Title: Why Your Kid Should Read Banned Books | Common Sense Media
Headings: Why Your Kid Should Read Banned Books
Parenting, Media, and Everything In Between
Why Your Kid Should Read Banned Books
Banned Books Week gives families a chance to celebrate reading, talk about censorship, and decide for themselves what's appropriate for kids to read. By Regan McMahon
About Regan McMahon

Content: Libraries, bookstores, publishers, and teachers across the country use the week -- this year it's Sept. 22-28 -- to highlight great books that people have banned and to spark a discussion about censorship. At Common Sense Media, we think reading banned books offers families a chance to celebrate reading and promote open access to ideas, both of which are keys to raising a lifelong reader. Why do people ban books? Often it's for religious or political reasons: An idea, a scene, or a character in the book offends their religion, sense of morality, or political view. Some folks feel they need to protect children from the cursing, morally offensive behavior, or racially insensitive language in a book. Or they think a book's content is too violent or too sexual. The Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage has been banned for its graphic depictions of war. The edgy teen best-seller The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky) has been banned for its descriptions of sexual behavior and alcohol and drug use. Profanity and an explicit scene featuring oral sex got Looking for Alaska (John Green) on the banned list.