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By Mom Unplugged, October 1, 2009 9:45 pm

Thank you to on-the-ball “Mom” of Mom and Kiddo for reminding me that this is Banned Books Week sponsored by the American Library Association. Between last week’s Turnoff Week, our weekend trip to Phoenix, and my littlest home with the flu, I just plain forgot.

Since Banned Books Week doesn’t end until Sunday, October 3rd, there is still time to read a banned (or almost banned) book to your children. Remind them that they have a right to read!

Did you know that there are some fantastic children’s and young adult books that have either been banned, or attempted to be banned?

(TIP: I love these books, but obviously please make make sure that the subject matter meets with your child’s maturity level before offering as a reading choice. My children are still too young for some of these, but I have most of them saved from my childhood - or later - because I enjoyed them so.)

Here’s a list of some of my favorites:

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

• The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also by Roald Dahl

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

• Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings, again, by Shel Silverstein

• The Giving Tree, yet again by Shel Silverstein (you naughty boy!!)!

• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (again)

• 1984 by George Orwell

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

• All of the Harry Potter Books by J.K. Rowling

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The oddest ban that I found?

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

or maybe

• Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (you can get one of these dictionaries for as little as $0.01 plus shipping on Amazon if you want to read through it and try and figure what all the fuss is about)

And in my opinion, the most hypocritically banned young adult book of all time:

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

There are many more:

MORE BANNED BOOKS LINKS:

Challenged Children’s Books

Books Banned at One Time or Another in the United States

Amazon: So You’d Like to Read Banned Children’s Books

Banned Books: From Harriet the Spy to Catcher in the Rye

S-Collection: Challenged Children’s Books

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, March 1, 2008 10:19 am

Spring is in the air which means that seeds of all kinds will soon be sprouting: flower seeds, tree seeds…weed seeds. (Big sigh.)

Now is a good time to teach your little ones a bit more about seeds. I can’t think of a more lovely book for this purpose, than A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long.

This book is packed with interesting facts about seeds. Each two page-spread presents a one sentence fact, followed by a short explanation. For example the first page says: “A seed is sleepy.” Followed by: “It lies there, tucked inside its flower, on its cone, or beneath the soil. Snug. Still.” The information is presented in a sweet, almost poetic way that makes it easily accessible and enjoyable for a variety of ages.

What really makes this book truly wonderful though, are Sylvia Long’s amazing illustrations reminiscent of old, botanical prints. Her colorful paintings are incredibly rich and detailed. Ms. Long has a real eye for seeing and reproducing the beauty and wonder of even the simplest natural objects.

We love this book so much, that next on my wish list is Ms. Aston and Ms. Long’s other collaboration: An Egg Is Quiet

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, December 14, 2007 12:54 pm

I just bought the whole set of these for my almost two-year old. They were so lovely that I couldn’t wait for Christmas to bring them out!

These books are refreshingly simple. There are four in the series, one for each season. There are no words, only lovely drawings of children engaged in fun activities appropriate to the season of the book.

There is lots to see and talk about, from picking out objects and colors, to discussing seasons, weather, clothing, nature, activities and play! My daughter loves these and will sit and pore of the pages with great interest.

Another thing I really like about these books is the fact that they are sturdy board books. This is good for us, since I think ours will get a lot of love and use!

Thank you to Greenemother of The Owl and the PussyCat, where I first learned of the series. I urge you to read her thoughts on these lovely books. I am grateful for your recommendation!

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By Mom Unplugged, November 23, 2007 8:09 pm

The Tomten is a very old little elf-like creature who lives in the hayloft on a wintry Swedish farm.

No one has ever seen him, and only the children know of his presence. He comes out at night and checks on all the animals, and the family, making sure they are safe and comfortable, reminding the animals that spring is on the way.

This is a simple story with gentle, rhythmic text and soothing, muted illustrations. A wonderfully peaceful bedtime read by Astrid Lindgren, author of Pippi Longstocking and The Children of Noisy Village. (See my post on The Children of Noisy Village.)

Awards: An ALA Notable Book, and a Parent’s Choice Paperback Award Winner.

Also:

Comments (9)

By Mom Unplugged, November 19, 2007 11:25 pm

Tonight I heard on NPR’s All Things Considered an interesting story that fits right in with Unplug Your Kids so I absolutely have to report it for those who might have missed it. Sorry to postpone my next Christmas/Holiday Unplugged post for anyone who really cares, but I’ll get it up tomorrow morning or evening.

The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) has just released today, a new study on the reading habits of Americans: children, teens, and adults. Here are some of the findings:

++ Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years

- Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier.

- Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.

- On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.

++ Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.

- Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers.

- 2005 reading scores for male 12th-graders are 13 points lower than for female 12th-graders, and that gender gap has widened since 1992.

- Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.

According to NPR, an earlier NEA study was criticized for only considering adults reading literary works, fiction, poetry, and drama. This time the study also included all ages, and all reading materials, including newspapers, magazines, and even the internet. The results were the same.

There seems to be a decline in pleasure reading beginning in middle school and continuing on through high school and adulthood. People read less and less…and therefore, read less and less well. This affects academic and economic performance, as well as civic and political contributions.

Of course the obvious culprits appear to be electronic distractions, however some speak of a positive “New Literacy” among today’s youth, “a literacy not limited to books.” Dana Joya, Chairman of the NEA debunks this claim. Apparently all the kids tested engaged in the same sort of electronic activities, but those who READ BOOKS, did better on the tests.

Other interesting stats from the study :

55% who read below “the basic level,” were unemployed.

Only 3% of prison inmates are proficient readers.

(and I have to say I have not read the complete study so as to be able to exactly define the terms “basic level” and “proficient,” but at least this gives you a general idea).

The final tidbit that caught my attention from this report was that the NEA found that socio-economic status did not have an impact on the amount that children read, rather the defining characteristic, was the number of books in the home.

Links:

NPR story: Reading Study Shows Remarkable Decline in US

NEA: 11/19/07 New Reading Study Summary (and link to download full report)

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com and photographer jeltovski