other classic works that have been banned include:

• F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby 
• J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye 
• John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath 
• George Orwell's 1984 
• Joseph Heller's Catch-22 
• Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises 
• William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying 
• Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man 
• Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five 
• J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings 
• Upton Sinclair's The Jungle 
• Kate Chopin's The Awakening 
• Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy 
• Alice Walker's The Color Purple 

Banned books (photo/Kasy Long).

And so many more. The list just keeps going on and on. Pretty much all of the "classic" and beloved books you read growing up (including Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, which is just crazy), and studied in school were once banned or challenged. 

So many people ban books because they're afraid of the content. They're afraid to read something that is different from their views. But, those views could educate you on something you never considered. Those books could provide an interesting insight into a new idea. What's wrong with that? 

How many books have you read that were banned or challenged? If you're like me, I have read more banned books than I could count. What would your life be like if you couldn't read those books because they were banned? I'm guessing you wouldn't be the same person--because you would have missed those lessons and stories. 

You learn from reading, so let's always provide a way for us to learn. Don't ban books. Instead, show appreciation for these precious works of literature. They're important to us. We have the freedom to read, so let's read. 

-KJL-

Stay tuned to a follow-up post this weekend when I discuss why some of these books were banned. I'll dig into the history and facts, documenting why these books were banned or challenged. Most importantly, I'll explain why these books should never be silenced. More to come, my friends.