Last week was Banned Books Week and a good time to reflect on how the tiniest of offended sensibilities turn people into moralistic monsters that believe they are saving humanity by plucking The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the shelf. All sorts of nonsense happens when people get in it in their heads that they are doing something “for the children.” Last week we got to revolt against the high-minded book-banning enemy, fly our freak flags, and advocate for the younger versions of our weird little selves. Let kids read what they want, we rallied!
Why did the Riverside Unified School District ban The Fault in Our Stars? They claimed it was because they didn’t want “kids dealing with their own mortality” but we all know it was about the sex. Everything is always about sex. And in this case it’s pretty ridiculous, considering that the sex in the book is just a do-you-want-to-yes-okay-now-fade-into-black-next-chapter-it’s-morning-and-look-at-the-beautiful-sun-do-I-look-different?
However.
It came to me today that there actually are some books that might not be super cool for highly impressionable 10 year-olds. There might be some things that are better left for an older, wiser reader who has already, let’s say, figured out that her math teacher was a pervert when he reached out and caressed her bare leg as she stood next to his desk collecting her homework assignment. We can’t stop children from being introduced to the evils of the world, but some things can maybe just be introduced a bit later. There are at least five things I think we probably shouldn’t let 10 year-olds read:
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