Library Assistant Book Report

The subject of babying and coddling children and teens is talked about more than ever. Parents catering to their kids every need, wanting them to be as safe as possible, even when they’re not around them. Parents are opposing books that explore violence, race, religion, sexual orientation, mental illness, and disability. Libraries are following in this trend, separating any novels that may be dangerous our kids and teens, or in fact society. But is it safe? Safer to separate books with controversial, ‘ungodly’ themes in an attempt to protect our kids from events that may occur in their future?

I am writing to you to protest the School Board’s proposed banning of the book A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer. The book spent six years on the New York Times best-seller list, was an international best seller, and received a Pulitzer Prize nomination. As an award-winning author, Mr. Pelzer has shared his true-life story based on a childhood where he received physical and mental abuse by his alcoholic mother.

Parents who support the banning of books in public and school libraries bring up points that some of the more mature themes in books such as drugs, violence, and racism are too much for middle and high schoolers, and even young children if these books are found at the public library. But, what these adults seemingly fail to realize is that their children, at one point or another in their lives, they are going to be exposed to it. If anything, reading about them in a book with the opportunity to understand it is 1000 times better than experiencing it first hand later in life for the first time. And to address the issue about young children finding books with such themes, there are many ways, all simple, to fix this. Some more simple way such as labelling the spine with an “M” sticker for books that contain mature themes is a great way to distinguish between books. One could also just put these books into a section for teenagers so that small children can not get to them.

     It is well known that books read by adolescents are somewhat inappropriate in certain ways such as language and the types of actions done by the characters. Some books consist of drugs, sex, and violence which obviously isn’t very appropriate nor does it consist of

Many parents monitor what their child is reading. When something is brought home that they don’t agree with, this is when the anger comes out. Every parent believes the library’s policies should be set “by the people” (Berry). Parents believe when a book is “threatening” towards their child it should immediately be removed from all shelves and forbid from being read by any other students. This situation happens quite often, but in realization no child should be told what they are allowed or not allowed to read by another student's parent. Some parents have even began to call them “challenged” books because they believe the term is too harsh, and sounds too much like censorship. Once again the term fear manifests itself; parents are extremely afraid of what their child can find in between the pages of a book. Many of the times the parent will not read the book, but rather read the premise and decide from there. Parents do not realize that the book they are reading could be the most important books that child or teen could ever read. “Words and ideas... will help them fight their monsters” (Finan). Children will never know how to be the best that they can be unless their parent’s guide them in the right direction, and that direction is towards the restricted section of the

According to the American Library Association (ALA), young adult novels are challenged with the best intentions. In most cases a parent will read a book that their child might be reading in class to find out if the book is hazardous to their child’s well-being. If the novel seems problematic, the parent then challenges the book. Even though the purpose of challenging a novel is to keep children from reading about issues that may not be seen as appropriate for their age group, censoring children from difficult subject matter is not always the solution. There is always controversy when difficult issues arise in adolescent geared novels. Even though there are many concerns with Lois Lowry’s The Giver,

Tony grew up with to the best upbringing and home life. When he was younger his father left him and his family behind and he has not had ay contact with

has some family ties and was written with a bit more passion than the average fifth grade book.

Term II Reading Project: Response to Literature Essay The book A Child Called It, by Dave Pelzer is very traumatizing and gruesome. The author, Dave, wrote about his abusive childhood with very descriptive details and imagery. In the book, Dave is a student in elementary school and is only twelve years old at the beginning of the book.

In New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success, Ruth Toor and Hilda Weisburg present a one-stop manual for first-year school library that details numerous aspects of what it means to be a successful school library media specialist. The authors, both of whom are veteran former school librarians, outline everything from the job interview to the last day of school, sharing years of wisdom and practical insight into the ins and outs of the profession. Special attention is paid to developing relationships between the various members of the school population and associated individuals, including students, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and volunteers. The authors remind school librarians to keep

"Censoring books that deal with difficult, adolescent issues does not protect anybody. Quite the opposite. It leaves kids in the darkness and makes them vulnerable. Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance. Our children cannot afford to have the truth of the world withheld from them” (Halse).

Having a connection with a book and having it be comparable to an event that a child id going through can affect them tremendously.

”(Dangerous Books) This book includes violence, sexuality, and other “Adult themes like infanticide (baby killing) and euthanasia (mercy deaths).” (The Giver, Novels for Students) Children should not read this book because of these

Censoring books is perceived as a way of parents protecting their children from scandalous subjects, however, by banning books they deprive them essential lessons they can use in society. An example that Lee Burress offers in Battle of the Books, is how a book can give a modern perspective on a subject, children are unfamiliar with, but may encounter. “Foster Child by Marion Bauer is a banned book that gives a modern perspective of how modern foster children are treated” (Burress). It touches the subject of sexual abuse and although parents try to protect their children from these subjects: it is better for children to know what sexual abuse is rather than remaining ignorant. In this case ignorance is not bliss and it can lead to children being unable to identity when they are being molested. It can also teach children empathy and lead them

There are numerous children’s books available for educators to utilize as they create, integrate, and incorporate reading books into their lessons. When selecting books for students, many factors come into play. One central component to employ when selecting Children’s books is ensuring the book is developmentally appropriate for the child (Lennox, 2013). In order to select