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Book Review: Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
I have to give a great big thank you to one of my teen’s former middle school language arts teachers for recommending Answers in the Pages by author David Levithan. It’s lovely, timely, and important. There are so many wonderful lines in this book that it was difficult to narrow down which to share, but this one hit me hard enough that I wrote it on a sticky note: “While the meaning of a book may be informed by the author’s intentions, it isn’t defined by them. Meaning comes from the combination of what the author puts in, and what the reader takes out.” As a writer, I can only…
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Banned Books Week 2020 – Find Your Freedom to READ
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. This year, Banned Book Week runs from September 27 to October 3, 2020. Books are still being banned and challenged today. (For clarity: a challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.) While books have been and will continue to be banned, one of my favorite parts of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, most of the time, the books remain available. This is…
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Banning Books Silences Stories – Banned Books Week 2018
Banned Book Week 2018 runs September 23 – 29. The 2018 theme, “Banning Books Silences Stories,” is a reminder that everyone needs to speak out against the tide of censorship. Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community – librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types – in shared support…
