Sarah the Librarian

... or as I think I'm going to start calling it, Librarian Christmas, the most hyped (by librarians) library holiday of the year. I've been dutifully wearing my "i read banned books" bracelet all week and awaiting patron questions about our banned books displays. I've written in past years about how I'm sort of over Banned Books Week, but I keep getting pulled back in when I hear about some of the ridiculous books people are trying to ban. This year's is one I just read for the first time this summer, Bless Me, Ultima  by Rudolfo Anaya . Apparently it was considerate too graphic and inappropriate for a high school audience. Interesting, considering the story's narrator is in elementary school. Basically, it has the usual collection of difficult to discuss ideas: violence, death, questioning faith in God, a child's confusion about how adult sexual relationships work, but since it's all told from the point of view of a 6-year-old, it's not ...

How could I almost forget to blog about Banned Books Week ? After National Library Week, it's probably the biggest holiday in Libraryland. I love Banned Books Week because it gives me a chance to talk about books I love because, let's face  it, some of the best books are the ones that cause controversy. As I used to do on my old book blog, here are the top 10 most challenged books from the last year according to the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom and the two I've actually gotten around to reading are in bold : And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit Crank by Ellen Hopkins Reasons: drugs...