Hey, Story Snoops interviewed me for Banned Books Week, making me feel like all kinds of a celebrity*. Go on over there and check it out!!
*This week they're also interviewing Judy Blume, Meg Cabot, and Ellen Hopkins, among others. As my friend MW would say, "Holy cats!"
Showing posts with label banned books week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banned books week. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Around the interwebs
Links! I have links for you! (And that is as eloquent as I can be after this exhausting week...)
Oh my, was there a big kerfuffle about censorship and just in time for Banned Books Week. See, this guy in Missouri objected to Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak being used in high school English classes because he said that it should be classified as "soft pornography". He also challenged Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer and Slaughterhouse Five. And then the interwebs exploded. Read Laurie's response. Read Sarah's response. And Paul Hankins of RAW INK started the Twitter feed #SpeakLoudly, urging people to speak up against censorship. Oh, and there's a whole list of Speak Loudly posts over at Bookalicious and also at The Reclusive Bibliophile.
I don't know that I have anything to add except I am a librarian and I will Speak Loudly for my patrons' right to read whatever they choose to read.
In other news, Librarian Pirate has compiled a Good Reads list of Mock Newbery titles. Anybody have a Newbery pick already?
The Cybils panels have been announced! Congratulations to all the wonderful bloggers who were selected to be judges. I seriously can't wait to see what's nominated and which books make the shortlists! Only one week to go until nominations open on October 1, so you'd better be thinking about what books you want to nominate! I have a couple of mine in mind...
And I think that's all I've got for you. I am headed back to Chicago this weekend to see my husband John Green and a lot of other fabulous authors at the Anderson's YA Lit Conference on Saturday. If you will be there, please come say hi to me and Kelly of Stacked. I promise we are very nice people and I would love to meet you!
I don't know that I have anything to add except I am a librarian and I will Speak Loudly for my patrons' right to read whatever they choose to read.
In other news, Librarian Pirate has compiled a Good Reads list of Mock Newbery titles. Anybody have a Newbery pick already?
The Cybils panels have been announced! Congratulations to all the wonderful bloggers who were selected to be judges. I seriously can't wait to see what's nominated and which books make the shortlists! Only one week to go until nominations open on October 1, so you'd better be thinking about what books you want to nominate! I have a couple of mine in mind...
And I think that's all I've got for you. I am headed back to Chicago this weekend to see my husband John Green and a lot of other fabulous authors at the Anderson's YA Lit Conference on Saturday. If you will be there, please come say hi to me and Kelly of Stacked. I promise we are very nice people and I would love to meet you!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I cannot take credit for this
I wish I could take credit for this super cool Banned Books Week display, but I came upon this display at the Oldham County Public Library in LaGrange, KY. (And yes, I know Banned Books Week was last week, but keep this in your file for next year OR bring it out at a random time to help those books that are awesome but just won't circ without some help.)
I didn't have my camera with me at the library, but picture a large bookshelf full of these:
What a fun thing! Like a present! And maybe the book inside is not one you're interested in, but maybe it is something you never would have picked up and now you'll give it a try!
I think I know what it is:
And it's...
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler! I have read this one already and I love it. If I wasn't up to my neck in Cybils reading, I'd totally reread it.
Good job, Oldham County Public Library! It's things like this that make it worth the trek to visit this small, but very nice (and new!) library. And I am totally stealing this idea, BTW.
I didn't have my camera with me at the library, but picture a large bookshelf full of these:
Yup, they had taken books that had been challenged or banned and their teen advisory group wrapped them in paper so you couldn't tell what book was in there. They have the bar code and a genre written on the outside (like "Teen Fiction" or "Children's Realistic Fiction" or "Adult Sci-Fi"). The result was really eye-catching and symbolic. They posted a sign on the display urging patrons to check out a wrapped book to celebrate our freedom to read.
Of course, I checked one out.
Here I am unwrapping:
Of course, I checked one out.
Here I am unwrapping:
What a fun thing! Like a present! And maybe the book inside is not one you're interested in, but maybe it is something you never would have picked up and now you'll give it a try!
I think I know what it is:
And it's...
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler! I have read this one already and I love it. If I wasn't up to my neck in Cybils reading, I'd totally reread it.
Good job, Oldham County Public Library! It's things like this that make it worth the trek to visit this small, but very nice (and new!) library. And I am totally stealing this idea, BTW.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Banned Books Week
As Banned Books Week comes to a close, I've collected some posts about parents and selecting books for children.
Over at Mommy Madness, the author says that banning books takes over her job as a parent.
From her post:
I think that am fully capable of discussing what my child reads with him. I am smart. I read a lot. I get paid to think on my feet and I am fully able to discuss these things with my child in a way that meshes with my parenting philosophy and my goals in raising him.
