In honor of the upcoming Banned Books Week beginning on September 26th, I bring to you an author who is already feeling the heat. I've read most of Ellen Hopkins poetry lexicon and they are phenomenal. I would highly encourage middle school readers to read her works and enjoy the way she uses poetry to tell a compelling "close-to-true" story about a girl with a serious drug addiction, one that interferes with her well being as well as her baby's.
From the ALA newsletter:
Author talk canceled until school reviews her book
A visit by a best-selling author to Whittier Middle School in Norman, Oklahoma, was canceled after a parent questioned the content of one of the author’s books. Author Ellen Hopkins was scheduled to speak to 8th-graders September 22 about her career, writing process, and books. But she was notified that her visit was canceled because a parent at the school requested a review of her book Glass, the second in a series about a teen dealing with drug addiction. Hopkins said it's ironic her visit was canceled this week because the ALA's Banned Books Week begins September 26....
Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Sept. 22
Censorship has always been a huge issue for me. So banned book week is a big deal. When I was student teaching, we presented the kids with a huge list of books that had been banned and asked them to guess why. It's amazing how the impetus to ban books from libraries and schools comes from both left and right-wing extremists.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a paper on book banning in School Libraries for my ethics class. I'd love for you to read it sometime. You're absolutely right though, censorship knows no political party. It can attack from all sides.
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