I used to be a librarian for kindergarteners through 8th graders. I watched kids hunting for just the right book each week. I noticed little ones looking for books with funny elephants or cute dogs on the covers. Middle grade students usually wanted another book just like the last one they read or a book based on their favorite movie (not realizing that, (at that time), the book usually came before the movie). But the biggest kids often searched for something dramatically bloody or scandalous with swear words, or took a friend's word that a particular book might have a juicy photo in it.
At that time, the idea that some children's books should be banned wasn't often in the news but would pop up when a vocal citizen decided to make a fuss about a particular book that was a required read in a junior high classroom What upset me the most was, either I heard that the citizen creating the uproar had NO children in that school OR had only read the page where the "trouble" occurred because someone else discovered it.
What this type of book banner failed to realize was that children wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Children read books differently than adults and often missed controversial undertones that adults identified. So, make a fuss about something racy, or something with "bad" words, and that's the book kids want. Plus, kids figure out a way to find those books even if the school removes them.
I have friends who choose what their children may or may not read. Some of them discuss these reasons with the children, others do not. As a former librarian and educator, I am a book advocate; I want kids to read. As a writer, I am a children's book creator; I hope to provide books that kids will want to read. And I am sad, and sometimes angry, when someone believes they have the right to tell others what to read or not read.
Have a Fulfilling Friday!
Pat
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