It’s Banned Books Week. Have you been celebrating your freedom to read the books other people think you shouldn’t? If so, you’ve earned the “reading banned books” merit badge!
Today dozens and dozens of bloggers (see list & links at the end of this post) are blogging about their favorite banned books. I decided to participate, but I am weak, Badger Scouts. I love too many books that have been challenged and banned. Every banned book list you look at online is only a partial list, yet they’re all packed with amazing stories. So I’m cheating slightly, and talking about four picture books + all the rest of the books in the history of the world.
Title: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By: Bill Martin Jr. (author) & Eric Carle (illustrator)
Something to love about it: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I love bright colors and animals and that is basically the definition of this book. Also, it’s the perfect read-aloud-in-the-classroom book.
Reason banned/challenged: Bumped from Texas elementary school curriculum because author Bill Martin Jr. was confused with the Bill Martin who wrote a book called Ethical Marxism.
Reason that’s a stupid reason: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? / I see a group of people who are more willing to ban a book out of fear than to actually do any research looking at me.
Title: Where’s Waldo
By: Martin Handford
Something to love about it: Hey kids, this is what we did before we had the Internets. And we liked it.
Reason banned/challenged: In the original 1987 edition, there was a woman in the beach scene who wasn’t wearing a bikini top and the side of her tiny cartoon breast was showing. (In the 1997 special edition of the book, a bikini top was drawn on. Man boobs in the same scene remained uncovered.)
Reason that’s a stupid reason: The book isn’t called Where’s Cartoon Cleavage? Kids were already distracted looking for Waldo. They didn’t care about anything without red and white stripes. In my experience, the Waldo-banners only succeeded in assuring every kid went out of their way to look for that half a pica of bare breast.
Title: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
By: William Steig
Something to love about it: “Sylvester was now as wide awake as a donkey that was a rock could possibly be.”
Reason banned/challenged: All of the characters in the book are animals. The Illinois Police Association and other groups objected to the police being shown as pigs.
Reason that’s a stupid reason: Civilians are shown as pigs and asses.
Title: And Tango Makes Three
By: Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell (authors) & Henry Cole (illustrator)
Something to love about it: This is the only book on the list that I hadn’t read before this week. I knew it had been a frequently-challenged book since its publication, so I requested it from the library. (Shout out to my local library system—every single banned book I searched for in the catalog was available at multiple branches. I love you, library!)
Wow. I’m kind of kicking myself for not reading it sooner. Male penguins Roy and Silo like being with each other instead of with girl penguins. They help their adopted baby Tango hatch from an egg that needs to be cared for. The story is well-told, the typography is great, and THE PENGUINS ARE SO FREAKING ADORABLE THAT I WAS NOT FULLY PREPARED FOR THEIR ADORABLENESS AND JUST KEPT STARING AT THEIR ADORABLENESS OMG!!!!
Reason banned/challenged: Seeing gay penguins as loving fathers will corrupt our youth! Oh no, oh no! Protect the children! [Paraphrased.]
Reason that’s a stupid reason: And Tango Makes Three is based on a true story. The events actually happened. Do these people want to ban nature, too? (Oh, wait, they probably do.)
Title: [Insert any title.]
By: [Insert any author.]
Something to love about it: [Insert any reason—or not. It could be a terrible book.]
Reason banned/challenged: [Insert ideas that someone doesn't agree with or is scared of.]
Reason that’s a stupid reason: THEY’RE ALL STUPID REASONS. You can argue point by point for your own amusement like I’ve done here, but there’s never a reason good enough to ban a book. You’re in charge of what you read forever, and what your children read for a limited period of time. But book banners? YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME. So there.
Programming Notes
Today’s the last day to enter The Badger Games for a chance to win your choice of real reading & writing badges. And tomorrow’s October, so BookOrTreat, BookOrTreat, BookOrTreat!
Part of the merit badges for readers series. The badge may be posted on your site or blog. Tell us why you’ve earned (or will never earn) it in the comments.
9 Comments
I used to read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble over and over a a little kid. The Brown Bear mixup shows how hastily these decisions are made.
I also reviewed a banned book today.
the “brown bear, brown bear” one gets me every time. it’s hard to believe people like that exist who are willing to ban something without even researching it (although, imo, banning in all forms is bad).
These are all great (all sorts of stuff going on in that Waldo drawing), but the last one is best. So there.
Gay penguins is, like, more charming than anything else in the universe we can think of that is charming at the moment.
i love you.
That first one floored me completely.
I was going to say something sarcastic about how many of the challengers honestly thought the book was about a Russian bear . . . but I was afraid someone would tell me.
@heather: I know. You already dislike them for trying to get anything banned, and then you find out they didn’t even check if the thing they were banning actually offended them. It’s a DOUBLE RAINBOW OF DISLIKE, all the way.
@the rejectionist: True story: I didn’t pick up the book from the library myself, and I was on the phone with my sister as I unpacked my banned book loot from the bag it was delivered in. I was just telling her that Tango had something to do with gay penguins when I burst out in what can only be described as squeals of delight upon seeing the cover illustration. Just from hearing my reaction, my sister immediately wanted to read the book. The cuteness conquers all space and time.
@Sarah W: Wait until they see the page after Brown Bear features Red Bird. IT’S GOT TO BE SOME TYPE OF COMMIE CODE!
They wanted to ban WALDO? (it’s Wally here, isn’t that weird? it’s like he wants to DOUBLY confuse us so we can’t find him, he is the master of disguise…. except he always wears stripes so there is that)
@Mia: I know Waldo is Wally over there—but does that mean Odlaw is Yllaw?