I couldn\’t think of a better way to celebrate the power of Banned Books Week than to share something wonderful and deeply touching. In the last several months leading up to this year\’s Banned Books Week I have been humbled and honored to read and share comments and letters I have received from people all […] … learn more→

This column has discussed book after book that has been banned and/or challenged for various reasons. Most incidents are the result of ignorance and intolerance, others may even be innocently well-intentioned; but what happens when entire libraries are threatened in order to serve the arrogant hatred of racism from ignorant individuals to push a political […] … learn more→

For the third time in recent weeks the Banned Books Awareness series once again focuses on some rather disturbing trends from Canada. Incidents of censorship by the border patrol, negative reactions to fiction based on historical documents, and now it seems Dr. Seuss has been branded too political for the classroom. Yertle the Turtle (1958) […] … learn more→

This is a republish of this article Lawrence Hill wrote one of the bestselling and most-popular Canadian novels of all time; but what does he do for an encore? Hill, who will be in Edmonton this coming Tuesday (4/17/12) to deliver the University of Alberta’s annual Henry Kreisel lecture, knows how to follow up a […] … learn more→

Todd Parr has written over 30 children’s books, and he is the winner of two National Parenting Publication Awards, as well as three Oppenheim Gold Awards; but his The Family Book (preschool-grade 2; 2004) has stirred up some controversy. In a whimsical, engaging way, the daily lives of all kinds of families are depicted, celebrating their […] … learn more→

The Tennessee legislature recently passed a bill stating that teachers cannot encourage “gateway sexual activity,” as part of the state\’s abstinence-based sexual education movement. Seizing the opportunity implied by the new law, officials in Sumner County last week banned John Green’s Young Adult novel “Looking for Alaska” from the school curriculum because it contains an […] … learn more→

Some call it fan fiction, while others call it “mommy porn;” but the fact is that whatever you call it, Fifty Shades of Grey, a New York Times #1 bestselling novel by E. L. James, has become an international hit. Set in Seattle, it is the first in a trilogy that follows the relationship between a recent college […] … learn more→

Last Thursday (4/19/2012), the Annville-Cleona School Board in Pennsylvania voted 8-0 to remove an award-winning children\’s book, The Dirty Cowboy, by Amy Timberlake, from its elementary schools after a student\’s parents objected to its illustrations. Board Vice President Gordon Waldhausen was absent, but President Tom Tshudy said, “We take review of this type of thing […] … learn more→