Banned Books Week: A Roundup

While you’re thinking about what books you’d like to nominate for this year’s Cybils, check out this roundup of Banned Books Week posts and info from around the Kidlitosphere–it’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s got some interesting tidbits that I either ran across on my own or that were passed along to me throughout the week. Enjoy, and here’s to expanding our own reading horizons and teaching our children to actively read and think for themselves!

•  First, I have to thank the good folks at First Second for the fabulous animated GIF over there, featuring characters from one of their upcoming graphic novels, Americus–“about Neil Barton, a teenager growing up in Oklahoma, and his fight to keep his favorite fantasy series, The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, in his public library.” I’m already looking forward to it–check out the webcomic version here.
• Via NPR comes an interactive Google map of every location in the country where books have been banned.
• Via Leila at Bookshelves of Doom comes the news that–during Banned Books Week, no less–The Hunger Games was challenged.
• Children’s author Lucy Coats, at her blog Scribble City Central, discusses the challenge to Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and relates her own feelings with heartfelt and wrenching honesty. In a follow-up post, she discusses the amazing reaction to her initial post, and shares a striking poem about book banning by Ellen Hopkins.
• Cybils YA panelist Ami Jones, of Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian, discusses their library’s Banned Books Gala (something I dearly wish our library could have had!), the challenge to Hunger Games, and more.
• Guys Lit Wire contributors post recommendations of some of their favorite banned books.
• Author Cheryl Rainfield discusses banned books in the wake of various recent challenges to YA books and authors, and relates a wealth of links on the topic.
• Angela Peña Dahle of A Pen in Neverland–a brand-new-to-me blog–fun!–discusses her feelings about book banning and invites your comments on her Workshop Wednesday feature (how neat is that??).
• The redoubtable Ms. Camille of BookMoot is quoted in a TIME magazine article about the Ellen Hopkins-disinvited-from-Humble-Teen-Lit-Fest incident.
• Alex at The Children’s War (another blog that’s new to me) discusses the classic Summer of My German Soldier in admirable depth, and I learned that this is one of three WWII-themed books for children that have been banned (both recently and repeatedly).
• Ellen Hopkins’ excellent anti-censorship manifesto for the Huffington Post includes her poem referenced above, her story about the Humble Teen List Fest, and more.
• Sheryl McFarlane, on her Book Blog, talks about some of the more laughter-inducing reasons for book banning, as well as linking to an excellent Banned Books quiz and banner.

All I can say is, our kidlitosphere is amazing when it comes to these things. Thank you to all the folks on the listserve who shared their posts and introduced me to some new blogs and bloggers in the process!