Skip to main content

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

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like

On Angie, the Relative Scarcity Thereof

I've been a bit scarce round these parts of late and I feel badly about it. But there is a good reason and I've been waiting until today to share it with you. Just so I could include one rather pertinent detail. It's a boy! Fortunately I'm at the point where I'm starting to feel better, so things should soon start resembling business as usual around here. I, for one, am relieved.

Forever Blog Tour + Giveaway!

I'm awfully excited to be a part of this unique blog tour in celebration of the release of Forever by the insanely talented Maggie Stiefvater .  Scholastic recently launched an online community called  This Is Teen  to connect readers with their favorite YA authors and books. Visit their page on   Facebook   for all the latest news on   Maggie Stiefvater   and   Forever .  Each stop on the tour is hosting a particular character from the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, and I have the good luck to be the stop for Sam--my favorite emo-wolfboy!  Sam is so very endearing, in a decidedly non-angsty or overt way. His breathtaking blend of maturity and vulnerability tugs at my heartstrings and the strength of his relationship with Grace is unswerving.  He is warm and thoughtful and artistic, and I liked him right from the start of the series . Because I can't resist, here are two of my favorite Sam quotes, the first from Grace's point of view in  Shiver and the second from Sam&

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I know this is an almost unpardonably early review. But honestly, I waited on it as long as I possibly could before the effort of holding it in caused me some sort of bodily harm. I've been anxiously looking forward to For Darkness Shows the Stars  for going on two years now, and the day an ARC showed up on my doorstep was just a very good day indeed . When a book you've been dying to read finally falls into your lap, do you ever just hold onto it and savor the possibilities? I do. I did with this one for a little while. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I just tear into it immediately. But sometimes I don't. Because sometimes dreaming about it while you're actually holding it in your hands is special, too. So I savored and I dreamt and I started reading and . . . I was gone. My first reaction to finishing it was a sense of complete satisfaction mingled with sadness that it was over. My second was thinking that I cannot wait to see  For Darkness Shows the Stars  work