It's Banned Books WeekCelebrate the Freedom to Read

Imagine there's a book you can't wait to read. Maybe it's The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman or The Fighting Ground by Avi. Perhaps it's Hoops by Walter Dean Myers or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. All your friends have been talking about it. You walk into the library and ask the librarian where you can find it. "I'm sorry," she says. "We don't have that book anymore. It was banned from the library last week."

Banned?Banned means officially forbidden and removed. All the books mentioned above—all by award-winning children's authors—have been banned or challenged in libraries and schools across the country.

Banning doesn't mean your parent telling you that you can't read a certain book. That's a private family matter. Banning occurs when a person or group of people object to a particular book and work to have it removed from public access. That is, when people prevent not only their own children from reading a book, but everyone else's children as well.

The American Library Association (ALA) created Banned Books Week to teach the importance of our Constitutional First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. That means the communication of ideas and information. Banned Books Week—this year it's September 26 to October 3—encourages everyone to celebrate the freedom to read.

Why Ban a Book? People who want to ban books are usually trying to protect others—especially children—from words, concepts, or images that they think are bad or inappropriate. Such people might believe that their opinion is the only right opinion.

This is what the ALA has to say about banning books: "Even if the motivation to ban or challenge a book is well intentioned, the outcome is detrimental. Censorship denies our freedom as individuals to choose and think for ourselves. For children, decisions about what books to read should be made by the people who know them best—their parents!"

How Do Authors Feel?Book banning upsets many authors. After all, they want their works to be read. Judy Blume, the author of many novels for both children and young adults, knows what it's like to have her books challenged or banned. She is a vocal advocate for freedom to read. "It's not just the books under fire now that worry me," she says. "It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers."

Popular Books Make Popular TargetsMany of the top novels of the 20th century have faced bans—including kids' classics such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little House on the Prairie, and the Harry Potter books. Those books were challenged for offensive language, racial issues, and other content which some thought was unsuitable for kids, or even adults.

Banned Books Week is about protecting the right to information and making it available to all. To find out more, talk to the librarians at your public library or school library.

Critical thinkingWhat would happen if anyone who disliked a certain book could have it banned?

Vocabularychallenged—been the subject of a formal protest
public—open to all, everyone in the community
motivation—the reason for doing something
detrimental—causing harm or damage
censorship—the act of preventing people from seeing or hearing objectionable material, such as literature or information
advocate—to support; to speak in favor of something

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