Parents have the right to decide which books are appropriate for their child. They do so at the library and in the marketplace. Teachers/classrooms have alternate books children can read if a class-assigned book is objectionable to a parents(s).
That should be enough, but a growing number of conservative parents/groups want to control what every child reads.
My biggest concern is that many of these parents haven’t even read the books they seek to have removed from libraries and classrooms. They are accepting what conservative groups and other parents are claiming. Misinformation about books and authors is dangerous.
I understand the concept of letting kids be kids and protecting them from the harsh realities of life for as long as possible. I also believe that reading/discussing books with your child can open a dialogue about the inequalities in life and the challenges they or their peers will face.
When I was researching children’s books, I found a website called Tiny Beans. It has an article about children and banned books every parent should read. Here is the link, https://tinybeans.com/kids-books-and-childrens-books-that-are-banned-books/
From this article, I’ve selected ten books that have faced challenges. Many of these books were around when I was growing up and when I was raising children of my own. I still have several of these books in my home. In honor of our banned books issue, here are our picks.
1. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – In 1988, this book ended up on a Colorado libraries banned books list because a patron interpreted the tree’s “giving nature” as a sexual reference and objected to it on the basis of sexual content. You can’t make this stuff up! For ages 1-8
2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin. In a case of mistaken identity, a group tried to have this book banned because they believed the author was the same “Bill Martin” who pinned a book advocating Marxism. He is not. For ages 2-5
3. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss – Dr. Seuss books have received criticism lately because some people have accused him of being racist. That’s a can of worms I don’t have enough information about to open. This particular book was challenged in 2014 by a father in Toronto because he claimed the title and content encouraged kids to “use violence against their fathers. F.Y.I. – he also sought monetary damages from the library for “damages relating from the book.”
For ages 3-7
4. Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola – The late de Paolo’s classic about Grandma Witch and her magic pasta pot has been banned in several U.S. libraries for promoting witchcraft. For ages 4-8
5. The Family Book by Todd Parr – In 2012, families coming in all shapes, sizes, and colors was offensive to a group of parents in the Erie School District in Illinois because it included families with two moms or two dads. For ages 5-7
6. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – In 2006, a group of parents tried to have the book banned from classrooms because they believed talking animals were disrespectful to God. For ages 8-12
7. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh – Harriet is a beloved character worldwide, but this book is often challenged in school libraries because parents fear the book will encourage their children to spy, lie, talk back and curse. For ages 8-12
8. The New Kid by Jerry Craft addresses the difficulties he faced as the one of the only students of color in a private school with little to no diversity. Despite winning the Newberry Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award and The Kirkus Prize for Young Reader’s Literature, this book was banned by a Texas school district for teaching Critical Race Theory and Marxism. For ages 8-12
9. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank – This diary about the experiences of a young Jewish girl and her family hiding from the Nazis has often been challenged for sexual content. In 1983, the Alabama State Textbook Committee tired to ban the book for being in their words, “a real downer.” For ages 10 and up
10. Maus by Art Spiegelman – This Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the experiences of Spiegelman’s parents while interned in Auschwitz was banned in a Tennessee county for profanity, violence, nudity, and suicide. The book addresses the argument of how to tell the story of the Holocaust without including these things. For ages 11 and up