Ban This Book

"This book takes place in Raleigh NC; and focuses on a forth grader who fights for her library after her favorite book gets banned for being "dangerous to the minds of youth." Amy learns to speak up, speak out, and makes some unlikely friends in the process."

"after i finished this book i read every book that’s in the banned book list"

"Best book ever"

"Great way for kids to learn how things work and to learn the right way to stand up for what means something to you."

"Ban this Book is an eye-opening middle grade novel that examines the concepts of freedom of speech and intellectual freedom.<br/><br/>The right to protest a book is balanced very carefully with the right to have the same book written, published, and read. If you upset this balance, none of these rights will stand alone.<br/><br/>I'm not going to give plot summary here, but I will say that this book closely examines the process and the extremes people go to to both challenge and protect books. It forces readers to enter the discussion and examine their own personal feelings on the subject.<br/><br/>This quote sums up the entire book:<br/><br/>"Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can't read except your parents" (p. 242).<br/><br/><br/><br/>****<br/><br/>Other quotes: <br/><br/>". . . I could have almost half the books Mrs. Spencer banned from the library sitting in my locker by tomorrow, where ANYBODY could read them, not just me" (p. 65).<br/><br/><br/>". . . I didn't see what the difference between banning and removing was. Either way, kids couldn't read them.<br/><br/>And that's when I remembered why I started the B.B.L.L. (Banned Books Locker Library) in the first place. GOOD BOOKS SHOULDN'T BE HIDDEN AWAY. THEY SHOULD BE READ BY AS MANY PEOPLE AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE. But that wasn't exactly true. It wasn't just GOOD books that shouldn't be hidden away. It was ALL books. Any books. It didn't matter what they were about, or whether I liked them, or Mrs. Spencer liked them, or the school board liked them.<br/><br/>I was lucky. My parents would buy me any book I wanted if I asked them to. But not everybody's parents would do that. Not everybody's parents COULD do that. That's what libraries were for: to make sure that everybody had the same access to the same books everyone else did. That's why I started the Banned Books Locker Library, and that was why I was going to get every last book Mrs. Spencer had banned. . . .<br/><br/>'I think it's the same thing,' I said. . . . 'Banning and removing. Either way, people can't read them. And that's all that really matters" (p. 91-92).<br/><br/><br/>". . . 'Well, I wish they were on the shelves, where everybody could read them,' he said. 'I think it's important that libraries be a place where you can find all kinds of books. Good ones, funny ones, serious ones. Every person should be free to read whatever they want, whenever they want, and not have to explain to anyone else why we like it, or why we think it's valuable. . .'" (p. 130-131).<br/><br/><br/>"'Every parent has the right to decide what their child can and can't read. What they cannot do is make that decision for everyone else. . .'" (p. 173).<br/><br/><br/>"'Look, the point is, once you ban one book, somebody, somewhere, can find a reason to ban EVERY book. . .'" (p.192).<br/><br/>(All caps above are in lieu of italics.)"