For The L♥ve of Reading discussion

Here are a few books banned because they were deemed to be inappropriate for children. How many have you read? Or are on your TBR list?

1.The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
2.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-Mark Twain
3.Forever-Judy Blume
4.The Golden Compass-Philip Pullman
5.Lord of the Flies-William Golding
6. Harry Potter series-J.K. Rowling
7. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
8. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.
9. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
10.A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
11.The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.
12.The Giver by Lois Lowery.

There are quite a few of them on my TBR list. I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and see nothing wrong with it. I started to read A Wrinkle in Time and HP and didn't see anything wrong with them either.

Hermione is a terrible role model. I would never want my kinds to grow up like her. What was Rowling thinking? Geez.

Why do you thing Hermione is a terrible role model?

That's what I was wondering. She's my favorite. And has been since I was younger. I related to the whole know-it-all thing.

I know (unless Elyssa is joking)! I love Hermione - she's intelligent, hardworking, and isn't like so many silly girls of her age who only care about how they look. Of course, Hermione is insecure underneath, which is why she's so much of a know-it-all sometimes, though that's one of my favorite aspects of her character - like everyone else, she's not perfect.

Out of that list, I haven't read (but want to read) The Catcher in the Rye, Forever, James and the Giant Peach, And Tango Makes Three, and The Chocolate War. I've read the others and I love them all, especially The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. I can see why parents would want to wait to read certain books until they're old enough to handle the language or themes, but I think it's horrible to ban books

i feel so ignorant but...whats a TBR list?

How are Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver and James and the Giant Peach inappropriate?

good question

TBR = To Be Read :)

ah ok thanks ;PPP

Mary wrote: "Why do you thing Hermione is a terrible role model?"

Sorry, I was just kidding. Making fun of all the people who wanted to ban Harry Potter. I would love to have my boys want to be like Hermoine. Or strong and independent like Harry. Isn't there something better out there for those people to do?

LOL Good, because I couldn't figure out what you saw bad in Hermione that I didn't see. I read the first 3 HP books before my daughter did. I wanted to see what all the controversy was before she was ready to read them. I loved them. In fact, we went to the midnight release parties for the last 3 books and had a wonderful time. She won the 2nd place in line for the book at the last one. She was reading it by 12:01 am and by the time I got up the next morning, she was done with it.

James and Giant Peach

This book has been challenged because it’s too magical, advocates communism , and because James disobeys his Aunts, despite the fact that they are abusive. It's just a story.

A Wrinkle in Time
Censorship for this book is because of witches, crystal balls and demons. Also, because Jesus is listed among the the names of great artists, philosophers and teachers. Isn't that awful?

I have not read this book yet but I want to. A few other people have told me that The Giver is one of their favorite books.

Yes it is awful. I didn't get very far in the book, so I wasn't subjected to too much of that stuff. I never got to the Jesus part, but yes, it is definitely awful.

Catamorandi wrote: "Yes it is awful. I didn't get very far in the book, so I wasn't subjected to too much of that stuff. I never got to the Jesus part, but yes, it is definitely awful."

Which book?

The Golden Compass-Philip Pullman
Lord of the Flies-William Golding
Harry Potter series-J.K. Rowling
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.

I've read all of these ones. Bridge to Terabithia was my favorite. But I don't understand why it's banned?

Maybe because
*Spoiler that I think everyone knows*














she dies? I know I hated that book because of it...

i dont know
but theres death in other childrens books
too.
i think...
so why even bother

I was talking about A Wrinkle in Time.

Who is to say what is inappropriate for kids. There are a lot of kids out there who are well read before they go to high school. They have read all kinds of books and have had no problems develop from any of them. Others could have nightmares, flashbacks, etc. It depends on the child. I think children are probably their own best judge of what they can handle and what they can't.

I don't think its good to sit and say you can't read this, seems to promote its reading. I would rather say if you can read it and your interested try it. I would hope that I would be there to help with it and provide my take on it as well. I'm also not a parent so I'm not sure how my views will change seeing MY child in front of me.

I've read the Harry Potter series,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and A Wrinkle in Time. I've been thinking about reading The Giver, Bridge to Terabithia, and James and the Giant Peach but I haven't officially put them on my to-read list because I'm not completely sure if I want to read them.

Of the books I've read I can't see why these books would be banned because I've read others with more controversial stuff in school so I have to wonder.

