Banned Books Week: The Hunger Games

This week, in honor of "Banned Books Week," I will be taking a look at some of the books that I have read that fall into the "banned" category.  For me info on the different books that have been banned, check out this site: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10



Book series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot: Katniss replaces her younger sister as tribute in a fight to the death between 24 young tributes.  The Games are punishment for a rebellion against The Capital.
Books:

1. The Hunger Games
2. Catching Fire
3. Mockingjay

Reasons why it is "banned:"  anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
My overall rating: 4 stars

This book series has gained immense popularity and acclaim but has stirred up some controversy.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but I can see why some people might want to ban it. 

Anti-ethnic:  This had never occurred to me.  Looking back, most of the characters are white, although Rue is described as dark skinned.  With the nature of the current state of affairs, a widespread ethnic cleansing or ethnic flight would not have surprised me which may explain why most of the characters are white.  I don't think it's necessarily wrong to have only one ethnic group in your writing. 

Anti-family:  I'm not sure why this is a reason either.  Katniss is in a single parent family.  The love of her sister puts her into the arena in the first place.  The conditions in which the normal people live are pretty appalling so it's not a surprise that families aren't always perfect.  Unless they're referring to the fact that families are ripped apart by the games. 

Insensitivity:  The book is set in a hostile world so there is a bit of insensitivity.  It comes with the territory.

Offensive language:  There's a bit but I don't remember it bothering me much.  I've seen worse.

Occult/satanic:  I don't remember any elements of this in the book at all. 

Violence:  This is about the only true reason I can find in this whole list.  The book is very violent.  Children die.  My husband refuses to read the book because of the violence against children.  The point of this book is to show a revolution and revolutions are generally bloody.  However, it is not senseless violence, the violence does have a teachable meaning behind it.  I'm not sure if that makes it any better.

As a parent, I have no qualms about reading this book to my children but I would probably wait until they were middle schoolers.  It opens up a lot of discussion points that I think are important. 

Dune is a YA Novel?

A friend of mine posted an article last week on Facebook that I found interesting.  It's title: When Did Dune Become a YA Novel?

The author of the article was surprised when he found out that Dune, the classic and complex science fiction novel by atheist Frank Herbert, was considered a Young Adult (YA) novel.  After some further research, he discovered that the American Library Association (ALA) defines YA as anything that 12-18 year olds are willing to read, a definition that he finds "squishy."

I had always thought that YA literature was, well, literature aimed at young adults.  Literature with slightly more complex and mature themes compared with "Children's literature."  Literature that was "safe" for young adults to read.  Needless to say, this changes my approach. 

Under this definition, if 12-18 year olds are reading say, Fifty Shades of Gray, it becomes "YA Literature."  This is something I think parents and teachers need to be on the look out for.

Censorship and the banned book list is a rather complex topic that should be saved for its own post.  However, as a parent and pre-service teacher, I think there are books that are not appropriate for children and young adults to read.  I do think the "banned books" advocates take it to the extreme (I recently found out that Green Eggs and Ham is on the banned list, seriously?). 

What I think we can take away from all of this is that "YA" does not necessarily equal "safe."  Parents should always know what their children are reading and take appropriate steps from there.  Know the content of the books your child is reading.  If you haven't read the book, Google it.  Wikipedia and Goodreads can easily get you a synopsis.  Knowing the content helps you open a dialogue about the appropriateness of the book or, if it's too late for that, discussing the questionable content of a particular book.  After all, knowledge is power.

Newbery 2010

When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Miranda's friend Sal suddenly stops hanging out with her after being punched by a random person.  Her mother prepares to go on the TV show Pyramid.
Verdict: A bit confusing
My rating: 3 stars


Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Author: Phillip M. Hoose
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The true story of Claudette Colvin, the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on a bus and inspiration to Rosa Parks.
Verdict: Courageous girl
My rating: 4 stars


The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Set in 1899, Calpurnia Tate learns about the natural world from her naturalist grandfather.
Verdict: Lots of nature
My rating: 3 stars


Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Author: Grace Lin
Genre: Fantasy (folklore)
Plot: Minli decides to seek The Old Man in the Moon to change her family's fortune.
Verdict: Awesomely woven tale!
My rating: 5 stars


The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Author: Rodman Philbrick
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Homer goes off to rescue his older brother Harold who was illegally conscripted into the Union army.
Verdict: A lighter Civil War adventure
My rating: 3 stars

