As a child, I was an avid reader, to the point that the librarian would let me take out as many books as she thought was reasonable rather than the set limit. Over Christmas break, I was probably in fifth grade, she let me take The Yearling, a very large book that took me the whole break to finish. I read above my grade level as long as I can remember. I still love to read, although I don't devote the time I would like and am often relegated to reading "work" stuff rather than fun stuff.
This week, celebrate the freedom (fREADom) to read. Here are some links about Banned Book Week http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm and http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/01/20091001books-banned1001-ON.html, Banned and Challenged Books http://www.banned-books.com/, and Tango Makes Three--the top challenged book in the US the past three years http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/02/and-tango-makes-three-banned-books.
Many challenges today seem to be due to content that parents don't want their children reading. Isn't that part of a parents job--to monitor the child's activities? Don't take the choice from everyone else that doesn't share your views. It's probably more important that children ARE reading than WHAT they are reading.
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