Xx. (smiley.miley) .xX wrote: "I've read all of these ones. Bridge to Terabithia was my favorite. But I don't understand why it's banned? ."

Jordan is right about one of the reasons. Another reason is that their imagination was considered witchcraft back in the day.

I try to encourage my boys to open their minds a bit more then what they do.

❤ ☠ Elyssa ☠ ❤ wrote: "Xx. (smiley.miley) .xX wrote: "I've read all of these ones. Bridge to Terabithia was my favorite. But I don't understand why it's banned? ."

Jordan is right about one of the reasons. Another rea..."


ah. i understand now. but they had amazing imaginations, if anything i want my baby girl to grow up that way. just without her best friend dying.

I've read them all except #9. I enjoyed them all. I cried like a baby reading Bridge to Terabithia. Fantastic book.

What reason is given for The Giver to be banned???

I've read 3,4,5 and 6. I can understan why 'Forever' is inappropriate for children under a certain age but I can't understand why they need to ban books, let people make their own choices on what they read.

I mean seriously, Harry Potter is inappropriate for children? You have GOT to be kidding.

Hi everyone, I have read half of the books listed and I have to say back in my day when I was in school "1970", a couple of those books listed were what we read in our school (Houston, TX). As far as the Harry Potter series and the Dark Materials Series, I didn't find anything offensive about it.

I believe that the reason these books are band is because now days we have so many different types of religions and christianity is viewed differently in each one of them. What most parents don't realize is that the ages have changed and are more educated or smarter and not so brain washed in the beliefs they were grown up in. Some call it rebelion but in reality it is called being independent and having their own ideas.

By baning these books, society is trying to not expose the imagination of a child but in true reality if you think about it, these kids learn these ideas from the TV such as in cartoons, movies, and most of all from their other friends at school.

I believe that the more a parent or society keeps from a child the more rebelious the person will become, kind of like when you tell your kid "No", they do it anyway.

Also, most parents guard their children from the truth, for example they don't let their children go to funerals and tell their kids that their in heaven and will see them when they go to heaven.

Being a parent of 3 children (grown now), I am a little more open minded and exposed my children to the reality and not lie to them. When I lost my 3rd husband, I took my children to the funeral and let them touch him. I wanted them to know the truth.

I could go on and on and give many examples of what society and parents keep from their children. But what I want to point out is that grown ups have to grow up. No one stops growing up, we should learn something everyday, and the only way we are to grow up is by exposing ourselves to these types of books so we can understand our children and maybe teach them the significance behind what they see and learn and read.

Sorry to rattle on, but I am a 46 year old Army Veteran who has experienced life in war and from a very strict religion when I was a child. I am one of the ones who rebelled and went my own way and to this day I do not go to church but I still hold the christian values of being respectful but letting my children have/making their own choices and not forcing them or brain washing them.

I guess I was lucky growing up while my parents did protect me from somethings. My father's philosophy was expose her in an environment that I can control. I was allowed to read above my grade level which I was doing by the third grade. We would discuss the book and what my father thought might be inappropriate and taught me values from their prospective. I knew other people where like mentioned above they were sheltered and not exposed to the various aspects of life.

As to the point of Harry Potter and other books. Aren't you glad that schools are actually introducing material that kids can be interested in?

Jencey wrote: "Aren't you glad that schools are actually introducing material that kids can be interested in? "

Hi Jencey, The only thing I don't like about what they are letting our kids today read is that they are cutting out all the important facts of the story (like death)or of the history (Constitution & Bill of Rights founders like our forefathers history or the reasons for the wars we've lived through). Also, I think they should be teaching Anthropology (the study of humans, culture characteristics, distrbution, customs, social relationships of humanity) instead of Psychology or Health Class. As far as english lit class for High School goes, I think they could do better with the reads they choose or maybe even choose reads that some freshman college students have to read.

Actually I believe Health Class needs to be eliminated (they learn sex from TV & Moviesor and in Biology when they study the reproductive system)- I believe that it should be the parents responsibility to teach their kids about sex,their sexual body parts and the types of protection to use.

