Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week is a week in which libraries, schools, and other parts of the community celebrate the freedom to read what we want. The theme this year is young adolescent fiction. 

Banned Books Week was created in 1982 in reaction to several challenges toward specific books. According to the Banned Books website, 11,300 books have been challenged since then. 

It is important to know what our students are reading, but by saying "no," we are closing several doors and opportunities of learning. Let us celebrate this week by reading something we may not have considered in the past. 

Some well-known challenged books are:

• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

So, even if we believe a book has questionable material within its pages, it may be something students need to learn.

We have the freedom to read so why not read to enhance our minds?