Jackie Zataweski is the director of the Nottoway County Library in Crewe, Virginia. She is a frequent contributor to This Awful-Awesome Life.
Every September, libraries across the country celebrate Banned Books Week, and this year will be no exception. The official celebration is September 24-30, but there’s no time like the present to read a banned book!
Banned Books Week was first recognized by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982, but it wasn’t until I began working in a library that I learned of it. My immediate reaction? “Someone says these books should be banned? I must read them to find out why!“
It seems I’m not alone in this. For the past ten years, I have been creating simple displays of frequently challenged books, and every year, I find myself having to re-stock it on a daily basis. Here’s a brief list of books I have read simply because they made the Top 100 List of Challenged Books (2000-2009):
· ttyl (Lauren Myracle)
· And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson)
· Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
· To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
· Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Photo Credits:
ttyl book cover - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ttyl.jpg#/media/File:Ttyl.jpg
And Tango Makes Three cover art: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4940450
Catcher in the Rye cover art - qualifies as fair use under the Copyright law of the United States.
To Kill a Mockingbird book cover: http://www.lib.ua.edu//sites/default/files/lee_firstedition.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6376456
Fahrenheit 451 cover art: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10504500