I agree that parents should teach their children about sex. In fact because my parents did I skipped that class in middle school and highschool. I currently work in Special Education in the elementary school system in Georgia. I only see the regular education kids when I tutor them. I could go off on a tangent about NO Child left behind and how screwed up it is. The education system has become more about meeting standards and less about what Ronda mentioned above. I do think that through using Accelerated Reader schools could interest kids and get them reading more. There was a time when I would have said I would only put my kids in public schools but that is not the case anymore.

Jencey wrote: "There was a time when I would have said I would only put my kids in public schools but that is not the case anymore...."

Me too Jencey - I highly recommend Home Schooling if a parent can do so - or at least put their kids in other activities or even in an advance educated class so they can advance.

Jencey wrote: "Aren't you glad that schools are actually introducing material that kids can be interested in? "

It is hard to please anyone now a days. Most parents probably find it irritating that they have to read with their kids every night. I get sheets sent home all the time for reading check offs.

Ronda - I also believe that the school system should think about reaching higher standards. I wish I had time to home school my boys. Home schooling would be a good independent at home job that some could do. Like DayCare.

By cutting out some of the important facts the schools are just helping coddle the children. I try to teach my boys important issues about these facts when we travel. EX... Devil's Tower. It is a scared area for Native Americans, however, it has been taken away. It is sad to see people climbing the beautiful rock. Also, it is a natural beauty that needs to be shared with everyone. I also mixed in the cultural stories of how the Tower became to be. It was enjoyable. I teach to respect others, their religions, culture, customs, and other aspects of being a human. I also incorporate the respect that nature needs. Which is even more important as we use up all of the resources and pollute the lands.

The hardest part for me is that my boys need to learn two different histories. The American history and Native American history. What is our history can make them fail history classes all together. Balance is hard.

Oh, I am so with you about sex ed. Parents should speak to their children. School with sex ed teach it way too late now a days that it is a just a waste of time and resources. Parents step up. It is embarrassing, get over it. Move on and talk about The birds and the bees.

I've run into an interesting problem with one of my girls teachers. My daughter is in the third grade and reads above a sixth grade level but her teacher doesn't want her to read anything above the the third grade level. She's essentially banned her from reading anything she considers difficult during her private reading time in class. I just think it's really odd.

How is she supposed to excel if the teacher holds her back? I would be mad about this.

I wish in a way I had your problem Amber. I tutor third graders and wish they had the drive to read above their grade level. Probably the problem has to do with Accelerated Reader. Schools can't provide very well for those who read above their grade level and then kids are punished for exceling. I think that there is an improper emphasis on AR to the point where it doesn't teach kids to enjoy reading. The focus is on how many points they can get. The point issue is probably what the teacher is worried about which is stupid.

YES!!! Her teacher does that AR program... it's quite frustrating. We've searched the list and found a few books that my daughter has enjoyed but for the most part she's either already read them or they just don't interest her. Her twin sister is in a different classroom and that teacher lets her read whatever book she likes. The difference is astounding. Oh also, the AR , banning book teacher won't let kids read the Harry Potter novels during their free reading time claiming they are too controversial and will make other parents angry... um excuse me but when do other parents get to decide what my family reads???

Hey Amber, see if the school has the Gifted and Talented program, thats what I had to put my kids in because they were always done with their work before the whole class was and my son was always in trouble at school because he was a clown and wanted to mess with everyone while they were working.

Even during their computer time when my son was in the third grade, he installed a game on the schools computer ( I had to get on to my brother who had been teaching him how to program and do stuff on the computer). Anyway, after I put him in the Gifted and Talented, things changed a little and pretty soon that wasn't enough so I enrolled him into an online college for the Gifted & Talent.

It is called EPGY http://epgy.stanford.edu/

or

http://www.scholarsearchassoc.com/pro...

They offer financial aid and even grants. By the time my son was in 8th grade, he took his first A.C.T. and scored as high as a 10th grader.

My two daughters weren't challenged enough either so I got them involved in the community theather and helping other kids after school.

Good to know. I've got a few more years before they are in high school. Hopefully, the teachers they have keep encouraging them to read, especially beyond their level reading.

I think all teachers should encourage their students to read. I keep thinking I might have liked reading a lot sooner than I did if I had been encouraged by my teachers, instead of being called "slow".

