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Censorship is the child of Fear and the father of Ignorance
Laurie Halse Anderson

Banning books is just another form of bullying.
It’s all about fear and an assumption of power.
The key is to address the fear and deny the power.
James Howe

The books that the world calls immoral
are the books that show the world its own shame.

Oscar Wilde

The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.
Tommy Smothers

What do JK Rowlings, Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Giesel, Shel Silverstein, RL Stein, Philip Pullman, Madeleine L’Engle, Roald Dahl, and Judy Blume all have in common? How about if we add in Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, John Steinbeck, Margaret Mitchell, JRR Tolkien, Harper Lee, Alice Walker, Margaret Atwood, Maya Angelou, and Jack London?

These are all authors who are on the frequently challenged book lists.  Meaning, narrow-minded people try to ban their books from schools and libraries more than any other books.  Yes, people still do that in this day and age.  People who are afraid of thinking, afraid of ideas, afraid of other people, and afraid of learning still try to ban books so they can try to control the thinking of the people around them.

This year’s Banned Books week theme is that censorship divides us. Most of the books on the top 10 banned books of 2020 deal with racisim.  Some are familiar like To Kill a Mockingbird and others are new like Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.  Sounds like racists don’t want you to read books about racism  Just another way of keeping people down by controlling their minds.

If you wish to know more about Banned Book Week,please go to the American Library Association.  Remember, a banned book is a loss for everyone.  I encourage you to read a book or two from one of the banned books lists.