Friday Five: Challenged Books of 2011

The American Library Association (ALA) keeps tabs on books that are frequently challenged throughout the year by reading news reports and challenged book forms sent to the ALA.  So obviously it's not the most perfect way to say that this book received exactly 501 challenges last year, but it's as close as you can get from the information people share.  Plus, librarians are usually on top of reporting challenges.  We got your back, America.

From the ALA's list of challenged books by year:

Top Five Books Challenged in 2011

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle 

Basically, parents are afraid that their children will read these books and then talk like the characters,  Newsflash: they already did (past tense) and now they've moved on to new words.  It's cray cray.  But no, there's also sex and religious viewpoints that we think will taint their minds.  I can get on board if the challenges were just to move these books from a children's section to a teen section (the covers do look incredibly juvenile), but the series is reflective of pretty much a large chunk of teen lit.   

2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Alright, I've never read (or heard of) this series before but the ALA lists "nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group" as the reasons the series is frequently challenged.

3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
One of the reasons listed for the trilogy's challenges is "anti-family."  The same reason popped up in the past about Harry Potter.  I can see how the Dursley's represent that (although when you lock a kid under the stairs, he's got reason to hate you and cast pretend spells in your direction), but where is HG anti-family?  Katniss volunteers for the Games to save her family.  I DON'T GET IT.  But, it's clearly the violence that is most objectionable which is understandable for a younger audience.  It's difficult to explain to a concerned parent that the violence isn't the focus, but it's what the violence represents.  They only hear "KIDS ARE KILLING KIDS!" 

4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
I realize that this is stereotypical, but I feel that the people who challenge these types of books are the ones who would benefit the most from giving the books to their kids.  Well, not if you want your child to learn the facts of why pushing a baby through your nether regions is God's way of punishing you for being born with ovaries.  But seriously, why can't we just let the books help!? If you're that uncomfortable giving your child a book, wouldn't you be that much more uncomfortable having an actual conversation? 

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
This book contains bullying, domestic abuse, racism, sex talk, and profanity.  Adding those together equals "Hide your kids, hide your wife."  But c'mon people.  This story is about an Indian boy moving from his reservation to an all white school.  Of course it's going to be a difficult story!!! Sometimes kids need to read difficult stories.  Sherman Alexie wrote an AMAZING response to the horrific WSJ article from last year that criticized YA lit.  When an 18 year old is old enough to go die for his country, but too young to be exposed to abuse and world issues in a novel, there's a problem. 

Adults Judging Childrens Books: Complexity

Whenever I tell people that I'm close to reaching my goal of reading 110 books this year (6.5 to go!), I tend to get a response along the lines of: "But those are easy books. Those are way beneath your level. So why bother?"  Putting aside the obvious problems of them taking the liberty of knowing what my level is and assuming I'm not reading books that I actually enjoy, who is to say that children's and young adult books are beneath anyone's level?

While some "grown-up" books may not be appropriate content-wise for young'ns, readability statistics for some of the most popular adult fiction is right on target for a children's audience.  The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level ("FKGL") test is a readability test that measures total number of sentences, sentence length, and syllables to assign a grade level to a selection of writing.  If you're a student, you're most likely familiar with this test from seeing it after spellchecking your papers in Word (...and then furiously hitting shiftF7 to use the thesaurus to find longer words, yeah don't deny it).  Obviously assigning grade levels is making an assumption about where each grade should be, but let's experiment.

Read this:

"'All your old drinking habits, too. Chewing Excedrin. Wiping your mouth all the time. Cranky in the morning. And you haven't been able to finish the play, yet, have you?'"

According to the FKGL, that's at a 2.8 grade level.  It's also a quote from The Shining, one of the most popular "adult" books of all time.  That quote isn't even as bad as this:

"The wedding. Her father had been there. Her mother had not been. She found she could live with that, if she had Jack. And then Danny had come. Her fine son."

That has a 0.0 rating.  Seriously. 

Now this:

"'From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork.'"

Yes, that's right.  Dumbledore speaks at a 13.2 grade level.

While the subject matter of Stephen King novels may not be appropriate for a second grader (depending on how liberal you are), they can definitely read it.  So should second graders deem you lazy for reading something way below your level?  I mean, it's a pretty easy read, so why bother?

Okay yes, obviously I picked specific quotes that would prove a point.  But if you put The Shining as a whole up against this test, it averages out at about a 7th grade level.  You know what else does? The Harry Potter series.  So stop judging people for reading things "beneath their level" because guess what? Chances are, so are you. 

Leave YA Alone!

Last week, an article called "Darkness Too Visible" was posted on the WSJ website that criticized the state of current young adult literature.  In essence, the author was saying that the current selection is harmful for teen readers and they need to read things of more substance and less controversy.  Okay, I won’t deny that some of the current YA books aren’t great literature (said in hoity-toity accent like a professor of mine used to), but neither are the large amounts of romance and mystery novels that are available.  For the most part, YA literature is amazing and helpful to a lot of teens. 

