Matt de la Peña and Cultural Censorship

Upcoming conference keynoter Matt de la Peña visited Tucson last week.

The trip bears mention because the students raised the money themselves to bring Matt out to speak, and Matt spoke at one of the schools that had recently removed his novel MEXICAN WHITE BOY (and a lot of other books) for being too Latino.

You can read about Matt's experience here, and see the New York Times coverage here.

Banned Books Week (Sept 25-Oct 1)

Thanks to Janet Lee Carey for sending this post!! Read an interesting post on Library Lions about Banned Books Week.

Lesley James, librarian at Douglass-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library roars about Banned Books,

"The serious fact is that every year books are removed from the shelves of libraries when library staff responds to patrons’ official complaints by choosing to censor. Librarians and other educators who consider themselves staunch supporters of the First Amendment want to bring this to the attention of the public so they can appreciate their Freedom To Read. It’s also a great opportunity to examine the issues and emotions that prompt those complaints and the prices we sometimes pay for having the freedom."

She also shows amazing displays, and talks about how she handles the subject of Banned Books when she visits schools. Swing by and read the article. It's only up for this week.

This week in censorship

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.