In the United States, books cannot be banned nationwide but there are ways to ban books in specific schools and libraries at a local level. Usually a group of parents or concerned citizens get together and decide whether a book is appropriate or not. Some books are banned because of violence, sexual content, nudity, anti-family values, and being inappropriate for a certain age group. Some books have actual evidence that they may not be suitable for an age group but others are simply banned because people do not want you to think differently from themselves. The problem with book banning, though is not that content of these books but the idea that if a book is not suitable for you, no one else may read it.
Books like “The Chocolate War” and even the “Captain Underpants” series have been challenged in schools across our nation. Some schools have even taken these books off their library shelves which eliminates anyone from reading them. Judy Blume, Mark Twain, and even J.K. Rowling have all been challenged and even banned. Books we have known all our lives and loved have been banned simply because someone did not agree with them.
Books are not here to be agreed with. They are written to challenge our minds and to change society. They are written to bring us not only joy, but knowledge. If we are to gain any knowledge, we must know different perspectives and problems individuals face. These writers did not intend to reciprocate your feelings. They wrote with the intention of expanding your mind and presenting you with a new way of thinking. So, how are we supposed to expand our minds when the books we long to read are taken right off the shelves because someone else does not agree?
I invite you to blog and speak up about your thoughts on book banning. Also, to get more information on this, please visit www.ala.org/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm.