{"id":16434,"date":"2020-09-28T15:56:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T20:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=16434"},"modified":"2020-09-28T15:56:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T20:56:12","slug":"banned-books-week-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=16434","title":{"rendered":"Banned Books Week 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we all know, 2020 has been a dumpster fire. We are essentially a nation on the brink. I was expecting some sort of aggressive, war footing for this year\u2019s annual Banned Books Week. Freedom of thought and expression is vital in times like these. However, we\u2019re getting a relatively bland, kind of dorky theme. That said, don\u2019t let it dissuade you from observing and participating in, this important annual event!<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ Banned Books Week is an event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community \u2014 librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types \u2014 in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.<\/p>\n

Banned Books Week 2020 is from September 27 \u2013 October 3. The theme of this year\u2019s event is \u201cCensorship is a dead end. Find your freedom to read!\u201d<\/p>\n

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The American Librarian Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. The Top 10 Challenged Books of 2019<\/em> are:<\/p>\n

(clicking on the book images will take you to IndieBound, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use these links to purchase a book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a>
\nGeorge<\/strong> by Alex Gino
\nReasons: challenged, banned, restricted, and hidden to avoid controversy; for LGBTQIA+ content and a transgender character; because schools and libraries should not \u201cput books in a child\u2019s hand that require discussion\u201d; for sexual references; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint and \u201ctraditional family structure\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out<\/strong> by Susan Kuklin
\nReasons: challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, for \u201cits effect on any young people who would read it,\u201d and for concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo<\/strong> by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller
\nReasons: Challenged and vandalized for LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints, for concerns that it is \u201cdesigned to pollute the morals of its readers,\u201d and for not including a content warning<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Sex is a Funny Word<\/strong> by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth
\nReasons: Challenged, banned, and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content; for discussing gender identity and sex education; and for concerns that the title and illustrations were \u201cinappropriate\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Prince & Knight<\/strong> by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis
\nReasons: Challenged and restricted for featuring a gay marriage and LGBTQIA+ content; for being \u201ca deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children\u201d with the potential to cause confusion, curiosity, and gender dysphoria; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

I Am Jazz<\/strong> by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
\nReasons: Challenged and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content, for a transgender character, and for confronting a topic that is \u201csensitive, controversial, and politically charged\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/strong> by Margaret Atwood
\nReasons: Banned and challenged for profanity and for \u201cvulgarity and sexual overtones\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Drama<\/strong> written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
\nReasons: Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against \u201cfamily values\/morals\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Harry Potter<\/strong> series by J. K. Rowling
\nReasons: Banned and forbidden from discussion for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use \u201cnefarious means\u201d to attain goals<\/p>\n

$\"Support$ <\/a><\/p>\n

And Tango Makes Three<\/strong> by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson illustrated by Henry Cole
\nReason: Challenged and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content<\/p>\n

$\"$ <\/p>\n

You can learn more about this event and the work they do here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you enjoy The Magical Buffet? Considering supporting The Magical Buffet on Patreon! For only $5 a month you\u2019ll receive monthly tarot\/oracle forecasts, classes, and behind the scenes updates! https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/magicalbuffet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s that wonderful time of year where we celebrate our freedom to read! Click in to see 2019’s most challenged books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,8,9,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}