We live in a world where free speech is constantly under fire. From alleged censorship on social media to attacking someone for their opinions, it is hard to voice your beliefs in today’s world.
One area where this is especially notable is literature. While books have always been a wonderful way for writers to express themselves, many believe that some books just aren’t appropriate for the audiences they are intended for.
This is especially common for children’s books. Instead of simply removing banned books from the shelves, one school library decided to demonstrate just how ridiculous these bans can be.
A school library created a display of banned books and shared the reasons they had been challenged.
One unidentified school library created a display that featured books that were considered banned. A “small sample” of photos from the display, showing six books in total, was shared on Reddit.
First up was the “Lord of the Rings” series by J.R.R. Tolkein. This trilogy was accused of being satanic. This is interesting given the fact that Tolkein was Catholic and, according to the European Academy on Religion and Societycalled his writing “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.”
Next was Nick Bruel’s “Bad Kitty for President.” This book was challenged for the usage of the phrase “holy (expletive).” Also challenged was the classic “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, which is apparently “blasphemous,” “‘unnatural,’” and an “inappropriate subject matter for children.” This ban seems to ignore the fact that “Charlotte’s Web” has been enjoyed by children for generations with no adverse effects.
Two George Orwell novels were included: “1984” and “Animal Farm.” Both included communist messages, while the former also contained “sexually explicit” content, and the latter “incites violence.”
Finally, and perhaps strangest of all, was the inclusion of “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Handford. This children’s book has gained popularity as kids all over the world have sought to find Waldo in confusing mazes of illustrations with many layered depictions. Apparently, some of those depictions have included “nudity.”
Many would, naturally, find this information perplexing. “Where’s Waldo?” including nudity, sounds like another level of bizarre. But, it is apparently true, at least for some editions.
The East Lansing Public Library said that a “topless female sunbather” is to blame. “In the original edition of “Where’s Waldo,” the side of the woman’s breast can be seen as she lifts her body from her towel due to a sneaky boy throwing ice cream on her back,” they stated. “In later editions of the book, the sunbather is given a bathing suit top, and the offending breast has been covered.”
Commenters were amused by the library’s display.
Redditors understandably found the banned book display to be quite funny. However, some also attempted to make sense of it.
“This is definitely the library drawing attention to banned books and intentionally not removing them,” one person said. “I would not be surprised if these get checked out more as a result. Malicious compliance?”
Another person replied saying, “I’ll about guarantee these books aren’t banned in this library; rather, they’ve been banned for those reasons from other libraries at some point.”
A third user seemed to get to the bottom of why the display had been made in the first place. “This week is banned books week!” they announced. “Its purpose is to celebrate the freedom to read books and access information. That’s why they made this display; to highlight all the ridiculous reasons wonderful books have been banned.”
In 2023, 4,240 books were “targeted for censorship,” per the American Library Association.
While some books may be ill-suited for a classroom setting, that doesn’t mean that children should be denied access to these books entirely.
What a person reads should be an individual matter, not something that is forced upon them.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.
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