From Librarian Mom:
But what’s stayed with me is that parent’s rock-solid certainty that surely everyone knows what’s offensive, that it’s so obvious—or should be—as to go without saying. I think that’s an attitude that many would-be censors share, and in my experience it’s simply not the case.
From 5 Minutes for Books:
I think that by supporting the banning of books, we are in some way trying to pass off our parental charge. It is my responsibility to know what my daughter is reading and know about the books that her friends read and talk about. It is not the duty of the library system or bookstores to prevent these books from being circulated at all.
And I'd like to leave you with the link for the ALA's Challenge Support page. If you hear of a book being challenged, I urge you to support your local or school library and make your voice heard. Write letters to the editor, to the library board, to the school principal. And report it to the ALA on this site. If you're a librarian and a book is challenged at your library, this site provides some guidelines for how to deal with it.
Over at Mommy Madness, the author says that banning books takes over her job as a parent.
From her post:
I think that am fully capable of discussing what my child reads with him. I am smart. I read a lot. I get paid to think on my feet and I am fully able to discuss these things with my child in a way that meshes with my parenting philosophy and my goals in raising him.
From Librarian Mom:
But what’s stayed with me is that parent’s rock-solid certainty that surely everyone knows what’s offensive, that it’s so obvious—or should be—as to go without saying. I think that’s an attitude that many would-be censors share, and in my experience it’s simply not the case.
From 5 Minutes for Books:
I think that by supporting the banning of books, we are in some way trying to pass off our parental charge. It is my responsibility to know what my daughter is reading and know about the books that her friends read and talk about. It is not the duty of the library system or bookstores to prevent these books from being circulated at all.
And I'd like to leave you with the link for the ALA's Challenge Support page. If you hear of a book being challenged, I urge you to support your local or school library and make your voice heard. Write letters to the editor, to the library board, to the school principal. And report it to the ALA on this site. If you're a librarian and a book is challenged at your library, this site provides some guidelines for how to deal with it.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Banned Books Week
"Tyrants seem to fear very little as much as the unrestrained individual voice."
Salman Rushdie speaks out against attacks against intellectual freedom.
Salman Rushdie speaks out against attacks against intellectual freedom.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
(Not just?) Banned Books Week
Doug Johnson over at The Blue Skunk Blog is advocating for Blocked Bytes Week, pointing out that we need freedom to read more than just books.
What do you think? Are your computers filtered? Find out if your local library has filters on its computers and if you don't think it should, make your voice heard! Write letters to the editor and to the library board supporting your freedom to read anything (not just books).
Also check out Karl Fisch's response and the questions he's asking about internet access in schools.
From The Fischbowl:
...how do we best prepare our students for the unfiltered world they live in when they step off the bus? (Or open their cell phones? Or pull out their laptops with their own unfiltered connection to the Internet?)
What do you think? Are your computers filtered? Find out if your local library has filters on its computers and if you don't think it should, make your voice heard! Write letters to the editor and to the library board supporting your freedom to read anything (not just books).
Also check out Karl Fisch's response and the questions he's asking about internet access in schools.
From The Fischbowl:
...how do we best prepare our students for the unfiltered world they live in when they step off the bus? (Or open their cell phones? Or pull out their laptops with their own unfiltered connection to the Internet?)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Banned Books Week
According to a Chicago Tribune article, the University of Wisconsin - Rock County is celebrating Banned Books Week by holding a reading of Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic.
From the article:
The university says the book had been challenged at a Beloit elementary school because it "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them."
From the article:
The university says the book had been challenged at a Beloit elementary school because it "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them."
Monday, September 29, 2008
Banned Books Week
Celebrate your intellectual freedom by reading a banned or challenged book this week! Need some suggestions? Check out the LibraryThing Banned Books Library. This project is a collection of books that have been banned or challenged... At the time of this posting they're up to almost 700 books.
...
Almost 700 books that someone somewhere has wanted pulled off of library shelves or out of schools.
It boggles the mind, really.
...
Almost 700 books that someone somewhere has wanted pulled off of library shelves or out of schools.
It boggles the mind, really.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Banned Books Week
This week is Banned Books Week* and I'd like to point you to a post written by Carlie Webber of Librarilly Blonde. Popular Paperbacks, Books About Sex, and Banned Books Week discusses ALA's Popular Paperbacks committee's decision to create a list of books about sex despite the certaintly that it would be controversial. Read about why they think it is an important list to create and what work went into creating it.
And then check out their list!
*Yay! I get to wear my bracelet this week! Er... not that I couldn't wear it any other time of the year.
And then check out their list!
*Yay! I get to wear my bracelet this week! Er... not that I couldn't wear it any other time of the year.
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