Reason #3576 of why books matter

Still pregnant.

I appreciate all the comments from the last post and there's a little more I want to add. There is no book that can't be challenged, no book that someone won't find offensive. I bet you English teachers have some stories you could share about that. It's everyone's right to respond how they will to a book, but banning the book means preventing not just yourself or your child from reading it but everyone else at the school or library as well. By the way, to clarify for some of the commenters, when a school remove a challenged book from the curriculum and/or from the library shelves, that is banning.

We tend to ban contemporary young adult books far more than the classics, not because their subjects are more offensive (are Shakespeare's and Steinbeck's characters model citizens?) but because they're newer and don't have the decades of vetting to protect them yet. Which is such a shame because reluctant readers especially are far more likely to actually read a book written in their vernacular.

An English teacher friend of mine told me about a department meeting she had when first hired at a high school. To paraphrase:
Friend: "What about including a graphic novel in the curriculum? With so many ESL learners they could be really beneficial."
Dept Head: "No. Graphic novels have graphic content. We'd have parents protesting. So, who is teaching Chaucer this year?"
HA! Chaucer is far bawdier than any graphic novel I've ever read. Nevertheless, I don't think we should ban it.

The purpose of literature is not to represent perfect characters, an ideal world, where everyone acts kindly and appropriately. There's no benefit to reading that story, there's no learning, no questioning, no growing for the reader. I want to share just one more thing about the power and importance of great books, and why we need them free and available in libraries.

"sassymonkey" blogs:

"I remember reading Speak. I had taken a copy out from the library and read it cover to cover. Often, I stop and shut the book when I get to the last page of the story -- but this time I did not. The very last page of the book should have been a blank page, but it was covered in writing. The girls and women who had checked the book out before me had filled it with messages: "This happened to me." "I didn't tell." "I thought he loved me." They told their stories in single sentences. Their rapists and abusers were their boyfriends. Their family members. Strangers. Someone they thought was a good guy but turned out not to be. Or the story they told was not theirs. It was their sister's or friend's. I read that page, and I was filled with sadness that this was the only place they felt safe to use their voice. I went to the internet and grabbed the number for a local sexual assault crisis line and added it to the page. It was the only way I could think of to reach out them."

What a powerful testament. Here's to books.

In case you missed it, here's a discussion we had about book banning a few months ago.

Comments

[Michellewitte]

Not to jump off topic . . . okay, I'm jumping.

I'm fully expecting a blog post someday soon to start with:

Semi pregnant
(or)
almost not pregnant
(or)
one's out, the other one's coming.

Though I'd understand if you forgot to post that day. ;-)

[Jean]

I'm with Michellewitte-I'm sure there are many of us waiting with baited breath.

At least some members (our family!) of your devoted fan base hope you have a pre-written blog post ready to go for when the twins make their arrival to the wonderful outside world. Here's to week 36!

[Debbie (Celes)]

I'm so glad she shared that, and that you in turn shared that with us.

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

My vocabulary is deeply lacking this late at night, so I will write the one word that comes to mind.

"powerful."

[Meredith B.]

I thought of "moving" and "heartbreaking," but really "powerful" is the best word. And if we let it, then it will be "emboldening."

[Meredith B.]

Okay, you should also know that I come back every day to see if you've had the wonderbabies yet, and that whenever you miss a post I stress about it a little. :-)

I keep looking for the right book to donate to our library in honor of the wonderbabies (pretty much my standard reaction to birthdays at this point,) but there aren't very many good picture books about twins, have you noticed that? I guess we'll have to write some!

[andalucy]

You never know what a reluctant reader will like. For my aunt, it was Chaucer. She says she thought reading was a bore until she read Canterbury Tales in high school. Hmm, I bet! But yes, I'm sure you're right that most reluctant readers (the normal ones) will prefer something in their vernacular.

They've really got to do something about that loaded word, "graphic."

[Stina Lindenblatt]

That's a brilliant idea. The number of the local rape crisis center should be written at the end so readers know where to turn to if they, too, have been raped or sexually assaulted (or know someone who has been). Too many girls don't know they have that option. That they don't have to remain silent.

[Katie]

Wow. What a powerful testimony to the power of story. I hope those girls found the courage to tell someone else.

Thanks for sharing, Shannon.

[Shannon Morris]

Thank you for sharing the sassmonkeyblog. It brought me immediately to tears. Such a powerful topic and so, so, so many people are afraid to talk about. Thanks for talking, Shannon. Looking forward to doing it again soon!

