Last year I had read the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie for a different class however I am using it to discuss banned or challenged books this week for various reasons. From what I know about this book, it is on the banned book list because of the alcohol abuse, foul language, and sexual innuendos. How could a book about a 15 year old boy not have any of that? From all of the teenage boys I have had to interact with these are 3 of their favorite topics.

I did research on why the book had been banned by school districts and found that the book had been banned due to the allegations I had made about it. There are several remarks to sexual acts but would it be completely wrong to add them into the story if it were a true event? This novel follows the story of Sherman Alexie and his growing up in school through the eyes of his character Arnold Spirit Jr. (Junior). It explains real situations he had to go through like the alcohol abuse among the reserve and death because of it. They are heavy topics for students to read about and the profanity used is nothing far from how the students are actually talking to each other. As well as the conflict that can erupt between teenage boys.

I would allow this book in my classroom if I were a high school teacher because not only is it something for students to connect with, it also contains components of cultural diversity with Native American’s being the main characters of the story. It gives students a new perspective on a different way of life and the hardships other cultures have to go through as well as important pieces to their culture. In this story an example would be when Rowdy had Junior go to the Spokane Powwow with him and Junior was able to truly see how his culture was progressing while he was attending a primarily white school off of the reservation.

As a middle childhood education major, I would not have this book in my classrooms because I do not think the children would be truly mature enough to handle the content as well as understand it. The students I will be teaching are significantly younger yet I know they will be exposed many things before they get to my class however I will not advocate for this book in a classroom of students younger than that of the main character who was a freshman in high school.

-Lydia

The book Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, was a favorite of mine growing up. It followed the story of Charlie the new kid in town which reminded me of myself because I was moving to a new high school from middle school so I too felt like the wallflower of school. The shy kid not too many people knew struggling with the internal conflicts of self identity and finding who I am meant to be.

However Charlie was also going through 2 deaths of people very close to him and I had not suffered the same way as he had. I went through my own experiences yet this book made me emotional and feel like I could connect with each character. Charlie had experienced trauma and was suffering, he needed friends to help save him. I felt this same feeling and sought out to be more involved to bring myself up out of the dumps. As he is getting more comfortable with his new life his relationships get complicated which most everyone can relate to. This book made me cry several times and it was even made into a movie that made me cry even harder because you know, the cinema makes everything much more dramatic.

This book changed the way I think of myself and others. I had not really known too much about mental health problems like depression and anxiety except people were sad and scared. This was until I had my own diagnosis of issues, I was fully able to relate and understand characters in ways I had not before. An example would be when Charlie grew exceedingly more sad about his friends going off to college, I could understand more fully about the anxiety he must have been feeling. Those kids were his only friends and he was more anxious as the time with them was getting shorter because he was afraid of being alone. I hate being alone as well and I could make connections with him and the other characters as they were growing up through high school.

-Lydia

Eleanor and Park was a book everyone in my high school had talked about. It was everyone’s go to Summer read, and of course, it so happened to be mine. A high school love story that took place in the 80’s? That was right up my alley however I did not feel attached to the characters at first and maybe that was because I couldn’t relate to either character.

Eleanor was a female with curly red hair who wore mismatching clothes on purpose as well as she was living in poverty. She was the outcast who kept to herself. Eleanor was living with younger siblings and only her mother trying to escape from Richie, her abusive stepfather. Park was an Asian american male living in the middle class. Popular among his peers.

This book is a story of both characters coming of age and forming an unlikely relationship overcoming the obstacles that are set out against them. It is a historical novel because it takes place in the 1980s even though it was written in 2010s. It talks about popular music artists from then like Joy Division and old technology like Walkman that even I myself had to look up so that I understood what it was. If I were to read historical novels, they would have to have some type of component I could relate to whether it be the location of the occurrence or the age of the characters when it happened.

While doing some research books I found that the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is commonly challenged in schools today. I haven’t read many graphic novels, especially autobiographical ones, and was intrigued that it was on a challenged book list. In the novel, Marjane Satrapi recounts growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She writes about the privileges she had growing up in an upper-class family and the discrimination she faced as a woman.

