BANNED BOOKS WEEK GIVEAWAY HOP

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop is sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books and runs from Sep. 24th through Oct. 1st.
Read on for a chance to win a FREE book!

Can you name last year's Top 10 Most Challenged Books?


Challenged books? Oh, you thought this post was about banned books, right? Well, yes and no. The American Library Association receives hundreds of "challenges" each year. According to the ALA website, "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials (from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others), based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials." Thanks to librarians, teachers, parents and other concerned citizens, most challenges do not result in a book being banned. There is another word for these challenges and bans:  CENSORSHIP.

Enter giveaway HERE!!!

Those who attempt to ban books (usually in an effort to protect children from age inappropriate content) often mean well. However, according to the Library Bill of Rights, “...parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” Attempts to restrict free speech (including books) violates the First Amendment. (For more information about censorship and Banned Books Week, please visit the ALA Website.)

Some of the authors on the most frequently challenged books list of the past decade surprised even me:  Maurice Sendak, Dav Pilkey, Katherine Paterson, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee and Mark Twain. Some of the books on the list were written before I was born, before my parents or even grandparents were born! (Give them a rest already!) Many titles are Newbery Award winning books.

Enter giveaway HERE!!

As an author myself, I affirm my constitutional right to free speech. Don't misunderstand me. Many books do contain explicit content that many families may find inappropriate or offensive. This is why I also advocate a parent's right and responsibility to be the gatekeeper for their own children. Parents should know what their kids are reading and be willing to set limits within the walls of their own homes. However, parents also should read what their kids are reading and be willing to discuss these books with their kids, even "offensive" books that may actually address issues of concern to today's youth.

In honor of Banned Books Week, I am giving away a copy of Ellen Hopkins' book CRANK inspired by her own daughter's addiction to crystal meth.  If you'd like more information, visit Ellen's website. Ellen's books are consistently on the challenged books list.

To enter the giveaway, please complete the entry form HERE. Then stop by the other participating websites listed below.  In the meantime, have you ever read a banned or challenged book? If so, which one(s)? Where do you weigh in on this issue? I'd love to know!

P.S. The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2010 were:  1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson; 2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie; 3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; 4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins; 5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins; 6) Lush, by Natasha Friend; 7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones; 8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich; 9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie; 10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer