I would not read you on a boat…
February 22-28 is Freedom to Read week. In celebration, here are a few of the more asinine examples of books that have been banned. According to forbiddenlibrary.com, members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee demanded the rejection of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl because it’s a “real downer.” The Durham District School Board in Ontario instructed teachers to only read Harry Potter books if all the students’ parents were unanimously in favour of the young wizard. How very Muggle of them. In 1989, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax was challenged in the Laytonville, California, Unified School District because it “criminalizes the foresting industry.”
This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2009.