doing my part

...of mice and men by john steinbeck...
...bridge to terabithia by katherine paterson...
...the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger...
...the giver by lois lowry...
...go ask alice by anonymous...
...the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood...
...a light in the attic by shel silverstein...
...the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky...

as banned books week winds down, i took a few minutes to peruse the lists of the most frequently challenged books. this is a list of a few of my favorites.

it blows my mind that we still deal with this kind of censorship and infringement on intellectual freedom. i can't believe that there are people who think that by allowing our children to read - to be exposed to new and different ideas and perspectives - that they are somehow going to be irreparably damaged. as though exposure to and understanding of difficult and uncomfortable issues (which in turn can breed tolerance and sensitivity, heaven forbid), aren't valuable pieces to the education process.

anyway, go ahead. join in. fight back. read banned books.

"where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings."
—heinrich heine, from his play almansor (1821)