Sometimes you just have to break the rules...

Now I am not saying we should run amok and let chaos rule here, but some things you just have to take a stand against. 

Banning books for one.

Personally, if you have a problem with a book and don't want your children reading it, then sit down with them and explain your reasoning.  Don't go on a tirade and yelling and screaming about how some story that your kids could possibly get their hands on is the spawn of the devil or some such thing.  

Honestly, have you never heard of "forbidden fruit" and how juicy that sucker looks once mom and dad make a big deal out of it?  

Has anyone ever really looked at the banned and challenged list?  The reasons for some books being challenged these days is seriously stupid.  The "Twilight" series is questioned for religious teachings?  Why?  Because one of the characters questions if he has a soul?  "To Kill A Mockingbird" is on the list because parents feel it is too mature of a subject for their children?  People, elementary kids are not going to be picking this book up and giving it a shot... if your child remotely has an interest in what the literary world considers to be a "classic" then go for it, and be proud of that kid for not wanting to read the next issue of Cosmo instead.

In our "plugged in" society, books aren't often even a prized possession these days. Seriously, if your kid is begging you to take them to the library because they have nothing new to read you should be celebrating and jumping up and down in the streets, rather than trying to stifle their creativity and intellect.  If your child is reading a book at home then you know where they are, and not wondering what sort of antics they are getting into down the street with the rest of their friends, and, lets be honest here, a kid who reads is a kid who thinks.  If a kid wanders into a section a little more mature than they are ready for, they are going to wander back out again quickly enough.  A kid who reads is also one who is going to understand that not everything in the book is how things really are in the world, and I would rather that they learn a bit about the world from a book rather than going out and testing it for themselves.

Now, being the rebel that I am, it turns out that I actually HAVE read quite a few books on the banned books list, and there are others on the list that I plan to read in the near future (no, not Fifty Shades of Grey.... that's not my scene, but I do have "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" on my to-read list).  

I thought I would show you just a few of the books that I have read and, surprise! they are all banned or have been seriously challenged.

 

So are you willing to be a rebel?