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Books Save Lives

I always enjoy highlighting Banned Books Week when it rolls around each year. This year, I came across a set of videos of authors talking about censorship, reading, and the importance of books in the lives of children, young adults, families, and communities. I particularly enjoyed these two from Laurie Halse Anderson and Sherman Alexie, both authors I have read and loved and who have insightful comments on these ever-present issues. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I've included a couple of my favorite observations from each of them.


Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.

They need us to be brave enough to give them great books so that they can learn how to grow into the strong women and men that we need them to be.

It makes me hope that my book becomes their gateway into other books.

I know there are kids who need these books. And I know there are kids like me who aren't frightened by these books but who, you know, dream of them.

Comments

  1. THANK YOU!!!

    I've been so out of it that I had completely forgotten about Banned Books Week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure!! It's an important week.

      Delete
  2. I just got myself a long overdue copy of Sherman Alexie's book for this week and I can't wait to read it!

    -Maggie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome, Maggie. I love his writing so much.

      Delete

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