Banned Books

After discussing banned books in my Collection Development class last week, I thought this would be an interesting topic for my blog post.

The first two links I have included are about two children's books, A Birthday Cake for George Washington and And Tango Makes Three, both of which have received much criticism and the former has actually been pulled; you can only find a copy on Ebay or Amazon for a ridiculous price. I feel that people have become entirely too sensitive these days. These two books are books that a young child would enjoy. The pictures are interesting. The topics are fun. Who doesn't like penguins or birthdays?! But, when adults read these books, they add their adult knowledge, which can sometimes alter the book entirely.

A Birthday Cake for George Washington is about George Washington's slave and his daughter making a cake for George Washington but, then they run out of sugar. I'm sure any child would read this book or listen to this story and think about how cool it would be to be able to bake a cake for George Washington. However, adults have gotten a hold of this book and think it is "bad" because it depicts smiling slaves. If you were in second grade, is that what you would be thinking about while looking at the pictures of a father and daughter making a birthday cake for George Washington? I don't think so.

The second link is about And Tango Makes Three. I personally love this book and think it is absolutely wonderful. This book is about two male penguins that spend a lot of time together while living in the Central Park Zoo. Eventually, their keeper decided to see how they would react to taking care of an egg. They take care of the egg, it hatches, and now the penguins have a very untraditional family. First of all, they are PENGUINS. PENGUINS. Second, this is a true story. And third, this is a very real thing that happens in our society. A child may have two dads or two moms. There is nothing wrong with that. A child listening to this story would not raise their hand and say, "Miss Smith, that book promotes homosexuality." Again, the controversy lies in our adult thoughts and feelings. When any children's book is banned who is suffering?

If you're interested you can take a look at the links below and decided for yourself if these books are inappropriate! =)

A Birthday Cake for George Washington - Ramin Ganeshram

And Tango Makes Three -Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell

Why Are Parents Banning School Books?