Every year I am astonished by the books that are challenged for inclusion in libraries and schools across the country. I'm always reminded of a book I read as a child- Maudie and Me and the Dirty Book. Love them or hate them, not every book is a good fit for every person, but no one has the right to tell me what I can or cannot read. Banning books is wrong and I am disheartened that the list of books grows every year.
Here is the top ten list for 2007- read as many as you can! For the record, I LOVED the top book on the list And Tango Makes Three. It is heartwarming, it is about love and family, it is beautifully illustrated and sensitively handled, it is a TRUE story, it is about penguins, and yet it was the most challenged book last year for the following reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, and Unsuited to Age Group. One reviewer on Amazon said the book "went against everything the Word of God speaks of" which just made me sad- sad, and glad that my view of the Word of God stresses the "Love thy neighbor as thyself" message. It also makes me want to scream "but they are penguins" at the top of my lungs to people complaining about the book endorsing homosexuality, but that is a post for a different day...
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