                Persepolis was the number two most challenged book in 2014. Many people claim it is “offensive, vulgar and promoted controversial racial and political issues.” This graphic novel has often been compared to Night by Ellie Wiesel and The Diary of Anne Frank due to their first-hand depiction of war and religious prosecution. These books have also faced challenges but are commonly taught in many schools. Some critics of Persepolis claim the images are too violent and much of the language is vulgar.   

                After reading this book I would definitely have it in my classroom library. I plan to teach high school and I think many older students would enjoy this book. Firstly, graphic novels are a great way to inspire students that may not like reading traditional books. Second, and most important, this book is a personal account of history that many students in the United States may not be familiar with. We as teachers cannot censor the history we are teaching students and banning this book because it deals with Iranian history is unacceptable. This is not a fabricated story, its real life, and for that reason alone it should be available to older students.

-Sam Goodreau

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky, although a major motion picture and considered a classic, is a challenged book. Why is this and who decides what is okay for kids to read and what isn’t. Should we trust the book banning system or be aware of its’ flaws?

When trying to find out why this books was challenged I noticed that the issue of the book being banned seemed to come from schools. 28% of all banned book issues come from school curriculum so it wasn’t surprising to see so many schools debating whether to keep the book or not. The school’s main issues with the both were: sex, masterbation, homosexuality, drug and alcohol use, and abortion.

    Now I would NEVER read this book to my classroom because I am an Early Childhood Major and elementary schools are no place to be talking about those topics. If I was a high school teacher though I would probably assign this book for my students. All the issues the school had with the book are things that high schoolers are and could potentially face. It would do them a disservice to just assign them books with no substance or reliability. I understand why certain books are not appropriate for certain audiences but I feel that as a whole school’s often underestimate their students and what they can handle. And one day students are going to grow up and have to face these issues so shouldn’t we do our jobs as teachers and prepare them for the world they are going to face?

-MP

For this week’s book, it was hard for me to choose a book since I do not really know any challenged books. I immediately went to Google and looked up, “Books that have been challenged.” I noticed a children’s book called, “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble,” and it caught my eyes.

All in all, this book leaves a good lesson to be learned. Within the story, Sylvester finds a magic rock that grants him wishes when he is holding it. Shortly after finding it, a lion approaches Sylvester, and he frantically wishes that he was a rock. His parents start a search party with all of the other animals in the town after he is turned into a rock. After months of trying to find him, his parents decide to have a picnic on the rock that happens to be Sylvester. His father finds the magic pebble and places it next to his lunch on the rock. Once the pebble is laid down on Sylvester, and he wishes himself to be his old self again. The moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.

After reading it, I wondered why it was challenged. I found out it was because the portrayal of the policemen as pigs sparked some controversy. During the Censorship Workshop, we learned that 45% of books that are banned are from public libraries themselves. After doing some research, this happened to be true for this book. Some public schools and libraries decided to ban it from their institutions. In all honesty, I have no idea why this book was challenged during its time. As a child reading this, I would learn the overarching lesson not so much what the animals in the town were being portrayed by.

If I were to teach elementary school, I would definitely include this book in my library. It teaches young children that the people close to you, like family and friends, are what matter the most. Children would not correlate a pig to something that is “bad” or “wrong” like the librarians and educators did with this one.

-SK

When I was younger my reading habits were very strange. My mom was an avid reader and encouraged me and my brother to read all the time. I loved the idea of reading but often struggled to get through most books. It wasn’t uncommon for me to checkout a book from the library and only get through a few chapters before I needed to return it. I struggled getting past the world building because I was only interested in the action and conflict. I didn’t have the attention span to get though the character introductions and I would often give up before the main story line even started.

In middle school we had to read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. It didn’t seem like a book I would like and I knew reading the first few chapters would be hard for me. I didn’t want to have to sit through all the world building to get to the main action of the story. When I started the book I was instantly hooked from the first line. I saw a lot of myself in Ponyboy and suddenly it wasn’t hard to get though the introductions. I absolutely devoured the book and was surprised at how easily I was able to get through it. To this day, The Outsiders is my all-time favorite book and it really opened my eyes to the power good character descriptions can have on the outcome of a book.

