Research Project Summary

Over the course of the semester, you were all asked to do some research and find out what, if any, books had been banned or challenged in your local public and school library.  You were also asked to gather any information you could about those libraries' policies.  So, what did you find out?   What, if anything, did you find interesting/engaging about your research?  What role do you see yourself playing in the future as a "Reader of Banned and Challenged Books"?

What book would you save from extinction?

German soldiers and civilians give the Nazi salute, thousands of books smolder during a bookburning, May 1933. (Courtesy of Ray Bradbury)

At the end of Fahrenheit 451 Montag meets a group of people who have each committed one book to memoriy to save it from extinction.  When asked the question, Ray Bradbury said he'd have memorized Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol because it "has influenced my life more than almost any other book, because it's a book about life, it's a book about death. It's a book about triumph."*  If you had to memorize a single book or risk its extinction, which book would you choose?

*(On January 5, 2005, Dana Gioia, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, interviewed Ray Bradbury in Los Angeles; this information comes from that interview)

During our interview today with author Chris Crutcher, he talked about how it is important for young adult readers to find stories to read that speak to the truth in their lives.  What does he mean by this?  How does Perks of Being a Wallflower speak to the truth in the life of a young adult reader?

Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk and Censorship



photo by Kelly Halls



Whale Talk author Chris Crutcher responds to a challenge of his book in Athens, AL:  "When a teacher looks out over his or her classroom, he/she is looking at one in three girls who have been sexually mistreated, one in five boys.  That doesn’t take into consideration the number of kids who have been beaten, locked up, or simply never allowed to be good enough.  Stories are buffered in fiction and therefore allow discussion of issues that would not otherwise be brought up.  They save many students.  I’d think twice before I allowed them to be taken away. . . .  Your decision won’t impact my income or my self-esteem.  You have a lot more to lose here than I have, and that’s why I take time to state my case.  The kids you turn your backs on when you take away their stories, are the ones who lose, as well as you as a community of adults who may appear to fear their truths."  The book was removed from library shelves and taken off of the district-wide reading list.

What happens when you take away "their stories"?  What sort of loss or wrong is Crutcher talking about?

quoted material accessed on 2/3/2011 at the author's website

Lauren Myracle's TTYL -

In the introduction to her book,  500 Great Books for Teens,  Anita Silvey, well known editor and critic in the genre of childrens literature (former editor of The Horn Book and VP in charge of children & young adult books at publisher Houghton Mifflin),  writes "Great teenage literature  has always addressed the fundamental questions of the teenage years: Who am I? Do I matter?  How do I relate to others? In that literature, teens get blown off course by their hormones, just as they do in the real world.  Teenage angst and ennui shape many of the characters.  All young adult literature explores the problems of separation and empowerment.  Sometimes that process can have terrible results . . . but usually in coming-of-age stories the movement from childhood to adulthood is inevitable and necessary.  Through their angst, the protagonists become adults, separate from their parents, and exercise independent judgement from the adults around them."  How do you find TTYL fitting this description?  What makes the book appealing to young adult readers?  What about TTYL causes parental concern?  Is this concern justified?  (500 Great Books accessed  on 2/3/2011 via internet)

Tell Us About It

What challenged or banned books have you read recently?   Has anyone ever restricted what you have been able to read or view?  If so, who, what, when and why?