It's almost the end of banned book week, one of my favorite weeks of the year because it celebrates all the most amazing books that have been put out into the world and challenged for the truth and reality that they share. Because that does seem to be the recurring similarities in most banned books, right? That they show the truth of our world, even if those books aren't based in our world? It's very hard to face the truth when it's staring us in the face, and the people who challenge books seem to have trouble allowing young readers access to truth.
I have just finished reading Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult by Bruce Hardy, which was a great introductory book for my MA course. While the book gave a great analysis of some of the most beloved children's books, going all the way back to Little Women, it also shared why they are still beloved today. And the books that are still the most popular, still displayed, in their umpteenth reprinting, are the ones that display truth of what life is really like, deal with topics that children all deal with.
Adults often belittle what a child can handle and understand, but most kids can handle a lot more than we believe. They have their own way of dealing with the hard facts of life. We are doing them no favors by sugarcoating life, avoiding hard topics, and throwing out books that address those hard topics.
The Books that are on the banned book list are the most memorable, the most truthful, and often, the most beloved by their designated readers who appreciate the respect that they are shown.
Here are some of my favorite banned books:
Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone
To Kill a Mockingbird
Forever by Judy Blume
Black Beauty
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
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