I no longer dread the beginnings of books, in fact I think it’s the most important part. Obviously the action/conflict is important but we have to know who the characters are as people so we can see the ways in which they develop throughout their journey. I was hesitant about The Outsiders but it actually ended up changing the way I approach books.

-SG

As a child, I was one of the odd people out. I never liked to read about fantasies, adventures, or just fiction in general. I liked to read books about former Presidents, celebrities, or figures in the media. I could not find a fiction book that I liked because I always thought it was lying to me because fiction is “false” and “untrue” (And yes, I really did think that as a child.” Even with realistic fiction, I could not find a book that simply pleased me.

In the fourth grade, my teacher had a classroom library. She would always put new books in there, both fiction and nonfiction, and the students in the classroom would go searching for a book. One day, I stumbled upon the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I read the back of the book to find out a little bit more of the story, and I decided to give this book a chance. As I delved into the book, I could not stop myself from reading it continuously.

The plot was so realistic of what people in middle school and preteens go through. Throughout the story, I was mesmerized by the events that Greg and the characters were going through. My all time favorite part is when everyone thinks Greg has the “Cheese Touch.” This is essentially a moldy piece of cheese that was left on the blacktop outside of school. When Greg and Rowley are forced to eat it, they are able to get out of it.The next day, the cheese is gone, and everyone thinks Greg ate it. By the end of the book, I did not even realize it was the end because it was so good and so realistic.

I know that most people would question: Why did this book shift your thoughts about fiction? Well, I will tell you. The characters seemed like true and authentic people, the situations were things that I have gone through as well (like being in a school’s play), and the author was able to create a fiction book of what a preteen usually goes through. For future authors, they need to create books that children can relate to their own lives. This is important so that children find comfort in reading fiction and nonfiction alike.

-SK

When I was a kid I never liked learning about history. So when my mom got me If The Walls Could Talk by: Jane O’ Connor I was a little less than thrilled. The book was fun trivia facts about each of the U. S. Presidents. I assumed it was just another history book so I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. That is why I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the book.

The format of the book made the illustrations the focus of the pages which made it easier and more entertaining to read. Each president had little text bubbles giving one fact about each of their various experiences in office. Some of the facts were more well known such as when the White House burned down, but others were obscured such as William McKinley’s wife banning the color yellow in the White House because she didn’t like it. It was a fun and easy to read book that even my mom enjoyed reading to me.

    Due to when it was published the book ended a With the 43rd president George W. Bush. Although the book is currently two presidents I would still recommend it. It is a short, fun book that is illustrated by Gary Hovland with fun caricatures of each president. If you are trying to get a child into reading more historical or non-fiction books I would recommend If The Walls could Talk Family Life at the White House by: Jane O’Connor Illustrated by Gary Hovland.

              When I was younger, I didn’t like to read historical fiction. It was never the subject I gravitated towards when picking out books. I thought they were boring because they focus on history and was more interested in adventure and thriller books. In middle school, we were tasked with reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This book drastically changed the way I read and gave me an appreciation for historical fiction.

              Number the Stars is about a Jewish family escaping persecution during World War II. It focuses on the main character of Annemarie who is 10 years old and her best friend Ellen. She had an older sister who was killed by Nazis and a younger sister that is still alive. We follow her and her family as they seek freedom in Sweden.

              This book helped me realize that just because a book is historical does not mean it will be a boring. Seeing WWII through the eyes of a child was very important and frankly life changing. I left this book with a deeper understanding of history and the countless people that were impacted during this time. It is very important that these stories are never forgotten and I’m glad to see them being made available to children. I recommend this book to anybody who is hesitant about reading historical fiction because it does an accurate portrayal while remaining interesting.

              As an adult, I think it’s extremely important that young people are reading historical fiction. These books tell stories that are important to the history of the United States and the world. Reading about children that lived through these historical events help carry on their historical legacy, so these stories are never lost or forgotten.  

-SG