It's Banned Book Week ! I didn't even know! And I'm interested in that kind of stuff! See, this is the kind of thing that should be on the news. Well, on the morning radio news or Yahoo! news because I don't actually watch TV news or read newspapers because they're all about murders and that's just depressing. On the ALA website, I read the list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books and I've read about thirty of them. Like, ten of them were required for school! I read To Kill A Mockingbird for three classes from sixth grade to college! Some stuff is actually banned for racism. The world is racist, people! We can't just pretend it's not because it might upset a few kids. Black kids, Asian kids, Middle Eastern kids, Jewish kids - they have to deal with it every day. But it might upset the delicate white kids, what with racism being so unpleasant and all, so we just need to shelter them all from it. My ass.

Where's Waldo? is on the most challenged list. Where's Waldo????? Seriously. I am not certain what the reasoning is behind that but it's one of the most challenged books ever. Ever. What's wrong with people? I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and most of Toni Morrison's books are on there. Most of Judy Blume's too. Dude, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret (aside from being the only book I've ever read with my name in the title) really really helped me. It made me feel better about menstruating when it's something we were, and are still, continually being told to be ashamed of. They are building smaller and smaller tampons so "no one knows" and now there is even "crinkle free wrapper" for pads so the girl in the stall next to you (who is probably freaking because she's forgotten to bring a tampon to the bathroom and would probably ask you to help her out if she hadn't been taught since birth to be ashamed of her "dirty bleeding") can't tell that you are using a pad. I loved that one of the girls totally lied about it and that the girl that was least likely to get it first, did. Everything about Judy Blume's books is wonderful. Even though you can tell they were written in a different time (Margaret featured many discussions of pads and belts, though the newer editions have been changed), the things girls go through are the same. I even thought Then Again, Maybe I Won't was great. What did I know about wet dreams and unpredictable erections? I thought boys had everything easy and never had any cause to be embarrassed. At least, that's how all the boys I knew behaved. How many times are we going to have to go over this shit? Reading about things is how we are taught about them. The injustice and racism of To Kill A Mockingbird is stark and jolting. It is also appalling and shocking. But it's not promoting racism. It's bending over backwards to show you how wrong it is. It is clear from start to finish that the only reason Tom Robinson was accused, went to trial, was convicted, and then shot, was the color of his skin. But other books that are more subtle shouldn't be left out either. I mean, what are we teaching our kids if we don't let them know about anything that is going on in the world; about what is behind the things that happen to them and the people they know. Admitting the world is not always safe or good is being a good parent and/or teacher. We all need help getting by.