Freedom And Books

I snitched this from April, a good friend of mine. Because she's intelligent and wise, I thought I might follow suit.

April's goal is to read the most challenged books of 2006. She's thinking of making this a yearly goal. Which is admirable. I always say that it's a good thing to expand your mind and to expose yourself to differing views and opinions. That doesn't mean you have to agree with those differing views. Here is the ALA's list of the 10 most challenged books of 2006 and why they were challenged:

• “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
• “Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
• “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
• “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
• “Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; and
• “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

I think freedom is important. And we should have the freedom to read what we want. I also think that parents should have a say in what their children read. I read a lot of adult fiction when I was in middle school. My mom read it along with me so we could talk about the books and she could answer my questions, when she could. I think this helped me to develop good critical thinking skills. And an appreciation that not everyone has the same experiences in life.