Let's Ban Books

I remember as a young girl at Mobile Christian School a group of parents were trying to ban a couple of books.  I was seven and I don't remember the books but I do remember how angry my mother was.  She told me about the time this happened to her.  She made it her mission to allow my brother and I to read whatever books we wanted.  She wanted us to be exposed to the written word.

As my children were growing up, I made sure that if they want a book to read I would give it to them....even if there wasn't money for them.  I never denied them those.  My daughter is a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games series.  I was surprised to learn that the Hunger Games was one of the books that the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received requests to remove.  These books encourage on young people to read.  They teach them a wider vocabulary, strengthen knowledge, promote growth.  

Now I appreciate the premise of wanting to protect our children from adult subjects (sex, vulgar language, graphic violence, etc.).  However, these same subjects are readily available on the internet and television.  So that is a relatively futile endeavor.  But back in the 30's and 40's people were banning books that were American classics like To Kill A Mockingbird.  Hitler enforced book burning as a form of control.  

Grow-up people!  Let's remove this antiquated idea and embrace the fact that YOUR child wants to pick up something that is bond in leather and smells like a library.  A place seldom visited these days.