2010 definitely brought a mixed bag of different books to the Newbery table.  I was very impressed by Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and I am a little sad that it did not win the medal.  In her author's note, Grace Lin talks about how she was not interested in her Asian heritage until she started reading Chinese fairy tales.  Her book is an attempt to make these tales accessible to Westerners.  Claudette Colvin was also very interesting reading as I did not know that there were others who refused to give up seats on the bus before Rosa Parks.  Phillip Hoose also conducted in depth interviews with Claudette so it's almost an autobiography.  When You Reach Me is a decent book but it is hard to say too much about it without giving away the ending.  In my opinion, I thought some of the Honor books deserved the medal more.

Newbery 1991

Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Maniac Magee is a homeless white boy who finds himself in an extremely segregated town.
Verdict: Interesting tale
My rating: 3 stars


The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Charlotte Doyle is a young lady who travels to America on a cargo ship.  During the voyager there is a mutiny and Charlotte joins the crew
Verdict: Not realistic at all
My rating: 3 stars

Both of these books are a little odd.  Maniac Magee is written like "the true story" of a legend.  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is exquisitely crafted and well written but I find it very hard to believe the premise. 

Newbery 1988

Lincoln: A Photobiography
Author: Russell Freedman
Genre: Non-fiction
Plot:  The story of President Abraham Lincoln from birth to assassination.
Verdict:  Interestingly written biography
My rating: 3 stars


After the Rain
Author: Norma Fox Mazer
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Plot: Rachel deals with the fact that her grandfather is slowly dying of mesothelioma.
Verdict:  Heart wrenching story
My rating: 3 stars


Hatchet
Author: Gary Paulsen
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Brian finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash with only his hatchet to help him survive.
Verdict:  Boring with an abrupt ending
My rating: 1 star

Let me honest and say that I had a terrible experience with Hatchet during seventh grade.  It was assigned reading my teacher basically ruined the book.  I wasn't into the survival genre either and I was extremely disappointed by the ending. 

After the Rain could be very useful for a student who has a dying relative and it struck a cord with me because I have lost many close relatives.  However, the rest of the plot of the book did not spark my interest so I could not rate it higher than 3 stars. 

I remember being assigned Lincoln during my children's lit course and I enjoyed it.  It has lots of pictures (so it really is a "photobiography") and gives an interesting account of the life of Lincoln.  It was definitely my favorite of the three.

Newbery 2013

The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Plot: Ivan is a gorilla who lives at a shopping mall with his friends that include an elephant and a dog.
Verdict: First Person Gorilla
My rating: 4 stars


Splendors and Glooms
Author: Laura Amy Schultz
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Lizzie Rose and Parse travel with their guardian, puppet master Grisini.  After they perform at rich girl Clara's party, Clara goes missing and the two children must unravel the mystery
Verdict: Extremely creepy
My rating: 4 stars


Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The stories behind the scientists, politicians and spies involved in the race to build the atomic bomb.
Verdict: Excellently written
My rating: 4 stars






Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Mo and Dale become amateur detectives after their neighbor turns up dead.
Verdict: Spellbinding mystery
My rating: 4 stars

I felt all the books this year deserved to be on the list.  They were each unique in their own way.  I probably would have given Three Times Lucky the medal but I understand that Ivan, with it's unique writing style from the perspective of a gorilla, had extra medal appeal.  Splendors and Glooms was extremely creepy.  I'm not sure I would use it as a read a loud.

Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue

Book Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue
Author: Tomie dePaola
Genre: Autobiography
Plot: Tomie dePaola writes about his early childhood, moving to his family's new home and living life in the 1940s.  The last three books deal with how things changed during World War II
Books:

1. 26 Fairmount Avenue
2. Here We All Are
3. On My Way
4. What a Year!
5. Things Will Never Be the Same
6. I'm Still Scared
7. Why?
8. For the Duration

Overall rating: 4 stars

This is a really impressive series.  Long time children's book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola decided to write a series of short chapter books about his early childhood in the 1940s.  It starts with the building of the family house and continues with Tomie starting school and the birth of his little sister.  We see him loving art class and tap lessons.  Then World War II starts, and we see things change.

The books are extremely short and easily read by a good reader in under 30 minutes, however, I enjoyed every minute of them.  Since he's aiming these are smaller children, he doesn't drag things out (which is probably why the books are so short) and he makes sure to keep the plot moving.