Banned book lists have always shocked me. Half of my high school curriculum has appeared on banned book lists in some state at some point over the past 20 years. Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Beloved, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Invisible Man, Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, the list goes on. But honestly, more shocking to me were the children's and young adult lit that I found appearing on the lists. Judy Blume, the woman who held the key to so many young adult hearts of my generation, is all over the lists of banned books from the 1990s. What is it that people find so awful about books, to the point where they believe they should be "banned"? And on top of that, why so often does it matter less what the book is truly about, and more what has been heard about it? A few years ago, I read an article that I will never forget, from a mother who was a major supporter of banning the Harry Potter books from her childrens' school/local library. The article chronicled her journey trying to challenge the book, but ended not quite in the most expected way. The woman actually read the Harry Potter books, in the middle of her crusade, and realized that none of the atrocities she had been told existed in the novels were actually present. Who would have thought that reading a book could shed some light on its themes!
I was incredibly blessed growing up to be in a family where limits weren't placed around what we could and couldn't read. The only restrictions I remember, entertainment-wise, in were that we couldn't watch "Ren and Stimpy," and that "Daria" would have to wait until we were older. More and more as I get older I realize just how special it is to be granted freedom to read what you want, when you want to! Sure, I'm glad that I didn't try to read Beloved at 12, and if I had, I would have appreciated a little discouragement from my mom, but what 12-year-old would be interested in reading a book like that anyway! Kids tend to be interested in things that resonate with their age group, and when they show interest in something that might be too much of a stretch, the instinct should be to teach why it's too soon, not to abolish it altogether. There is so much effort put into protecting children from the bad things that exist, but shouldn't we instead help them to be more accepting, make them good people through the use of literature that establishes that not every child lives in a suburban house with a picket fence and a golden retriever? And that imagination can extend beyond the realms of disney princess movies? Books of diverse subject matter and background could be such important potential teaching tools if used properly.
Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic was one of the 50 most frequently banned books for the 1990s, primarily because it contained a poem inspiring kids to break the dishes so they won't have to wash them. If that doesn't give us reason to reassess the way we think about these things, I don't know what will!
