Just in time for Banned Books Week, Ellen Hopkins was barred from visiting a middle school in Norman, OK after a parent complained that CRANK--the semiautobiographical story about her daughter's addiction to crystal meth--was inappropriate for kids.
The full account is on School Library Journal, which has a link to Ellen's blog and her perspective.
This is something we should all be concerned about. It's one thing not to want your own kids to read a book. But it's another thing entirely when you don't think other people's children should. Drug use and abuse is the bad guy, not stories about it, and particularly not stories that show the true and horrible consequences. And it's a sad fact that many middle schoolers are exposed to drugs. Why not give them a story to help them understand the importance of making better choices?
This is just my opinion, of course. If you think otherwise, feel free to comment below.
2 comments:
i totally agree with your opinion, martha.
ironically, i still have an aunt in norman, oklahoma, and my family came from oklahoma, moving to texas after the dustbowl.
Deborah Reber has a great post up for teen readers on her blog: http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/?p=1460
Pass it along!
And Karen, maybe your aunt needs a copy of Crank. She can leave it on a park bench as an act of protest.
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