Hello! My name is Allison Jacobs and I am a Youth Services Librarian at BCPL’s Main Library. It will come to no shock that I LOVE books. I love that books can take us to new lands, new experiences, different times and different cultures. As a lover of books and a librarian, I am saddened and continually astonished at the number of books that get challenged or banned. In celebration of Banned Books Week, I want to share four challenged/banned books that have made a huge impact on me.
When I was a young child I always loved a good story, but actually reading not so much. I loved listening to my parents read me books and often insisted on “just one more” as many times as I could get away with at bedtime. In first grade, our teacher assigned us reading groups. Each group was a different bird. Eagles were, of course, the best and fastest readers. I was assigned to the sparrow group, but I’m sure if there was a group called “bird with a broken wing” then I would have been in that group. That whole year, I struggled with learning to read. I was definitely what you could call a “reluctant reader”. So that next year, my parents hired a reading tutor. She would come over to our house and bring the most beautiful, fun books. There wasn’t a phonics book in sight, and I loved the change of pace. I discovered it wasn’t that I didn’t like to read, I just needed to find the right book for me. My reading skills picked up speed, and soon I was reading several grades ahead.
This amazing tutor introduced me to Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a book that has become one of the most meaningful in my life. This book is set in Denmark during the Holocaust. The Nazis were headed to Denmark, and Jews were frantically trying to escape to Sweden. The story focuses on the friendship of two girls, Ellen, who was Jewish, and Anne-Marie who was not. Ellen was blond haired, blue-eyed and had fair skin; she was taken in by Anne Marie’s family because she could pass as a family member. This book was challenged because some individuals felt like the subject matter is too dark for children.
However, this book was a revelation for me! I am a fair skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jewish girl, and I had never encountered another Jew who looked just like me. Growing up in a conservative suburb north of Cincinnati, I knew very few other Jews, and the ones I did know, looked nothing like me. I sometimes felt like an imposter, and this book literally showed me that I wasn’t. This is one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned. From that moment on I started to ferociously read. I always had a book on me wherever I went.
Starting in sixth grade, one of my favorite books to cart around, and re-read over and over again, was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. This book is among the first sci-fi books and was challenged because some thought it was anti-religious. The protagonist, Meg Murray, must travel across time and space to save her father. Meg was a misunderstood, tenacious girl, with a strong sense of right, wrong and fairness. Once again, I identified with Meg. I loved that a 12 year old girl was the hero of the story! It made me believe I could be the hero of my own story. I have read this book at least once a year since sixth grade and each rereading I get something new from it. In these challenging times, the book’s message, that love conquers all, has never been more powerfully felt by me.
In middle school, I read The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney. In this tumultuous, dramatic mystery, we meet high schooler Janie Johnson. She is an ordinary girl who stumbles upon a missing child picture on a milk carton (remember milk cartons!?). The girl on the milk carton looked eerily like her, and this set Janie on a journey to discover her true identity. This book was a regular on the top 100 books to be frequently challenged list because of sexual content, challenging authority, or just being plain inappropriate for teens. Although tame by today’s standards, in the 1990s some considered the book to be wildly inappropriate. This was one of the first teen books I read, and I just loved the tension and drama. It sparked a flame in me, and introduced me to new genre-intense mysteries. There is nothing more perfect than spending a cozy fall day on the couch reading a great mystery. So as fall settles in, I will definitely be picking up the latest Harlen Coben or revisiting a favorite Agatha Christie.
As a librarian, I understand that not every book is for every person, nor should it be. A book that speaks to me may not ring true for someone else. While getting my MLIS, I learned the concept that books are mirrors and glass sliding doors. Mirror books reflect our own experiences and allow for some readers to feel truly seen, much like I felt when reading Number the Stars. Equally importantly, books can be glass sliding doors, in which readers peek through the glass and then step into a brand new culture or lived experience.
Justin Reynold’s outstanding book, Long Way Down is one of my favorite glass doors books. Written in verse, we meet Will Holloman struggling with a life or death choice. His brother was murdered, and according to the rules of the hood, there’s no crying, no snitching, only revenge. As he takes the elevator down to avenge his brother’s murder, he is visited at each floor by someone who was connected to his brother, shaping Will’s viewpoint. This book has allowed me to take a peek into a lived experience that is very different from my own. Long Way Down has been banned multiple times for talking about weapons and using strong language. However, it depicts the reality of many people living in America. While this topic is sad and terrifying, it is nothing compared to the fear and pain that members of the Black community experience. Reading has reminded me that you never know what trauma someone may have experienced, and showcased how important it is to listen to someone else’s experiences.
Thanks for allowing me to share some pivotal books in my life with you. Books are amazing gifts, and I hope you get to discover special books that seep into your soul and fill you up with the love of a great story!
Citations:
Banning books in Texas. ACLU of Texas. (2016, January 30). https://www.aclutx.org/en/news/banning-books-texas
For more information on banned books, view our Intellectual Freedom blogs:
Intellectual Freedom at Boone County Public Library
More on Intellectual Freedom at Boone County Public Library