Scott Freeman

Read A Banned Book

I gained my love of reading from my mother. Growing up she always had a book that she was reading. As I grew and my reading evolved from Archie and Spider-Man comic books to Stephen King and Pat Conroy I knew there were times that the adult fare that I had progressed to made her nervous.
She knew because she read what I read. Although there were always TV shows and movies that were off limits to me, my mom never forbade me to read any book that I chose. And for one who did not flourish in a forced learning environment that was my path to learning and scholarship. I know she wrestled with books such as “The Stand” and “The Great Santini” but she let me read anyway.
I would not have the love of reading and learning that I have today if it wasn’t for her willingness to explore and follow narrative paths to themes that weren’t always saccharine. My love of reading may be a little more pronounced than most (103 books read so far this year) but it has always been how I learn.

Last year I first began to celebrate the yearly Banned Books Week. Then I was able to relish Brave New World and Slaughterhouse Five for the first time.

This year I decided to take it to a new level. Saturday afternoon I went to my local library and picked up 10 books that have frequently been challenged. I tried to secure as many of the most challenged books of 2006 that I could and from there went to the top 100 challenged books of the 1990s.

So far, of the five books that I have read since Saturday, I have focused on juvenile fiction. My oldest daughter will soon be reading this entries herself and I long to continue the legacy that my mom provided by letting her read and reading what she reads.

In the coming days I will be talking more about “banned” and “challenged” books. I encourage you to pick some up and read them as well.

So far, here is what I have read:

Bridge To Terabithia–An absolute beautiful book of friendship and loss, I am anxious for the opportunity to let my children read this book. The controversy has been in the past (it was the 9th most challenged book of the 90s) has been a result of allegations of “secular humanism” and other plot elements that you have to make some severe leaps of logic to get to. One of my favorite passages is the main characters wrestling with the love of God. It’s a mature theme, sure, but it is handled with deft care and sensitivity.

James and The Giant Peach–Another tremendous offering by the famed children’s author Roald Dahl. This book was removed from one library because a spider licking its lips can have a double meaning. I kid you not. For those of us who have a heart for the outsider, this is a book that has tremendous beauty and value. Sure, the demise of the aunts is a little harsh but they were mean.

Stay Out of the Basement–This is the second book of the Goosebumps series, scary books for children. I remember being in 3rd grade at my Christian school and fighting with my other classmates over who could check out “Appalachian Ghosts.” Innocuous.

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret–Yep, I read it. And it did not cause me the internal turmoil that Tracy thought it would. Sure it’s about a young girl wrestling with growing up and with faith. But that’s not a bad thing.

Alice In Rapture, Sort Of–This is an installment of the Alice series by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor, in third place on the most challenged books of 2006. It has reinforced my opinion that my girls are not allowed to grow up. However, the allegations of sexual content and offensive language seem to be overblown, at least in this particular installment. Would I let my 6 year old read it right now? No, but I wouldn’t want it pulled off a middle school shelf either.

Read a banned book. Read a few. You will find some beautiful literature