September 22nd-28th is this year’s Banned Book Week! Banned Book Week was created in 1983 as a way to bring communities together and support the freedom to read. You can learn more about this initiative at bannedbooksweek.org. Exercise your freedom to read during Banned Book Week by checking out some Banned Book titles!
Preschool
“Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v.
Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto
Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the
landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California”– Provided by publisher.
“When five-year-old Sulwe’s classmates make fun of her dark skin,
she tries lightening herself to no avail, but her encounter with a shooting star
helps her understand there is beauty in every shade.”
“Three-year-old Casey wants what his older sister, Jessie, has–a
shimmery skirt, glittery painted nails, and a sparkly bracelet–but Jessie does not
approve. After two boys tease Casey about his appearance, Jessie evolves to a
place of acceptance and celebration of her gender creative younger brother.”
Middle Grade
New Kid
“Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing
cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams,
his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics,
where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the
daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale
Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds–and
not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school
culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?”–
Provided by publisher.”
Alan Cole is not a coward
“Hoping to keep his older brother Nathan silent about his secret
crush on another boy at their school, twelve-year-old Alan agrees to a ruthless
sibling competition involving nearly impossible tasks–from standing up to their
demanding father to getting a first kiss.”
Bridge to Terabithia
“The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he
becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death
trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.”
Young Adult
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up with Me
“Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica
Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem:
Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend. Reeling from her latest break up,
Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious
medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But
Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of
her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem.”
The Hunger Games
“In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain
control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people
from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s
skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.”
The Hate U Give
“Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor
neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends.
The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the
fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer.
Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are
calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are
taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to
intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went
down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But
what Starr does, or does not, say could upend her community. It could also
endanger her life.”
Adult
The Kite Runner
“The unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between
two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the
same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir
is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir’s
father’s servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their
intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around
them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new
life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot
leave the memory of Hassan behind him”–From publisher description.”
The Satanic Verses: A Novel
“A hijacked jumbo jet bound for London blows apart high above
the English Channel. Two figures, Indian actors of opposing sensibilities, Gibreel
and Saladin, fall to Earth, and are washed up on an English beach. Soon curious
changes occur -Gibreel seems to have acquired a halo, while Saladin grows
hooves and bumps at his temples. They are transformed into living symbols of
what is angelic and evil. This is the initial act in an odyssey that merges the
actual with the imagined.”
The Fire Next Time
“Contains a letter to Baldwin’s nephew on the 100th anniversary of
the Emancipation Proclamation. Also describes his childhood, views on Black
Muslims, and his visions.”
Written by Ceilidh Jimenez