Book List - Banned Books Week

So this past week (Sept. 24 - Oct. 4) has been Banned Books Week.  As the site will tell you Banned Books Week, organized by the American Library Association, started in the 1980s when the rise of neo-con, religious values lead interest groups to protest books with queer, sex-positive,  non-Christian, "witch craft", "racist", and overtly political messages.  I wrote witch craft and racist with quotation marks because these reasons have been used to ban Harry Potter and The Adventures of Huck Finn, which is especially troubling since Huck Finn might use the n-word but it's actually pointing out the wrongness of racism. The habit of banning books for racism when really they are criticizing racism in society has happened again in 2010.

This month's book list is the Top Ten Banned Books of 2010.  The majority of these are YA novels, the most banned book is for young children, and one book is a non-fiction book aimed at adults (though appropriate for YA audiences as well).

The Top 10 Banned Books of 2010

1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson is an adorable book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin in a zoo.  I recommended this book for Pre-K/K aged children in my Book List - Gay Pride Month post in June.  It was banned for homosexuality, religious view point, and having material unsuitable to age group.
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a YA book and story of a 14 year old Spokane Indian boy who transfers from his reservation school to a rich, white school. It's semi-autobiographical and deals with family death, reservation life, and questions of community and identity.  This book was banned for racism, offensive language, religious view points, sex education, violence, being sexually explicit, and for being unsuited to age group.
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a classic sci-fi book suitable for YA and Adult readers.  It portrays a distopian world similar to that of The Giver where there is no violence, crime, poverty or individuality.  It's a critique of society and a warning to us on par with 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.  It was banned for insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and for being sexually explicit. 
4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a semi-autobiographical YA novel similar to Go Ask Alice.  It deals with teenage drug addiction and rape in a relatively realistic and completely unglamorized manner.  It was banned for drugs, offensive language, racism, and for being sexually explicit. 
5. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins is the YA story of Panem, a distopian future US where children fight gladiatorial games, and Katniss Everdeen the girl who volunteered to take her sister's place and challenged the government by refusing to play by their rules.  I reviewed it here.   The series has been banned for violence, being sexually explicit, and unsuitable for the age group.
6. Lush by Natasha Friend is a YA book where a 13 year old girl struggles to deal with her father's alcoholism and pressure from her mother and grandmother to hide it from everyone. It also deals with more typical teenage problems like crushes and puberty,  It was banned for drugs, being sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuitable for the age group.
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones is a YA book about a typical teenage girl dealing with relationships, crushes, issues with Mom, and understanding the difference between love and lust.  It's poetic and emotionally intense and banned for sexism, being sexually explicit, and unsuitable to age group. 
8. Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich is a famous non-fiction book about the author trying to survive on minimum wage in different parts of the country.  It examines the unfairness in the US, especially for women, and explains how important Welfare and a living wage really are.  It's been banned for drugs, inaccuracy, offensive language, political viewpoints, and religious viewpoints.
9. Revolutionary Voices by Amy Sonnie is a YA anthology of stories by queer and young writers. It's autobiographical for the various writes and wonderfully edited by 22 year old Amy Sonnie.  It's been banned for homosexuality, being being sexually explicit. 
10. Twilight (Series) by Stephanie Meyer is the incredibly popular YA series about the age old tale of love between a human girl and a 100 year old sparkling vampire.  While I have objections to the series (like the quality of writing) they're a bit different then the reasons it was banned; violence, being sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to audience. 

Now I have two reasons I have problems with the list.  The lesser one being some of the books banned for being sexually explicit don't portray anything more intense then kissing and cuddling, the ones being banned for racism are attacking and exposing racism, and the idea that people ban books for positively portraying queer characters is offensive.  

But my main objection to this list is that it exists at all.  Books should not be banned, it's an issue of free speech and access to opposing speech and stories.  The idea of institutionally stifling or hiding voices that portray something different or something that some people find objectionable is repugnant.  This is especially true when these voices portray the experiences of real people or are something that many people face or deal with.  Teenagers go through puberty and the majority of them experience desire.  Addiction and rape happen (to adults, teenagers, and even children).  Not everyone is straight and queer people are victimized and bullied.  People of Color experience racism.  To ban books at all is wrong, but to ban them for showing the world as it really is, instead of how white, conservative Christians want it to be, is inexcusable. 

