Read a Banned Book This Week

This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating our freedom to read whatever we like. It’s not that we want to celebrate the banning of books, of course. What we celebrate is the power of books to convey ideas, even ideas that are shocking, controversial or unpopular.

Sponsored by the American Library Association and many others, Banned Books Week is an important way to shine a light on these books. Many of the books highlighted during Banned Books Week were only the target of attempted bans; a powerful reminder of the importance of staying vigilant about protecting our First Amendment right to read any books we like.

At First Book, we like to walk the walk, so we make a special effort to ensure that the schools and programs in our network have access to high-quality books – including many that have been banned, or the target of attempted bannings.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.
• The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank.
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin
• The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
• Fighting Ground, by Avi
• The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
• Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
• Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Check out these books (and more) on the First Book Marketplace, and make sure the kids you serve have the chance to read them all, and make up their own minds.