Banning YA and younger books

It's an interesting debate isn't it? And yet I presume that most of the people who would like certain books banned from schools would not want the Bible (I'm talking from the perspective of largely Christian countries here) banned, would they? But the Old Testament has some pretty inflammatory and bigoted things to say about everyone who doesn't believe in the God put forward there. If Tom Sawyer should be banned, perhaps the Bible should be too?!
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Being raised with strong christian standards I love this arguement. It's classic. I use it often!

Perhaps a good old-fashioned book burning is just the thing we need to turn this generation back on to reading.
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*shudders* That's blasphemy!!!! ;)
 
On the subject of book burnings: the summer following my graduation, they actually had a purge of the high-school's library and a book burning in the lot. It don't work. Couldn't get these people to read by dragging, tying 'em down and drugging 'em and installing one of those Clockwork Orange helmets on their head. *sigh* Yep, I love my hometown.....
 
I am against book banning because even when there seems to be a valid reason it always seems to go too far. If all the children books or even classics that people wanted banned from schools were banned there would be very few books in schools.

Books I have heard banned at either my schools or by particular teachers that I had:
-Bible
-Harry Potter Books
-Little House on the Prairie Books
-Tom Sawyer
-Dr.Suess books
-Any book dealing w/ magic
-Any book dealing with teen pregnancy
-Any book that has foul language
-Any book that talks about drugs
-Wizard of Oz
-Star wars books

I think that parents need to be responsible for what their children are reading (I started reading YA books when I was 8 and mostly adult books when I was 12; trust me my mother and father checked the books that I read to make sure that they were ok) and that people need to realize that books are books. They are to spark the imagination and if we get rid of them all then the world will be a very sad place.

Besides children see a lot more inappropriate things on TV especially the news which school let children watch as TVs are in almost all classrooms or just walking down the street.
 
Dr, Seuss? Wizard of Oz? Who banns stuff like that? Why?

Anyway, back to Bookstop's question, everything written by Katherine Patterson is wonderful and should be made mandatory for school children. Same for the Giver and it's sequels.
 
Dr. Seuss, I don't know much about the bans on that, just that they've happened. The Wizard of Oz has had several periods of being banned; one of them was by librarians who felt that it was "sub-literary" because of the frequent use of punning throughout the book, and they felt it was unsuitable as an introduction to literature for children. It has also been banned in some places (I kid you not) for being "communist propaganda" on the rather laughable context of the Wicked Witch of the West being green, representing rampang capitalism, while some of the more friendly denizens of Oz (or, rather, their territories on maps) were depicted as red or pink... *shakes head* And they banned Cat's Cradle at my school, too..... Oh, and Frankenstein has been banned in lots and lots of places; last I heard, it was still banned in some, but I don't know whether that's accurate or not (I doubt it, but one never knows)....
 
Speaking for myself, I think anyone who mistakes Twain for a racist is totally misreading his work.

However, I am willing to allow that black parents might know better than I do what is likely to upset their children or make them feel demeaned or degraded if read out loud in school.

And there is, after all, a big difference between banning a book so that no one can read it, and saying, "No, I don't want that book to be recommended or required reading at our school." The one is telling other people's children what they can or can't read at home, the other is taking responsibility (however misguided) for what the schools are teaching their own children. Interesting that when kids go bad, everyone says, "Where were their parents?" but when parents try to gain some control over the values that are being taught to their children they are horrible bigots who are inflicting their beliefs on other people. I don't have to agree with everything another parent thinks and believes to support their right to speak up on behalf of their children if they think there is something going wrong at their schools.

For every dyed-in-the-wool fundamentalist Christian parent who doesn't want Harry Potter or The Wizard of Oz read to their children in school, there is a liberal parent like myself who would certainly protest if the Bible were assigned reading at my children's school. If I expect them to be tolerant of my right to choose for my children, then shouldn't I extend the same right to them?

And there is also a big difference between allowing children to pick something up on their own for casual reading or out of curiosity, and the stamp of approval (and the perception that what they are reading is good and true) that comes of getting that book at school. Such a big difference, that I am always astonished that other people can't see it.
 
I'm not sure I know what the point would be of teaching the book if you were going to add disclaimers. Sounds like it would be confusing to the younger children: We're going to be studying this book, my dears, but you don't have to pay attention to anything that is in it.

And if I want my children, or at this point in time my grandchildren, to read Tom Sawyer (and as a matter of fact, I think I do -- must put it on the list of books I'm collecting for the grandsons) then there is nothing to prevent me from putting it into their hands myself. Meanwhile the school can recommend some other good books for them to read -- there are more than a handful of those, you know. To act as though children are being forbidden to read certain books just because some of their schoolmates' parents object to having the book recommended or available at the school (there are still bookstores and public libraries, after all) is, in my opinion, to over-dramatize the situation.
 
I meant when providing books in the school library, which would be open to children in a wide age range.
 
Ugh- I may have to become one of those parents who forbids a book. I know, it's ridiculous in this day and age to think books are being taught in schools that are completely innapproprate for everyone, but I'm afraid one of the books on my daughter's upcoming reading list makes that cut. I found the book pretty distasteful and offensive, and I'm pretty darned open minded. There is no way I would subject a child to reading it. I don't even know how inthe heck it got on a child's reading list in the first place. The teacher has the choice of which few books, of the list of many, that she teaches, so hopefully it won't come up.