In response to the article, YA authors like Laurie Halse Anderson started a twitter hashtag, #yasaves, to get people to tweet about how the YA books the article criticizes made an impact on their lives.  This makes me happy because the amount of responses were amazing.  Go look, it's fun! 

My response to the article is of course to rant about it, which I’ve already verbally done to a lot of friends (sorry guys).  So here goes:

-The article begins with a woman “disheartened” by the YA selection in a store who had to leave without buying anything.  Okay, I’m sure she did and that's sad.  Just because there were some book covers and, if she actually read the summaries, books that weren’t appealing, it doesn’t mean that there weren’t others to select from.  No one will like every book and that's fine.  But just because some YA books aren't up to your standards doesn't give you the right to generalize every other book in that section.  You're in a book store for crying out loud, there are other things available.  All of the books that are praised in the article are also kept in the YA section, so there’s no need to feel disheartened.  Just look through the books to find one.  It’s not that hard. 

-The author mentions Go Ask Alice as one of the first YA books to mention dark topics.  I have a slight suspicion that she doesn't know this isn't a real diary, but was actually written by a psychologist as a tool to keep kids off of drugs...but maybe it's just me.

-She seems very anti-Cormier.  Yeah, his stuff doesn’t include happy endings.  NEITHER DOES LIFE.  The ending to Charlotte’s Web isn’t happy either.  Charlotte freaking dies.  The message of the story could very well be “have babies and die.”  Should we take that out so the youngins aren’t exposed to death? 

-She's afraid that talking about the horrible problems teens and other people experience will help to normalize them.  Well not only is not talking about them censorship, but it's also ignoring the fact that the problems do exist.  The books aren't telling kids to go out and cut themselves.  They're giving teens an opportunity to see their frustrations voiced. 

-She says the Hunger Games are"hyper-violent." Umm, no?  Yeah it involves kids fighting to the death, but there are no drawn out death scenes and nothing is too graphic.  The book is all political commentary.  It’s amazing.  It has a strong FEMALE main character who kicks ass.  Does she not want girls to be strong? 

-She's rather fond of the non-"grotesque" Judy Blume whose works apparently pale in comparison to what's available today (although her stuff is still heavily challenged).  Yes, YA Literature has changed.  But so has everything else.  Women can vote now (gasp!), we can all drink from the same bubblers (water fountains for you non-Boston freaks), and we have a black president.  The world back then didn’t have the same problems teens have now.  The internet didn’t exist, cyber-bullying was unheard of, and most approved teenage issues were whether or not saddle shoes were an appropriate footwear choice for the big school dance.  Teens face a lot more problems now and the literature reflects it.  It gives them a way to see that they aren’t the only ones experiencing these problems and offers solutions to help them.  So instead of fighting their ability to read these works, why not put that energy into encouraging them to read and work out their problems?

-There’s a sidebar included with a list of appropriate reading selections.  Possibly the best part of the article, one of the suggested books is Fahrenheit 451.  An article that is basically calling for the censorship of YA material in order to shield the eyes of today's youth, recommends a book with the main message of anti-censorship. 

What was with people last weekend?  This article AND the whole Paul Revere warning the British business?  This world scares me.

Another librarian-in-training, Tahleen, gives a much better, concise response to the article here. 

Adults Judging Childrens Books - the T Edition

With my life consumed by grad school and work, the T is where I accomplish the majority of my reading.  Now, because of the glorious rainy weather we're experiencing right now, I was hit with a few umbrellas this afternoon.  As I looked up to passive aggressively glare at my attackers, I happened to notice the stares of fellow T riders I've grown accustomed to ignoring.  You know, the stares that are the equivalent of "why the hell is she reading that in public?" or "wow, she must be dumb." 

I'll backtrack.  I'm currently reading The Golden Compass because 1) I've owned a  practically untouched copy since the 7th grade; and 2) it's on The List.  It's an insanely long book as far as children's books are concerned so, on a superficial basis, those stares are not merited.  Also, like many other books for children, it is an incredibly complex novel that should be read by any age group so again, those stares shouldn't happen.  But apparently people aren't accustomed to adults reading a book where the cover art pictures a young girl sitting on top of an armored bear.  

I've seen people read some pretty messed up things on the T, but I've never stared them down like they were beneath me.  I thought you weren't supposed to judge books by their covers?

If that's no longer the case, then I'm going to fully judge these people and books I see all the time on the T:

1) The Classic Reader

Yes, I see you over there with your pristine copy of Lolita, Anna Karenina, Jane Eyre, etc.  I also see that despite your smug look of being better than all those around you, you haven't turned a page in 15 minutes.  You probably won't even know what's going on in the book until you consult Spark/Cliffsnotes for a quick recap of all that you "read."   I'm guessing you had a 40% coupon to use at B&N and decided to splurge on one of their $5 classic copies to impress someone.  Good luck.

