A surprising variety of children’s books have faced censorship even in the 21st century. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series has been banned from many schools in the US (and even one school in the UK) and on six occasions the books were publicly burned on the grounds that they promoted witchcraft.
Adults have often tried to stop children from reading books they deemed inappropriate or dangerous: In 1973, a school board in North Dakota confiscated all copies of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five used for English lessons. . Many of the students refused to hand over their books, so the school ordered a search of their lockers and burned any copies of Slaughterhouse Five they found there.
You are reading: Quotes about banning books
So if anyone ever threatens to ban books from your school, here are some quotes to inspire you to stand up for your right to read dangerous books:
banning books gives us silence when we need to talk. close our ears when we need to hear. makes us blind when we need to see.
stephen chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. His coming-of-age novel has faced censorship in the United States and Canada.
The book felt cold enough now that he slipped it inside his uniform. at first, it was nice and warm against his chest. however, when he started walking, he started to get hot again. By the time he returned with Papa and Wolfgang Edel, the book was beginning to burn her. she seemed to be turning on…underneath her shirt, the book was eating her up.
In Nazi Germany, many books were considered so dangerous that they were publicly burned. liesl meminger, the book thief from marcus zusak’s best-selling novel, steals a half-burnt book from the edge of one of these bonfires.
at first one, then another, then nearly every member of the crowd raises the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and offers them to me.
In 2014, protesters against the military takeover in Thailand used this gesture from Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series to symbolize their resistance to the new regime.
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If a public school were to remove all books because they contain a word that some parents find objectionable, then there would be no books in our public libraries.
so said peter scheer, executive director of the california first amendment coalition, when the tenth edition of the merriam webster dictionary was banned from a southern california school after a parent complained that the dictionary was infringing included a definition of “oral sex”.
I think censorship stems from fear, and because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed. the book ban satisfies their need to feel in control of their children’s lives. this fear is often disguised as moral outrage. they want to believe that if their kids don’t read about it, their kids won’t know about it. And if they don’t know, it won’t happen.”
the original teen queen, judy blume, author of books including gare you there god, it’s me margaret, and forever, which caused extreme shockwaves and horror when published over 40 years ago due to its frank content sexual.
when these people call eleanor & park a raunchy story, I feel like they’re saying it’s not possible to get over their situation. that if you grow up in an ugly situation, your story is not even fit for the ears of good people. that the ugly annuls all the beautiful.
Rainbow Rowell’s reaction to the Parents Action League’s campaign to remove her books from schools in Annoka-Hennepin, USA. The league described Eleanor and Park as “raw, sexually charged material” containing 227 instances of “profanity.”
there are no bad authors for children… because every child is different. they can find the stories they need and decide for themselves.
neil gaiman is a staunch opponent of banning books from schools. Several of his own books, including Neverwhere and the Sandman series, have been banned from American schools.
and Tango was the first penguin at the zoo to have two dads.
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And the Tango Makes Three is a beautiful book by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, based on the true story of two male penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo who formed a partnership and raised an egg together. There have been many campaigns to ban this book in the US, due to its depiction of same-sex relationships.
I’m the lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees because trees don’t have tongues.
but the lorax was silenced in a california school in 1989, when dr. seuss’s wonderful story was banned for portraying the logging industry in a negative light and promoting environmentalism.
oh, you can’t help it,” said the cat. “We’re all mad here.
in 1991, the governor of china’s hunan province banned lewis carroll’s wacky classic alice in wonderland, arguing that “animals shouldn’t use human language and that it was disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level. level.”
Of course, it’s a concern when someone is in charge of dictating what people should or shouldn’t read. The power of organized religion is very strong in the United States and it is getting stronger thanks to the internet.
so says philip pullman, whose famous trilogy, his dark materials, has been banned from many schools in the united states, largely due to its anti-christian themes and its positive portrayal of witchcraft. he has also spoken out against the closure of libraries, defending the importance of books being available to everyone. “Leave the libraries alone. you don’t know the value of what you’re taking care of. it is too precious to destroy.”
The books that the world calls immoral are books that show their own shame.
the last word of the controversial author oscar wilde, extracted from his book the portrait of dorian gray.
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