Am I being too overbearing? Maybe. Is there any way I'd let my daughter read the book? Not if I know about it. Is my child intellegent, caring, repectful, and responsible? You bet. Will she try to read the book if she knows it's verboden? I would bet not. I am pretty open minded and I'm pretty sure she gets it.

If there comes a time when I mellow to the point of changing my mind, I can always suggest the book to her once she's an adult.
 
I'm curious, BookStop what the book was that you didn't care for and how old your daughter is. If you don't mind answering my questions. I'm not being judgemental... just curious. I can imagine, as a mother of 3, not wanting my 9 year old to read books that my 14 year old reads or what I read for a variety of reasons. My 9 year old suffers from extreme anxiety and depression, he can be severe at times, so I don't let him read about death because he stresses that I'm going to die and becomes emotional to a point where he is out of control. To save us all from his OCD and fears, I just keep it from him and slowly talk to him about the issue when he is ready for it. More or less when he asks about it. But I don't let him read about it, not yet anyways, he's not mature enough to take that on. I might be wrong in other people's eyes for doing this, but it's not wrong for us. If it was my daughter at his age... it would be a different story. I believe that each child is different and as parents we are responsible for their up bringing and care... which includes monitoring what they read.
 
My daughter is 14 and starting highschool, but the book deals with molestation of an infant. The protagonist isn't taking a stand against sexual abuse, or even feeling particularly shocked when she discovers it has happened to an infant she's caring for. Maybe if the book had some sort of point beyond, hey, bad stuff happens, deal with it, I would at least consider it for my daughter. She is going to learn things like sexual abuse happen, heck I'm sure she's watched the news before, but this story is just so pointless. I wouldn't even recommend it for an adult reading group. After I read the book, The Bean Trees (it's by the same author as Poisonwood Bible, which is an excellent book), I looked it up on Amazon to see reviews. Apparently I'm not alone in thinking this book is garbage. As many people hated it as loved it, really no middle ground.
 
the book deals with molestation of an infant.
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There are some things that need not go in books. This is one of them. I support your decision, I don't think I would let my daughter read the book either.

Thank you for sharing that with us. :)
 
I think that books are like movies. Parents should be involved in thier kids lives to pre screen everything they watch and read and learn. Books have a strong impact on a child's view of reality, the same as movies. There are some movies that my kids will see once I am long into the grave--The Hills Have Eyes and Devils Rejects---even though I love those movies. Also, I would never let my kids read books that are about molestation or generally to adult for them to understand. On the other hand, it is the schools resposibility to give kids a look at a world beyond thier world, but as parents it is our responsibility to control what parts of that world they see. Innocence only lasts so long, I like to keep it around as long as possible, personally.

I remember when I was a kid there was a big stink in our small town about several witch craft books at the county library. My parents and my best friends parents actually checked all of the books out, threw them away, and then paid the library for them.

I would never go that far, but I think that it is important that kids have controlled access. I see nothing wrong with banning FICTION books from schools for kids in grade and middle school. Nonfiction books though, if they have little graphic detail, should not be banned. My mom didn't want me reading the history of the Nazi Riech because the book was very graphically detailed with dead bodies and gas chambers and the like, but I read it anyways because that is what kids do.
 
BookStop said:
As many people hated it as loved it, really no middle ground.
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Interesting that you should say that - the Amazon rating averages out to four out of five, which sounds pretty positive to me.

Just offhand, I'd suggest that by 14, most people are probably able to handle such things. Still, if you feel your daughter is better off not being exposed to the book, I'm not here to change your mind.

Perhaps my parents were deviants, but I was wandering my (large) local library with no restrictions back when I was about 8. Every once in a while a librarian would question what I was checking out (it was invariably science-fiction or fantasy, at varying levels), and my parents would declare I was allowed to do so. When I found things confusing, I'd ask them, and they'd try to explain things to me. As long as parents are open and accessible, and can offer insight into the thing their children are reading, I think book banning is silly, and indeed, classification by age is similarly nonsensical. Not everyone reads at the same level, and the levels always seem to be so random... :rolleyes:
 
mikeo said:
I As long as parents are open and accessible, and can offer insight into the thing their children are reading, I think book banning is silly, and indeed, classification by age is similarly nonsensical. Not everyone reads at the same level, and the levels always seem to be so random... :rolleyes:
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It depends on your view I suppose. As a parent, I want my children to believe in a better world and not be forced into this world quite yet. There is time enough for violent reality when they reach highschool. Plus, I agree that banning books is stupid...but I also believe that until the child is out of school, books should be regulated for children. I don't want my kids checking out porn or satanic sacrifice books or rape stories or serial killer stories becaus e those just add more nastiness to an already nasty world, and they will have plenty of nastiness in thier lives once they leave my house. Which will hopefully be never.
 
dustinzgirl said:
I don't want my kids checking out porn or satanic sacrifice books or rape stories or serial killer stories becaus e those just add more nastiness to an already nasty world, and they will have plenty of nastiness in thier lives once they leave my house. Which will hopefully be never.
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This reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother just a few weekends ago. She was preparing the house for the arrival of my nephew, and one of the things she'd done was blunt the cat's claws to "prevent damage." My attitude to that was that someday he's going to have to learn that cats have claws.

Perhaps it's for the best that I have no interest at all in ever raising children? :rolleyes:

(use of bold in the quote is mine)
 
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