"When I do not want to say things in real life I often say them here." — Mimi Smartypants
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. Every year, during the lead-up to Banned Books Week, my newsfeed floods with stories of library read-ins, exhibits, and scavenger hunts for banned books. The normal flow of stories about actual book bannings, parental challenges to books, and censorship dries to a trickle. Why, it’s almost […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. YCTR! News From a “love letter” to librarians: I imagine librarians are also working on their Banned Books displays now. Banned Books Week is set for Sept. 24-30, celebrating our freedom to read and to seek and express ideas. My […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie will stay part of the ninth-grade English curriculum in Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin. Schlump: The tragic story behind a forgotten masterpiece, a fascinating bit of history about one of many […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. “Parthenon” made of banned books built at site of Nazi book burning: YCRT! News In 2012 YCRT! featured a story about the banning of books by the Tucson Unified School District, an infamous incident that exposed Arizona to national and international ridicule. […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. YCRT! News Colorado school district pulls library copies of “Thirteen Reasons Why” over concerns it sensationalizes suicide, later reinstates the book. This article, from the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Blog, celebrates public library programs (in San Francisco, New York […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book news and reviews. “The purpose of our elementary schools is to teach writing, reading and arithmetic, not to encourage boys to wear dresses.” “Jacob’s New Dress” pulled from 1st grade curriculum in North Carolina after teacher complains to state legislators. Arizona school district pulls “The […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book news and reviews. YCRT! News A Texas congressman says “Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” A San Antonio PBS talk show host records a rebuttal but the station CEO […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. YCRT! News Many Americans these days are engaged in protest. Reading in public, especially the reading of banned or challenged books, can also be an act of protest. Related: Using Banned Books to Teach Resistance. Not banning by any means, but […]