Banned books of America...

Saturday my dad, my sister and I all went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which was fabulous! If you're a Harry Potter fan I do not see how you can be disappointed. They did a tremendous job on this film. I could go on and on about my favorite fictitious characters Harry, Ron and Hermione but that's not what this post is about...

It's about the fact that CLASSIC children's books are being banned, and I think it's incredibly sad.

I was really excited when I saw the preview for the movie Where The Wild Things Are because this was a favorite of mine when I was a little girl. The three of us got to talking about our favorite books as children and my sister reminded us that Where The Wild Things Are is a banned book in the United States. I don't know why I felt surprised, because I already knew this fact but it really got me thinking and wondering. What other books are banned? And, why? My sister's answer to that question, was "those books encourage kids to use their imagination too much."

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this, so I did a little research...

Some reasons for the censorship are very obvious, although still seemingly ignorant to me. Reasons such as Mark Twain's use of the "n" word through The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for the rape scene. Students are missing out on outstanding pieces of literature that are important to our culture.

Some schools have gone as far as banning Harry Potter books for it's witchcraft themes. I can understand banning a book for explicit scenes and derogatory terms, but banning a book purely because it's too much imagination is just silly.

When does this stop? What exactly are children supposed to read? What are they supposedly being protected from? Shouldn't we be teaching kids that these books are fiction and yes, may be a reflection of those times when they were written but they are a lesson to us about right and wrong. How long will it before basic HISTORY is banned because, it contains too much violence?

I feel very privileged because I was assigned literature like The Scarlet Letter and To Kill a Mockingbird when in school and I also had a parent that encouraged me to read whatever I wanted. My father is a big reader and he is who I get my passion for reading from. He took it upon himself to make sure I was aware of the classics and that I could get my hands on them.

When I become a parent I hope to do the same. Most likely my kids will not get the same reading assignments as I did in school, but I will make sure they are familiar with these legendary tales by some of the greatest authors of all time.

Here is a list of books that are currently banned in most American schools:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Harry Potter Series

To Kill a Mockingbird

Where the Wild Things Are

Bridge to Terabithia

The Lord of the Flies

Of Mice and Men

The Color Purple

Forever (Judy Blume)

The Catcher in the Rye

Go Ask Alice

The Great Gilly Hopkins

Some of these books I can understand not being available in schools and I found on my own as a kid (like Go Ask Alice) but some of these titles are just plain silly to me.

What do you think about these books being banned? What are some of your favorite books that are now banned from schools?