Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Banned Books Week


Happy 30th anniversary, Banned Books Week!

I get parents' desire to protect their kids, I do. I understand that, particularly with teenagers, you can't always be with your kids and it's possible that they'll get their hands on books you might not want them reading. Thanks to Sheila, at Book Journey, for hosting "Jump On The Banned Wagon!"

In the 1980's I railed against Tipper Gore's and the Parents Music Resource Center's fight to put parent advisory labels on record albums. I cheered as first Frank Zappa, then Dee Snider, and finally even John Denver testified before a Senate committee against the labels and censorship.

Little more than a decade later, I found myself grateful to have those warning labels in place. Mini-him was a handful, CD's are small, and earbuds make it possible to listen to music without having your parents hear it. Knowing that he couldn't buy the CD's with the warning labels on them himself and that I would know whether or not I need to pre-listen to a CD before buying him one with a label, made my life easier. I got to choose what he listened to - sort of. I couldn't stop him from listening to music I objected to when I wasn't around and I had no control over what earned the advisory. And I still had a problem with that.

Just as I have a problem with one person or a small group of people determining what is available to my kids, or me, to read. When it comes to books, the people who challenge books, who want them banned, are not content simply to place an advisory label on them. They want them entirely unavailable.

One of my boys' favorite books growing up was Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, one of the most commonly challenged books (in this case, the entire series was challenged) in the very decade in which they were reading it. It was, obviously, challenged because it's scary. Well, duh. It tells you that right in the title, parents. If you see your child reading this book, it should be immediately obvious that this may be a book you'll want to check for yourself to see if your kid is mature enough to read it. You certainly shouldn't need someone else to do that for you. By the way, the stories really are scary, hardly toned down at all from the original folklore from which they are drawn.

Anyone out there ever gone camping? What is the number one thing kids want to do when they go camping? Well, after they eat enough s'mores to make themselves sick. They love to tell scary stories around a campfire. Did the same parents who challenged this book also ban their children from going camping?

There are a lot of ways in which I am not a "cool mom." I monitored the movies my kids watched, the video games they played, the places they went. My seventeen-year-old still has to give me the phone number of the friend she is with just in case I can't reach her at her number because I will be checking up on her.

I have also keenly been aware that I could not protect my children forever; sooner or later my children would need to be making their own decisions. In fact, it was one of my most profound duties as a parent to teach them how to do that. So, while, I monitored what they were exposed to, I also allowed them to watch things, to listen to thing, and to read things that would allow us to talk to them about more mature subject matter. As the parent, I decided what those things would be. Even though my children are all grown up now, I will continue to insist on a parent's right to make those decisions for themselves.


18 comments:

  1. Nice post Lisa. Thanks for being a part of banned book week.

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  2. Well said! And so true about camping and scary stories! LOL

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  3. People forget that John Denver was a pilot and wrote songs about being literally high which got banned. To this day, by the way, no one dares say anything bad about Denver in front of Dee Snider.

    There was an excellent movie awhile ago on VH1 about the whole idiotic record labeling farce.

    Getting your book banned, by the way, is not a bad marketing strategy since many of the banned books and records went on to become best sellers.

    http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

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  4. Ooooh I loved the Scary Stories books when I was a kid! They are SO creepy.

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  5. There is protecting, and then there is too much of it. Your way is good, giving your children freedom where you can and letting them read what is ok for them rather than what is prescribed for the masses. That's the issue, it's one thing to say something is not good for a particular child (as long as it's actually in their interests rather than an ideology) and another to try and ban something for all that stops parents being able to, well, be the parent.

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  6. Yes, I definitely agree with parents' rights to monitor their own kids, but, like you, draw the line at those who would ban the rest of us for reading what we want.

    Interesting post!

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  7. Great post! I remember reading Scary Stories as a kid and then waking up at night and hiding under my blankets from shadows. It's definitely scary! But I wanted to know what was in it, so I read it. I agree that parents should be monitors, but banning books is simply not the answer. :D

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  8. Great post! I completely agree-we the parents are the ones who should be involved and helping our children make these choices. I don't want anyone taking that option away from me or my child.

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  9. I typically read the same books my kids are, it gives me a feeling of common ground to spark discussions. My personal feeling is that we shouldn’t discourage our children from reading. I can understand that there are books that are inappropriate for certain age groups and those should absolutely be monitored by the parent. I agree with you 100% it is the parent's right to make what they feel are the right decisions for their children. I've let mine explore different genres and as long as I deem the content appropriate, it's fair game; my belief is that their minds need to be creative and work. On a more serious side, they are reading a great book called “Through Angel’s Eyes” by Steve Theunissen, you can check it out and get it right off the website http://sbpra.com/stevetheunissen/. They love it, and it's a book that is more history based than fantasy. Thanks for the post!

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  10. This was my very favorite book growing up. I managed to find a copy at the age of 7 or 8. The illustrations still give me nightmares.

    Thanks for this post. It was a very honest and open dialogue.

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  11. It was, obviously, challenged because it's scary. Well, duh. It tells you that right in the title, parents. <~~ LOL, love this! I couldn't agree with you more!

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  12. This series really is scary, I agree! We have it in the school library where I work, and it is very popular. However, at another elementary in our district, we had a parent challenge it- this and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I remember reading this book when I was a kid too, and the pictures freaked me out!

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  13. I agree with this. As a parent of one minor, and one who just turned 18, I have let them be exposed to lots of different things, but have watched to see what they were reading or listening to, just in case it was something inappropriate for their age. I think that's not only a parent's right, but their duty as well.

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  14. I'm with you on it being a parents right to monitor what their children read and at what age they read it. Great post, I had no idea about the fight to put parent advisory labels on record albums.

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  15. I *loved* the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series growing up. I still tell some of the stories out of those books. :)

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  16. I love Scary Stories...they're constantly checked out from my middle school library!!!

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  17. Yes! It's about parental responsibility. I don't agree with everything out there but I don't want it banned either. The minute I start banning, others will start banning me.

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  18. I'm not even a parent but I often cringe when I read something that might not be 'appropriate' but then always wonder why not? I just hope the kids can handle it - but I don't even really know what that means! Maturity comes at different ages and it's not my call. If a kid likes to read, that is THE BEST. When I work in the schools, it saddens me when the kids just hate to read at all.
    I don't know a thing about these Scary Stories you speak of. Maybe I will check it out as another RIP book this season. :)

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