Strollerderby : literature

Taking Banned Books Into Her Own Hands ... Er, Locker

Jen Chaney — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:05:00 GMT

One Catholic school student apparently has decided to stick it to the man. Or at least stick it to the people at her Catholic school, which has released a list of books that the students are not allowed to read.

According to a posting on Boing Boing, which points to a question posed by the student on Yahoo! Answers, the young lady has started a banned books lending library in the locker next to hers, a place where her peers can get access to such "offensive" tomes as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Paradise Lost, and Lord of the Flies. Her Yahoo! Question is whether she can legitimately get in trouble for doing what she's doing. The response, for the most part, has been positive, with several people calling her both brave and a hero. But at least one reader questions the truth of what she's saying.

And I can sort of see that person's point. I mean, it's a great story and that makes me want to believe it. But some of the books on the school's "banned" list seem a little ridiculous (Bridge to Terabithia? Really?) I also wonder why the girl would post this question on the World Wide Web if she is genuinely concerned about getting caught.

But, for the sake of argument, let's assume it is true. It's definitely awesome that she's taking matters into her own hands and exposing her fellow students to some really spectacular literature. (Even more awesome? The kid has standards: "Twilight is banned also, but I don't want that polluting my library," she writes.)

As far as the issue about getting into trouble, she might be better off running the lending library off of school grounds. Of course, that's not as delicious as clandestinely keeping the novels in a locker. But it might achieve the same goal and avoid the possibility of her getting suspended.

But that's just my advice, and I was never this rebellious. Again, if the story is true, the school finds out and action is taken against the girl, the ACLU would be on this case faster than you can say, The Canterbury Tales. Which, by the way, is another book on the school's banned list.

Image: Guardian

Chat with Judy Blume!

JeanneSager — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:02:00 GMT

If you were once a teenage girl (and I'd dare say at least half of Babble readers once were), chances are Judy Blume got you through a tough spot.

Heck, if you were an elementary school boy, you might have spent an afternoon or two with her books that have nothing to do with PMS and plenty to do with the playground.

And if you ever sat, like Margaret, wondering, is someone there, we have good news. Judy Blume herself is answering questions from readers.

The author of who made great a Fourth Grade Nothing, taught us all to mix up lemon juice concoctions to fight the freckles and managed to make Fudge better than chocolate, appeared on Random Buzzers.com last week, and she's expected to spend the next few days checking back in to answer questions from readers. She's even blogging about it over at her own site (just in case you thought this was a hoax).

So maybe now's the perfect time to pull out your old Judy Blumes and pore over them for questions, er, get your kids reading your favorites.

Go on over to Random Buzzers to join the comment string and post your question, but let us know - what was your favorite Judy Blume book, and have you shared it with your kids yet?

Image: Amazon

Wind in the Willows Turns 100

Miriam Axel-Lute — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:34:00 GMT

One hundred years ago, in early 1908, Kenneth Grahame first put the manuscript for Wind in the Willows in an envelope and sent it out. Apparently it took several rejections and the intervention of Teddy Roosevelt to get the well-loved novel published that October. (I think any novelist today would think that under a year is nothing to complain about, but I guess Grahame was already published and this constituted a surprising delay.) A.A. Milne later adapted the book to the stage, which helped spur its success.

Wind in the Willows is one of those books I remember fondly, without remembering the plot very well. Moles, rats, toads, boats, loud cars. . . I'm sure it would be familiar since I read it over many times, but I'm not entirely sure I want to see the story with adult eyes. After all, according to Wikipedia, the 1981 "sequel" Wild Wood, which I read and didn't like when I was nine, was really a political retelling of the original story from the point of view of the working class inhabitants of the neighboring wood. No wonder I felt like I was missing something.

Still, if I were over in Henley on Thames, I would totally be at the festival where Wind in the Willows is being celebrated today.

More from this author:

Arkansas Wants to Look in Potential Foster Parents' Bedrooms

McCain's Anti-Family, Anti-Marriage Healthcare Plan

Most Objectionable Book for Kids?

Kelly Mills — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:31:00 GMT

The American Library Association says the book the public objects to the most was one written for children. (Objections were measured by written complaints filed with a library or school.) Was it the one explaining mommy's plastic surgery--"My Beautiful Mommy"? Nope. The one where Curious George gets high on ether? Nah-ah. So what book was so offensive to folks?

The number one challenged book--for the second year in a row, no less--was "And Tango Makes Three," co-written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. It's about a penguin with two dads. You know, the gays are coming after your kids, one penguin at a time. Sigh. See, I'll get that book for my kid now, cuz I've grown weary of the way heteros always push their agenda in kid lit. Other books that made the objected list were: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou; Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn;" and Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass," for anti-religious stuff. You know what books I object to? Those crappy little Disney ones that summarize "Cinderella" or "The Little Mermaid." They always have at least one typo and actually melt your brain with boredom when you read them.

Harry Potter Theme Park to Give Creationist Theme Park a Run for God's Money in 2009

Alisyn — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:01:00 GMT

Laura Mallory and those brainwashed zealots over at the ~~Crackpot~~ Creationist Museum must have dropped a big load in their pants when they heard about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, thus rendering themselves literally full of shit.

