Elect to Read a Banned Book
Milford Daily News
Have you
read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Bridge to Terabithia,” “The
Giver,” or “A Wrinkle in Time?” If these items had been removed from
library shelves, you would have missed the opportunity to read these
great books and many other titles.
Sept. 25 to Oct. 2 is Banned Books Week. We are encouraging you to “Elect to read a Banned Book” this year.
Each
year since 1982, bookstores and libraries have celebrated Banned Books
Week during the last week of September…. It is endorsed by the
Library of Congress Center for the Book. This is an annual event to
remind Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom – the
right to read – for granted.
You may
think that the days of people trying to “ban” books from library and
store shelves are long gone. But each year the American Library
Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom receives hundreds of
reports on books and other materials that were “challenged” by people
who asked that they be removed from school or library shelves. In 2003,
the Office of Intellectual Freedom received reports of 458 challenges,
defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school
requesting that materials be removed because of content or
appropriateness.
In 2003,
Phyllis Reynold's Naylor's Alice series topped the list of most
challenged books, knocking the Harry Potter series from the top spot on
the most challenged books list for the first time in four years. The
Harry Potter books have been challenged by parents and others as
“promoting witchcraft to children.” Other frequently challenged titles
include “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “In the Night Kitchen”
by Maurice Sendak, “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl, “The
Chocolate War” by Robert Comier, and “The Color Purple” by Alice
Walker.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
“A Wrinkle in Time” The 1963 Newbery Medal Award Winner
This
story caught my eye because it mentioned my all-time favorite childhood
book, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle. What really gets
me is that some seek to ban the Harry Potter series because they think
it “promotes witchcraft,” and yet apparently, the fact that authority
figures physically torture children does not seem to bother them at
all.
It you want your pre-teen to learn about tyranny and government
oppression in a non-threatening, enlightening, and inspiring way, check
out “A Wrinkle in Time.” S/he won't be able to put this fascinating book down. One caveat: If you've ever seen Married
Student Housing at UNI, you'll never be able to get the planet Camazotz
out of your head!
Linda
Blog For Iowa 
OMG!!! That was one of my most Favoritist books in the world when I was a kid TOO!!
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I'll have to re-read it, it sounds like I forgot some of the main plot points.
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Oh, yeah, it is definitely worth re-reading. My teacher read it to the class when I was in 6th grade, and I think I bought my first copy when I was in 8th grade. It's one of those books I read over and over, and I buy copy after copy and give them out to kids I know. I missed the recent movie ABC made from it. If it's on TV, I just can't seem to get it watched.
If you haven't read the Time Trilogy, the second book, which takes place about a year later, is called A Wind in the Door. The third book takes place when Meg is grown, married, and pregnant. It's called A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I think I finally understood the plot about the ninth time that I read that one. It's a bit dense and complicated. The reading level is above the level of A Wrinkle in Time, too. (There is a book 4, but I could never get through it.)
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