[Shannon Morris]

And I just have to say another thing because if I don't say it here I'll end up saying it in person to someone I'll offend...... ignorant people drive me crazy! Stop being ignorant, closed minded, judgemental, and hypocritical! Ahhh, better. I hope that if I am ever one of those things someone will correct me. There, done.

[Frogster]

"sassymonkey" might not think that her act accomplished a whole lot, but just writing down that lifeline may have saved many more girls from hiding their own experiences. (Disclaimer: I've never read Speak.)

I do, however, have plans to become an English teacher, and for years have been irritated with most school curriculum that hangs onto reading the "classics" without incorporating more recent books. I also think that reading contemporary novels would draw more reluctant readers to the wonderful realm of books--and isn't that what we should all want?

Thanks, Shannon, for continuing to discuss book-related ideas on your blog. :)

[FredTownWard]

A couple of points.

First, we really need to distinguish between people demanding that a book be banished from the shelves and people demanding that a book be removed from the REQUIRED reading list. It is easy to condemn the former, but the latter at least potentially have a legitimate objection. IMHO the required reading list is not the proper place for the deliberately controversial, the sexually explicit, the curse word filled, or the latest work by a YA author who goes out of the way to provoke book banning as a marketing tool. "Most Banned YA Author" is NOT something to be proud of IMHO because it almost certainly means that you are DELIBERATELY stirring the pot.

Second, we need to remember where most book banning parents learned the technique:

from watching Bibles and other Christian themed books being removed from shelves and curriculums.

The anti-book-banner who opposes the banning of religious books with as much fervor as the banning of trendier books has the moral standing to lecture us all.

The anti-book-banner who opposes only the banning of the latter is a hypocrite who doesn't deserve to be listened to...

and won't be.

[Laree]

I didn't jump in yesterday (I'm pretty sure there was a milk crisis upstairs!), but I'd like your view on something I heard about a few months ago.

It was from another YA author- she talked about a school that wanted to implement a "restricted" shelf in the school library. From what I remember, it would be a shelf where books that were deemed questionable/ban-able would be placed. Students would then need a note from their parents to check out that book.

Everyone on the blog cried out how awful this was, banning books was a sin, blah, blah, blah. I think I was the only differing opinion. I thought it was a great idea.

I HATE getting into a book and needing to stop because of content. As a parent, I would like some control over what my child picks to read. But I don't believe I have the right to deny that choice to everyone else. I felt that having a certain section of the library that required parental consent was a great compromise. My child could be protected from eekie books, but Jane Doe's child next door can still have them.

What do you think?

[Je Reve]

I'm just about to read Chaucer.

I love the topic of book banning (I'm of a Hale-like opinion). It makes me so happy to hear that writers have an active interest in what goes into the public's ear.
Good luck with the rest of your bed rest!
PS: Graphic novels! Haha! Try Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for graphic!

[o]

Anyone hear belong to the National Coalition Against Censorship? My sister interned there last summer, and we, her family, learned a lot about cases such as this. You should check out there website.

[sarabethke]

off topic, but I read Maureen's blog today (9/22)and thought you may be interested. http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/blog/

[Ingrid]

I, personally, agree with Laree's comment. I think that there are some very powerful books out there and it is good that they are being studied and read. Though I also think that there are books out there in the schools which some parents really wouldn't their children reading at the time. I really think it is a family or personal affair. So, they shouldn't go all the way and ban books that could be life changing but maybe having a "restricted" shelf isn't such a bad idea.

[Libby Gorman]

I can understand why some parents would like certain books to require their permission. From a librarian's point of view, the problem with this is that often kids who might really need to hear a certain book (say, a girl who was raped and could really benefit from Speak) might not feel bold enough to even ask the librarian for a book "behind the desk," let alone take a permission slip home and get it signed...just another angle to consider.

[Christen]

I think sassymonkey is right on the money.

Also, I found someone who Spoke Loudly about this banning issue too: http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/2010/09/speaking-out.html

[Meredith B.]

I'm a bookseller, and I know all of the books that the schools in three districts read, because the students come in and buy them from me. In my experience, schools (and sometimes individual grades within those schools) fall into two categories: those who read only classics, and those who seem to read none at all. For crying out loud, is it not possible to strike a balance? Because I swear to you that there are people graduating from high school in Cincinnati, Ohio whose schools have so despaired of getting them to read anything at all that they will never have read anything that falls into the Canon. No Shakespeare, no Hawthorne, no Twain, not even Harper Lee, nor any of their ilk. That, my friends, is as much a tragedy as never reading anything that is contemporary.