J.K. Rowling recently gave her official go-ahead to Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal, paving the way for "the world's first immersive Harry Potter themed environment." to open in 2009. Warner Bros. CEO says, "Over the years we've received thousands of letters from fans around the world wishing they could visit Hogwarts (School) and the wonderful locations described in each of J.K. Rowling's beloved stories." Now they'll get their chance.

No word on what kind of rides and attractions they've got up the sleeves of their wizarding robes, but I'm expecting some kind of Quidditch-inspired game (are flying brooms to much to ask for?), a Hogwarts Express train-like roller coaster (leaving from platform 9 3/4, of course), the flying car, the Weasly house, a magnificent Hogwarts campus, and hopefully, flagons of pumpkin juice. Oh, and protesters. Lots and lots of protesters.

Perhaps this will ease the pain untold millions will experience, come the end of the book and movie empire, which is scheduled to wrap up in 2009. Even if Harry gets killed off, he'll live forever... in Florida! Oh, the sweet, sweet irony.

"From The Hips": New Guide For Pregnant, New Moms in the Age Of Celebrity Culture and Post-Post-Feminism

Alisyn — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:14:00 GMT

I have not yet had the pleasure of reading "From the Hips," by NYC authors (and Babble's Parental Advisory columnists) Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris (due out May 22), but from what I've gathered, it is a book that has been a long time coming.

As far as I know, "From the Hips" is the first book of it's kind: the first pregnancy/childbirth/parenting guide to address the sexualization of pregnancy in our society; how our celebrity-obsessed media reflects our desire to be physically "perfect" without addressing the stress that arises from such pressure; and how playground cliques, mommy wars, and the judgment of others can lead parents, moms especially, down a self-destructive road of self-doubt, insecurity, and hopelessness. "From the Hips" promises: "This book is about both sides of the story: the warm, fuzzy baby blanket and the poop that gets swept underneath."

With a motto like "strive for imperfection," it's easy to imagine how wildly successful this book is going to be. Because isn't that what we've all been waiting to hear? That it's okay to gain "too much" weight while pregnant - and not feel badly about it? That it's okay to breastfeed for two years - or bottle feed for three? That we can't actually achieve perfection or self-fulfillment through pregnancy or parenting? And that it's okay to talk about all of this without feeling like a total failure? Yes! Yes! Yes!

One of the major themes of Rebecca and Ceridwen's opus is celebrity parents, and the epic battle that real women must fight when their desire to be as perfect as they perceive Angelina, Julia, et. al, to be, clashes with reality. While I agree that celebrity obsession is at an all-time high, I wonder... how realistic is it to blame celebrities for that? Is it fair to claim that celebrities' babies are "accessories" and that "all these celebrity parents who hang out with babies" are "a fantasy?" I mean, I hear what they're saying: those photos that we see of a beaming Gwyneth Paltrow, hand in hand with her perfect little Apple in People magazine, do not reflect what really goes on in their house, or their tribulations as mother and daughter. The photos aren't real. Therefore, they shouldn't make us feel like inferior mothers with feral, out-of-control children. But let's be honest - sometimes they do. So how much of the blame for the stress that comes with modern motherhood, and all its pressures and privileges, can we assign to Gwyneth, and how much to People, and how much to ourselves, for looking outside of our own lives and minds, and into the pages of gossip magazines, for validation and a sense of self-worth? I look forward to finding out how "From the Hips" addresses these very real, and uniquely modern, issues.

I have the feeling that this book is going to be big - "From the Hips" to every American mother's bookshelf.

Marley Was Dead. And Apparently Dickens Is, Too.

JasonAvant — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:04:00 GMT

I never thought I'd be one to sing the praises of Young Goodman Brown, The Canterbury Tales, Billy Budd, or any of the classics forced upon me as a freshman in high school. (In my defense, I was 14, and if you asked me then who I considered to be a literary genius, my answer would have been Neil Peart.) With age comes appreciation, and while my tastes still gravitate towards writers who didn't wear powdered wigs or who worked by the light of an oil lamp, I'd argue that the classics still help us to understand the world today. But is classic literature being phased out of the classroom?

Janine Wood thinks so. In this article, she details her challenges in finding a copy of Great Expectations for her 12-year-old son, a quest that turns interesting as she finds that very people she encounters have read the book, and even fewer are remotely interested in it. (Before you ask - no, I haven't either. I was going to, right after finishing the Tom Clancy book I'm working on.)

One father she talks to asserts that "teachers don't read Dickens, so they don't assign him." Indeed, her son's assigned reading list is missing a number of writers that should be standard issue - no Mark Twain? Really? Undaunted, Wood offers up tips on getting your kids to read great literature; she suggests reading the works along with your kid, and forming book groups to help them navigate their way through all the "prithee"s and "anon"s.

Like I said, when I was a kid, the classics weren't my bag. But there were a few I liked - I might have been the only 8th grader who read Moby Dick by choice, even if it was after I heard that Melville provided inspiration for The Wrath of Khan. The piece got me thinking that I need to put some Golden Oldies into the rotation (I do feel obliged to clarify something - the Tom Clancy line? Sarcasm. With a capital "arcasm".); I've been reading a ton of nonfiction lately, mostly about the Middle East. Maybe I'll revisit Shakespeare; after all, his Henry IV had some pretty interesting advice about a ruler's need to "busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels."