Dear Ms. Berner,
Many teachers and parents have been concerned with the books that are in the 6th graders school libraries. Parents don't like the issues that we read about. I think that it's for parents or teachers to say what we read, because we're learning from from these young adult texts. Kids should be able to read whatever we want. Books should be banned because books save kids lives, and gives kids a sense of the world and problems in the world.
Books should not be banned because they save kids lives. Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, said at one of her book signings a girl came up to her and shared that Crank saved her life. The girl started getting high because of the absence of her alcoholic mother. She said Crank showed her that weed and drugs were the wrong decision and has now been clean for two years. On HTV video on schooltube, a high school student spoke about banning the book The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian from her school library. The girl said the book was one of her favorites and taught her so much about big life problems. It's not right to take away from kids because they save their lives.
Books give kids a sense of life as well. A girl who reads about rape is going to be more aware of what to do to avoid an attack and to be more cautious. Also, books teach kids about the bad problems that come. When kids read about drugs and how awful your life turns when you do drugs. That teaches kids not to do drugs because your life will be ruined if you do. If you ban books, it's harder for kids to get that lesson.
On the contrary, some books are a little extreme and rough for kids to read. Parents may be concerned that reading about suicide or other tough problems. But it doesn't do that it shows us that suicide or drugs is the wrong answer and we shouldn't do drugs or drink alcohol. On a news report, a man who's daughter was assigned "Fahrenheit 451" wrote a list of all the things. On the list he said "cigarettes, burning of books, etc;" First of all, you can't say that cigarettes are inappropriate when you see and smell people smoking them everywhere. Also, the burning of books is what the book is about and the whole point of the book is that banning books is wrong, so the parents just seems like he doesn't understand the book.
All in all, it's wrong to ban books for kids because books save kids lives, and teach kids responsibilities that only books can teach. Yes, some books are not right for children but that doesn't mean that kids don't have a right to read them. It's our choice what we read, not the school board.