I do wish teachers would encourage reading at a higher level too, especially through high school. I remember doing the AR program in school from first through seventh grade. I have mixed feelings about it. Thankfully, although my teachers did not particularly push reading at higher levels, none of them attempted to restrict students who wished to do so. The first two years of the program fostered my love of reading, though by third grade, the drive for points took over. In a way, I don't consider this wholly negative, since it motivated some kids who weren't big readers, but it got me stuck reading many books I was completely comfortable with (such as the Redwall books) to get points fast. Over the years it seems that teachers eased up on the program, giving some students the freedom to read beyond what they usually would, but many students simply stopped reading and this is something that has continued through high school where many people I know do not read anything except the required reading and Twilight (I’m a sophomore in high school). By this point it doesn’t seem to me as though there’s much teachers can do to push reading (either you like it or you don’t), especially with technology taking up so much of students’ free time.

Come to think of it. I don't remember being pushed to read in HS either. It was usually read a book throughout the semester. Read the book, write a report, and hand it in. That is it. Unless, it was a lit class.

❤ ☠ Elyssa ☠ ❤ wrote: "I have not read this book yet but I want to. A few other people have told me that The Giver is one of their favorite books."

The Giver is amazing. It's one of those books that I tracked down and bought as an adult after having to read it in school. It's kind of grim but I don't think it should be banned.

As an aside regarding the brief commentary on sex ed: A lot of parents don't or won't talk to their kids and/or what they "know" is wrong or incomplete. And the biology part is concidered part of sex ed. Of course, right now we're stuck with 'abstinance only' which doesn't help get real, useful information out there at all. I'm a firm believer that more accurate information is a good thing.

i have only read 6,7 and 10.

Tiamat_the_red wrote: "As an aside regarding the brief commentary on sex ed: A lot of parents don't or won't talk to their kids and/or what they "know" is wrong or incomplete. And the biology part is concidered part of sex ed. Of course, right now we're stuck with 'abstinance only' which doesn't help get real, useful information out there at all. I'm a firm believer that more accurate information is a good thing."

I've had the sex talk with my boys. They are 8,7, & 5 (soon to be six). Five is a bit young but since I was talking to one and the others came in I made it a group thing. I know that boys at 10 are making babies. It isn't that far off and everyone once in a while i do bring up the subject with them and refresh their memories. Sex ed is probably a good class. However, most kids are smarter then we were at that age. They just know more. by the time that get to sex ed they have already learned about it else where. This way they are learning from me. And as a parent I have to excuse to when it comes to them turning into teenagers.

If you think about it and look back on history before they even had a class on sex ed in school or before seperate classes were even evented - People were getting married between the ages 10 and 13 yrs of age. My grandparents got married when they were 13 yrs old, evidently they knew what was going on, they had a kid every year for 10 years.

I believe ages 5 yrs old and up should be taught by their parents what sex is and there should be a constant reminder of the consequences that happen if you don't use protection. This is something that needs to be taught at home and not at school. Parents should teach their children to have good heads on their shoulders when making decisions and they can't learn that at school because once they are in school, they get peer presure and influenced.

As far as reading and watching rated R or X stuff on TV or movies, I don't have a problem with it because I look at sex as a beautiful thing when love is involved. I believe in reality and sugar coating reality with made up things is not going to protect them in the future.

A lot of religious groups would disagree with my statement but I know for a fact that the preachers kids on the block are always the first ones in trouble or are pregnant - this wouldn't happen if their parents would of been more open with them and didn't make everything look like some kind of sin.

ok, I will shut up now - sorry for rattling on - I'm just old and proud of the way I raised my kids which is the totally the oposite of the way I was raised.

I'm glad that someone has some of the same views as me. I got a flack fir telling my little one about sex but really there is no good time except as early as posible. I don't let them watch x stuff but rated r doesn't bother me to a point. There are many zombie vampire movies that are rated R, which they happen to love. As for sex they know about it and still think it is gross so they make fun of the couple and say I don't have to worry about them liking a girl for a long time. Which is good!!! You are right about the marriage thing. Even within our tribes women were married off young. So the big bad movie ends up being made fun of by kids. Which I find funny and like the conversations that can come up. My boys also love CSI, graphic yes! At least they learn a bit and I don't have to watch lame shows.

CSI is a good show to watch especially for kids - I think it is very educational and not only that, it puts ideas in their head that maybe they want to be a cop, a doctor, a forensic scientist - which by the way make good good money, or even a detective. Not only that, the science of it, they would learn more off the TV than in science class. Also the learn the concept that evil is eventually caught and sent to jail.