Banned Books Week

George Orwell was right about controlled media. He was just thirty-eight years too early.

I find it ironic that his 1984 is currently the most banned book in the U.S. Think about what that says. How close we are to fascism while pretending we're not. Yet, it was the most read book in 1984.

So many banned books are on my shelves: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter series, The Handmaid's Tale, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sandman, Batman: The Killing Joke, Watchmen, The Graveyard Book, Twilight, etc.

There were the classics I read in school: Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, Brave New World, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Julie of the Wolves, etc.

There are books I read out of curiosity: Fifty Shades of Grey, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, etc.

There are books I haven't read yet, but I want to: Beloved, Saga, The Color Purple. His Dark Materials, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Bridge to Terabithia, Maus, etc.

What does this say about me? I'm not afraid of ideas. I'm not afraid of sharing ideas with my son.

For example, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was on a recommended reading list for Genius Kid's grade when I was homeschooling him. We alternated weeks with him selecting one book from the recommended reading list and the next week selecting something for fun. When he choose Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, I needed to read it in order to create a post-reading quiz for him.

These books are important to talk over with your children, about what values you want to instill in them and why. Hiding them from your children doesn't engender the trust you need to build with them in order for them to take your values seriously.