Banned Books and Teen Read Week

In recognition of Banned Books Week, the 7th grade English teachers had their students read this article about censorship. After reading the article the students came into the library. I talked to the students about the purpose of Banned Books Week, how librarians are trained to protect against censorship, the policies we use for purchasing and challenging books, challenged books we have in our library and, even, challenges we have experienced in our district. The students had several excellent questions.
Our 8th graders read the Wall Street Journal article about how dark YA books can be and this response article.

To celebrate Teen Read Week: Seek the Unknown I placed books in paper bags. Students could check out one of the "unknown" books, write a short review and earn a free book. It was a fun, easy and popular event. It was hilarious to watch students try to find a strategy for choosing the books. A few students said they were too scared to do it because it made them nervous. It was NOT the silly sixth graders in my picture below.

I hope you enjoyed Banned Books and Teen Read Week at your school.