2) Twilight Reader

Now despite my insane hatred of this series, I've never really judged someone for reading it because hey, at least they're reading.  This one time is an exception.  I was sitting next to a very muscular, macho man on the T one morning and he pulls out a copy of a Stephen King novel.  Or so I thought.  I glanced over and happened to see "Bella," "Volturi," and "Edward" and started laughing my butt off on the inside.  He was reading Twilight, but had switched the book jacket to fool those around him into thinking he was reading something more reflective of his physical appearance.  Oh I judge him so much.  Be proud of what you read!  Even if it's crap! 

3) The E-reader

This is probably what the Twilight man should have invested in instead of a Stephen King book jacket.  These readers are elusive.  While privacy usually isn't the only reason (if one at all) for possessing an e-reader, the fact remains that if you're going to hide what you're reading from the rest of us, you have no right to judge what we're reading.  It irks me when you judge my battered copy of Harry Potter.  However, as I am not yet blind, I can read the insanely large font of your e-reader from my seat.  So despite your great attempt, I still see that you're reading a romance novel, Mr. I Have a Briefcase and Therefore Deserve Two Seats, and I'm going to judge you right back. 

4) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Reader

You think I have the mental capacity of a 5 year old because I'm reading Matilda on the T? Well by that logic, you have the mind of a sadistic serial rapist.  Please don't sit near me and keep your hands visible at all times.  Granted, Matilda rocks, so I would like to be compared to her.  Poor choice of example, but you get my point.

5) iPhone/iPad/Anything with an Internet Connection User

Those who use these to read newspapers or something of merit are fine.  But those who look down at me while looking at the latest Perez Hilton updates are uncalled for.  How are celebrity pictures with unfortunate white MS Paint squiggles more sophisticated than my children's novel?  At least I'm reading something with substance.  

6) Anything with Sarah Palin on the Cover Reader

No explanation necessary. (Sorry Mom!!)

7) The Movie Book Reader

There's a movie coming out soon.  Because there are zero original ideas in Hollywood, naturally the movie is based on a book.  You've never read this book, but you want to impress someone with your knowledge of the story either before or after you see it, so you try to rapidly read before the release date.  The movie poster book cover completely gives you away.  If Robert Pattinson wasn't starring in Water for Elephants you would have never given that book a second glance.  If Julia Roberts' 10 foot smile wasn't a part of Eat, Pray, Love you wouldn't even know that book existed.  Sometimes I take comfort in knowing that when you later quote a fact from the book to compare it to the movie, you'll probably get it wrong. 

To sum up, stop judging kids' books!!! Or at least keep it to yourself and don't make it so obvious that you're looking down at me for reading one on the T.  The end.

Security Guards Judge Me

I'm used to setting off alarms on occasion (set one off at Shaws last week...how is that even possible?), but in the past two months I have successfully set off the alarm at the library during every single visit.  It's reached the point where I'm probably as recognizable to the security guard as the "Nazi Woman" who marches around the premises.  Our encounters have become entirely predictable: "Oh, it's you," followed by a quick raise of the eyebrows when looking at what I've recently checked out of the children's section.  Sigh.  

This past visit my New Kids on the Block DVD evoked a derisive shake of the head, but the copy of Daddy's Roommate got a sassy exclamation of "What the heeeelll?"  Seriously.

I could just tell her that I'm a Children's Services Librarian student, but these heartwarming encounters I'm having on a fairly regular basis really just tickle me.  Sometimes I feel like I should remind her that librarian professionals aren't supposed to be judgmental about what patrons check out, but at the same time I really can't wait to hear what she says next.  Her reactions are a lot more fun than the guy who once laughed at me  for checking out Paula Abdul's Greatest Hits CD. 

Adults Judging Children's Books Pt 1 of 10 Million (I'm sure)

I set off alarms all the time.  It's reached a point where my friends actually refuse to walk into stores with me so they're not subjected to the awkward stares and random questioning that comes from any employee who cares enough about his job to actually do it. 

So today when I went to the library to pick up the million books I had on hold for school, the alarm naturally went off as I departed with my bags of books.  The security guard of course went through all my books and when she reached the newest Caldecott winner, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, she looked at me like I was crazy.   Seriously, what is the big deal about an adult checking out picture, children's or young adult books?  

What if I had a kid or a younger relative and was merely checking out the book so I could enrich said child with the charming tale of a man who is home sick and taken care of by his animal pals?   Granted that's not the case, I checked it out for my own professional development, but still there's really no call for immediate judgment of a 23 year old checking out a picture book.