Banned Books Week

Hi everyone! It's Eva here! I'm a new SLP this year, and I'm part of the blogging team. If you didn't know already, this past week was Banned Books Week. All around the world, many books are banned, like the Bible, John Green's Looking for Alaska, and even the one-and-only Harry Potter series! Just think about it--What would your life be like if you weren't allowed to read any of your favorite books?

Today I'm going to talk about one of the best books of all time (in my opinion, of course)--Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. This was not only one of my all-time childhood favorites, but I still read it for fun even to this day! After spending hours and hours reading about Absolutism in the 17th century for AP Euro, Where the Wild Things Are lets me let loose my imagination and relax my mind. But why, you may think, is this childish book banned in some places? Well, on the outside, the book may look very simple, talking about a little boy's crazy dreams and imaginations, but if you delve deeply into the book, there are a few controversial themes that pop up. First of all, the book talks about the somewhat naughty and mischievous behavior of little kids.  For example, when the main character, Max tells his mom "I'll eat you up!" some parents believed that this book would encourage what they call "bad" behavior in kids. The book is also somewhat gloomy, and the first time I read the book, I felt pretty depressed at the end. Max's family is a little messed up and disorganized, with his mom who calls him "a wild thing" and doesn't give him any dinner. The combination of his somewhat abusive household and his own dark emotions caused many parents to believe that this book would, simply put, frighten children, and expose them to the blunt truths of the world way too early. In other words, many parents believe that Where the Wild Things Are can scare their children and even turn them into bad kids.

Well, anyway, I've got good news, because Where the Wild Things Are is not banned in our library! I encourage you to find some time to read this book, because it will truly make your imagination run wild (hence the title). But, be careful-- don't let your imagination run too wild.

:)