Hello all, and welcome to the tail end of Banned Books Week 2014! For all who don't know, this is the official Banned Books Week explanation for just what exactly bibliophiles all over the world have been celebrating since Sunday:
"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular." -www.BannedBooksWeek.org
To celebrate the freadom to read what you love, we've decided to showcase some popular titles that were banned by various organizations, schools, and libraries, and just what those reasons for their banning were. How many of the titles below have you read? (Please note that all credit goes to the Banned Books Week website!)
Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Captain Underpants series has been banned for offensive language, violence, and being unsuitable for children.
The Hunger Games has been banned not for violence, but for religious viewpoints and for being unsuitable for the age group it was written for.
John Green's iconic Looking for Alaska (and Jessica's favorite book!) has been banned for drugs, alcohol, smoking, sex, and being unsuitable for young adult readers.
Perks was banned for drugs, alcohol, smoking, homosexuality, being sexually explicit and for being unsuited for the desired age group.
The Bluest Eye was banned for offensive language, being sexually explicit, violent, and unsuitable for the intended age group.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was banned for drugs, alcohol, smoking, racism, offensive language, being sexually explicit and unsuited for the intended age group.
After seeing a couple of popular titles banned for some pretty funny and ridiculous things (like how The Hunger Games wasn't banned for violence, but for religious views! WHAT religious views?!), it makes us want to go out and read even more while we celebrate our freedom to read what we want. It also makes us want to spread the word!
How can I support Banned Books Week 2014?
There are plenty of ways to do it! Here are just a few:
Check out Banned Books Week's Support Page
Visit the ALA Store website to purchase Banned Books Week Swag
Join or donate to The Freedom to Read Foundation
Grab an "I Read Banned Books" button
Check out Project Censored's latest book
Put up a blog post of your own to celebrate Banned Books Week!
Banned Books Week 2014 ends TOMORROW and we hope to see plenty of bloggers out there spreading the word and picking up some Banned Books to read! Celebrate your fREADom to read and join the movement!
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