Free Your Mind

You might not know this, but I’m a rebel. For one week each year I attempt to get everyone to rebel with me. I read - wait for it - BANNED BOOKS! And so should you, if you want to. The 28th Annual Banned Books Week (September 25 – October 2, 2010), promoted by the American Library Association, endeavors to raise awareness about the practice challenging and banning and its hindrance to intellectual freedom. Some books that are banned in American school and libraries might surprise you, including The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Childhood favorites, one and all! Sadly, across the country and around the world, these and other classics are kept out of the hands of willing readers because someone they might have never met or heard of feels that they shouldn’t be reading it for one reason or another. Defend their right to read and yours by participating in Banned Books Week. Please visit the ALA website at http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm to see how you can get involved. You will also find a link to the top 100 banned and challenged publications, to further encourage your personal rebellion. Think for yourself and let others do the same!

-SCM