Articles tagged "Banned Books Week"

Banned Books as Graphic Novels

Today we're taking a look at a new way to read two exceptional books that have been challenged and banned:

ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL has been banned from schools in Virginia, Alabama, and Texas for being too upsetting, sexually offensive, and downright pornographic.* FAHRENHEIT 451 has been removed from required reading lists at schools in Mississippi and challenged in Texas for offensive language, violence, and Bible burning.**

These chilling stories show us the darkest sides of humanity from the past and a possible future. The urge to protect ourselves from the horrible things they depict is strong, but their messages of pain and hope must be heard and understood.

Both of these classics are now available as authorized graphic novels from Hill and Wang.

Deep Thoughts

Banned Books Week 2011!

Welcome to Banned Books Week, librarian friends!

This is the week to re-read and recommend all your favorite banned and challenged books. And if you're feeling inspired to read aloud, we highly recommend that you submit a banned book reading video the the Virtual Read-Out page on YouTube.

If you finish all of your favorite banned books before Friday, we recommend two excellent author biographies that uphold the spirit of the week: AND SO IT GOES, the first authoritative biography of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and JUST ONE CATCH, an illuminating biography of Joseph Heller.

Reviews and Publicity

Monday Fun Day! (9/19/2011 Edition)

Welcome to a new week, book lovers!

We have more exciting award news for you straight out of St. Louie. Last week we talked about our enthusiasm with the Barry Award winners and now we have even more to celebrate because both the Macavity Awards and the Anthony Awards were announced!

The 2011 Macmillan Macavity Award winners:
Best Novel: BURY YOUR DEAD by Louise Penny
Best First Novel: ROGUE ISLAND by Bruce DeSilva
Sue Feder Historical Mystery: CITY OF DRAGONS by Kelli Stanley

The 2011 Macmillan Anthony Awards winners (the Best Novel may sound familiar):
Best Novel: BURY YOUR DEAD by Louise Penny
Best First Novel: THE DAMAGE DONE by Hilary Davidson
Best Paperback Original: EXPIRATION DATE by Duane Swierczynski

You can see the full list of 2011 Macavity Award winners and 2011 Anthony Award winners at Lesa's Book Critiques.

Banned Books Week is just around the corner which means it's time to pull your favorite banned book off the shelf and remember what exactly makes that book important and unbannable to you. We also highly recommend you get involved with ALA's Virtual Read-Out on YouTube.

The Virtual Read-Out information page offers suggestions for the types of videos you can upload to their stream:

1) You can submit a video no more than two minutes long of a reading from a banned or challenged book.
2) A video of an eyewitness account of local challenges can be submitted. This video should be no longer than three minutes long.

Finally, we have to feature a few of these brilliant miniature paper sculptures that are mysteriously appearing in libraries across Edinburgh. Enjoy!