[Raindrops]

For my school they banned Harry Potter books off the shelves for English teachers to share in their classroom.

I was dissapointed when my English teacher shared the news with the class. But later I learned that because it was banned it was a controversie to religios people: They thought their was evil stuff in there. And that Rowling informed us that the preffesor of Hogwarts: P. Dumbledore was gay because he loved a man in one of the novels.

It was a shame when I learned it, because I love the Harry Potter books. Despite what people say, it is educational between good and evil - and it's fun to read!:)

Hope your doing all right with the twins inside of you, Shannon:)
--Raindrops

[Angie]

Isn't it funny that students can take a "graphic" design class in school but a teacher can't assign a "graphic" novel? huh. Funny world.

Thanks for keeping the literary fire burning! (You know- so we can read by it, not burn books.)

[Libbi]

OH those Harry Potter banning people DO strike such FERVOR in my literary soul. >:[ Alright, I am a completely dedicated Christian and I love God but a. the good and morals in those books EXTREMELY 100% outweigh the evil. I mean, the main themes are love and friendship- it doesnt really get much more Christian than that. b. SO WHAT IF DUMBLEDORE IS GAY? So many people say the Bible is against homosexuality, but the Bible also tells us to be kind to EVERYONE. EVERYONE. No matter what their sexuality. Discriminating bcause of sexuality is like being racist, or sexist, or discriminating in any other unfair way. Homophobia is ABSOLUTE rubbish.
Sorry, had to get that out of my system :) Didnt mean to offend anybody; sorry if I did but if I blurted this stuff out in the hallway of my high school people would stare and I thought it best to get it out here. :)
Love the post, Shannon!

[Melinda]

I just wanted to add another possible perspective. I don't like the idea of books being banned, however, I respect the fact that somebody else can fight for what they believe. Most of these people are not out to condemn the world. They feel the need to stand up because they are trying to do what is right for their whole community. Using the argument that if you feel a book is bad, you ought to keep it to yourself and your family doesn't seem like a very good argument to me. Anyone whose convictions are so shallow as to only extend to their friends and family doesn't really have convictions at all. We are our brothers keepers.
On the other hand, I can see the slippery slope that book banning can (and does) become. Yes, there are meaningful, valuable books that have been banned, and that's a tragedy.
But it frustrates me when those people are vilified for standing up for something. Condemnation and criticism in the name of tolerance doesn't seem very logical to me.

[Miss Erin]

oh, wow. oh wow.

[Lauren Hughes]

Hi Shannon!

I read your blog regularly, but rarely ever take the time to post, but thought this little story related to "book banning" would enrage you as it does me.

I was on the textbook approval committee for my county school system because I thought that if I wanted better books to teach, I should be active in the selection process. I especially wanted a broader selection of Science Fiction books for our 8th grade Sci-Fi unit because all that's currently available to teach is stuff about going to Mars that was written back during the space race. Today's YA sci-fi is so rich in how it looks at so many versions of the future and goes beyond space travel, and I thought for sure that I could get a wealth of contemporary books approved.

One of the many books I sought to get approved was "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins because I thought it had a wealth of issues to discuss. When we proposed that book, the leader of the committee and Board of Ed representative said:

"That book will never get approved because the students would identify too much with the main character."

Yes. That was really said. Connecting and identifying with the main character is a BAD THING apparently. The only books that get approved in our school system are books that "stand the test of time" and occasionally a Newbery winner (probably because they can justify Newbery winners standing the test of time). YA books never get approved, which is highly discouraging to teachers because middle school is such a critical time of growth, and often it is a time where a student's love of reading is lost due to other pubescent distractions. But if we had excellent books that the teens in our classes COULD IDENTIFY WITH, we might be able to keep the kids on track as READERS, which I believe is of utmost importance during these developmental and shaky teenage years.

So that was just another form of book banning/censorship that I thought maybe you weren't aware of. The book approval process often keeps books out of the hands of readers.

But on a positive note, I personally requested that we buy two copies of every single one of your books last year for our school library, and that's what we now have available. :)

[aax]

Are writers supposed to like to read? I mean, they can like to write but hate reading.

[Princess Luna]

Whoo!!!Books are awsome,and I agree with you 250%