To See Where Books Are Being Banned Near You

Book Review - Silent Dreams by Dandi Daley Mackall

Dandi Daley Mackall is a children and young adult author who often writes about people who are or have been marginalized by society.  Silent Dreams is the story of Camilla, a young homeless girl, her mentally ill aunt, and how they relate to the community and find joy in the silent cinema of the early 1900s. The story introduces the reader to a variety of people who are homeless and was inspired by Dandi Daley Mackall's own introduction to a homeless woman.  The story of this encounter is included at the end of the book along with information about the history of silent film and a glossary for the words that children might not be familiar with.

Silent Dreams is also a poem.  The rhymes are standard couplets (the 1st and 2nd lines rhyme with each other).  It has an easy meter, almost a sing-song quality, that often makes poetry easier for children to read and understand.  Each page of the book is four lines which have one or two accompanying illustrations.   I think the illustrations are quite lovely (though in fairness I know the artist).   The vibrant colors are eye catching and the purple tones help add to the mood of the poem.

The content in Silent Dreams is appropriate for any age range.  It is set during a specific time in history and has to do with homelessness and mental illness so children might have questions and this is definitely a book I would read with kids and be prepared to discuss these themes with them.  The homelessness and mental illness are not the main focus of the story and are portrayed in a very open and accepting way.  This is a good book to use to introduce children to these issues, while showing them they don't need to be afraid of people who are homeless or have mental illness.  For children who have a personal connection to homelessness or mental illness it is especially important for them to encounter stories and characters with these issues to help children understand that they, or people they know, are not alone.  

The reading level for this story is about 1st grade.  The poetry adds a formula to the story and most words will be recognizable.  Words that aren't likely to be known to younger children are included in the glossary at the back of the book.  This is written at an Upper Emergent Reading level, but should be enjoyable to children who are not at that level.  As said before, this is definitely a book that I would read with children, even if they are Fluent Readers or above. 

Silent Dreams is the only book by Dandi Daley Mackall that I have read, but I'm definitely intending to read more.  Her books seem to have a variety of narrators and some deal with important times in history and/or help spread the stories of marginalized people.  I think it's important to support authors, especially children and young adult ones, who do this.  You can get more information about Dandi Daley Mackall and her books at her website Dandi Books  

Book Review - Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love That Dog is written as the poetry journal of elementary school student Jack.  It takes place over the course of a year as his class learns about poetry.  Every entry is a poem and most are free verse responses to poems or Jack's teacher Miss Strechberry. Other entries are Jack's poems inspired by ones they learned in class. Tying the majority of the entries together are poems about a dog, a blue car, and why Jack doesn't have a pet any more.

This book is a great introduction to poetry.  Some of the poems are short free verse responses, such as "I tried. Can't do it. Brain's empty."  Jack also writes poems in various styles, and excerpts from some of the poems mentioned in his class are included in the back of the book.

The content level of this book is appropriate for anyone in elementary school.  However, it does deal with the loss of a pet and some children might find this very upsetting.  The content also includes feelings of uncertainty and low confidence in regards to school work and deals with over coming these emotions.

 Creech's word choice is very simple, yet she portrays these rich emotions and experiences.  The reading level is about 2nd or 3rd grade. But with all the line breaks children should definitely be Fluent Readers if they're reading this book to themselves.  This book helps to develop the reading skills necessary for poetry.  Also we only read Jack's responses, but he references lessons and conversations with his teacher, and letters he receives from his idol Mr. Walter Dean Myers.  This helps children learn inference, which is the use of deductive reasoning to draw a conclusion.

Love That Dog has won the Christopher Award, the Mitten Award (Michigan), and Claudia Lewis Poetry Award. The story of Jack is continued in Hate That Cat, which I have not yet read. Sharon Creech is also famous for her YA novel Walk Two Moons.