Judy Blume and Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week, and issues surrounding intellectual freedom in general, are far too numerous to cover in one blog post. And at the moment I won't cover the irony of being too busy to post more than once about Banned Books Week because I am working extra hours on my fall book fair this week. (The spring book fair is being held during Read Across America Week, a little balance to the irony there.)

One name that is often heard during Banned Books Week discussions is that of Judy Blume. Blume was listed as one of the Top Ten Most Challenged Authors from 1990 to 2004 by the American Library Association. Her books have tackled controversial subjects: menstruation, masturbation, teen sex, bullying, racism, divorce, and even the murder of a parent (Tiger Eyes). She was my favorite author when I was a tween and teenager; her stories were good, she wrote characters to whom teens could relate, and yes, she addressed subjects that were on the minds of many people, even if the subjects weren't being discussed. Last year she commented on book censorship in this YouTube video: Judy Blume on banned books .

She sums up many of my thoughts on the topic, but I will add this: two of the books that have been on the Banned Books list in the past 25 years, Captain Underpants (2000) and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1990) are two of the most popular books among my students--not because the books have been banned (they have no idea about that) but because the books speak to them somehow.

That said, one of the easiest ways to encourage a kid to read a book, is to tell him or her that he or she shouldn't read it, that it discusses "banned" topics. I can only remember how many girls I knew (yes, including myself) who could not wait to get our hands on a copy of Forever. And at age 40, I still have a hard time with the name "Ralph." But the book discussed issues that needed to be addressed: it is the rare teenager that does not at least question whether or not to have sex. Many teenagers have sex in committed relationships. And while some of those relationships do last "forever," many do not.

I always support a parent's right to make choices regarding keeping material from a child until he or she is ready for it. Some children are more sensitive to controversial material than others; I see this even among my own children, who have very different levels of tolerance for sticky or frightening subjects. And in an elementary school library, the already-fine line between "selection" (a positive, meaning choosing books that patrons will benefit from and enjoy) and "censorship" (a negative, meaning keeping from patrons books that are believed to harm them somehow) becomes even more blurred, as materials that are selected must both support the school curriculum and be appropriate for grades K-5--with the definition of "appropriate" being very different for each child and each family. But keeping a book off the shelf altogether, so that no one can see it, does not make the controversial subjects disappear; it just gives them less of a voice.