Banned Books

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The growing anger and disgust towards books from parents, schools, and more have become much more prominent in recent years. Specifically, children’s books that deal with sensitive or diverse topics, such as Harry Potter, have been bitterly criticized by parents and schools around the world. Some of the most commonly censored topics include abuse, death, sexuality, and certain religious claims. However, new movements such as Banned Books Week, created by the ALA, show disagreement towards the censorship of media. Books should not be banned or censored because reading banned books prepares children for later life and can enhance their imagination. Some people may argue that books should be banned because books with violent or scary topics can …show more content…

When children read books with strong, diverse, or difficult topics, they can learn important life skills such as empathy. This is evident in text 3 when it states, “Perhaps no recent book has illuminated the benefits of such an approach for young readers as much as R.J Palacio’s 2012 bestseller Wonder.Wonder transports them beyond their own experiences and instills the feelings of empathy and humility that are an essential part of the reasons we tell stories.” This demonstrates that reading books that deal with difficult scenarios like Wonder, which deals with a young boy with a developmental disorder, can aid in developing a kid’s empathy and humility because it teaches them how to deal with their struggles. These are extremely important life skills that will benefit them in their later life. Additionally, reading challenging books has been shown to improve civic behavior in children in their later lives. To prove this, text 5 states, “Ferguson found that reading banned books did not correlate with committing violent or nonviolent crimes. By contrast, reading banned books correlated positively to civic behavior and students were more interested in politics and elections and more involved in charitable causes.” Since studies show that reading banned books has few negative impacts and many beneficial impacts such as an improvement in civic engagement, it shows that reading banned books will prepare children for later life. Other than the benefits mentioned above, other important positive outcomes can come from reading banned

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