Banned Books Week 2010 & other tidbits

First off, we're nearing the end of Banned Books Week for 2010. Now, I know there have been other rants posted about how moronic this is. We're inhibiting free speech. But they're just kids so why do they need to be creative, free thinkers? While we're banning books, let's cut music and art programs as well. Pretty soon, our kids will be safe from any sort of harm that ideas and knowledge may inflict upon them. The poor dears ...

*ahem* I got side tracked there a bit. Have you really paid attention to the sorts of books that are being challenged and/or banned? One of the more ridiculous ones is the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

OK, let's let that sink in a bit. Someone actually challenged and succeeded in removing a REFERENCE BOOK because his kid looked up "oral sex." Really? REALLY? That's the reason you had a book removed? One that could potentially make your kid smarter or a better speller? Maybe if the parent removed the stick from their ...

*sigh* Off topic again. Here's the deal ... become more active in your kids' lives and other people won't have to be denied. Because that's what happens when a book is banned/challenged/removed. Other people are denied access to information. Just because your kid isn't mature enough to handle a certain subject matter doesn't mean that mine isn't. Get involved. Read the books your kids are interested in advance and make an educated decision. Don't base it on, "Well, I heard that there's witchcraft in the book," or other such nonsense.

Start teaching your kids to educate themselves by providing them the example that they SHOULD be following. Teach them to gather all the relevant facts and then offer an educated opinion. Oh, that's right. That falls under "free thinking" and I forgot that we're doing away with that.

If you're interested, here's the link to the list of the Most Challenged/Banned books this year so far: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/2010banned.pdf (Sorry. I can't make it clicky.)

I've done my part and read a banned book this week. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone is currently playing in my car. Have you read a banned book? If so, tell me what' you've read.

In other news, I got matched to my penpal this week! I participate in a program called In2Books. They work with 3rd to 5th graders all across the country to enhance the schools' literacy/literature programs. It fosters a love of reading and helps to develop abstract & critical thinking along with analysis skills. Last year was my first year participating in the program and I learned a lot myself. This year, my penpal is in Iowa. Can't wait to get reading!

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

This is wonderfully, completely unlike what I expected it to be going in to the story. I said this on my online book club and it's really the only way I can think to describe it. Imagine Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia hooking up one drunken night and having a baby. Toss in an ending where all is not happily ever after and you'll get the idea of this book.

It starts out with a world weary teenager named Quentin. (Aren't they all?) He's intelligent, one of the smartest in his class in Brooklyn. What sets Quentin apart from his classmates that he secretly believes in magic and a world called Fillory. It's from a children's set of books that he's read over and over and over. He longs to become part of that world because he thinks it will solve a lot of issues he's had in his short, unremarkable life.

In actuality, he's not a normal teen. He's a magician and soon gets an invitation to attend Brakebills which is a magickal college in the Hudson Valley. He attends and advances quickly through the years there. He falls in love with another student named Alice. Along the way, he grows up, grows into his power, becomes a goose for a while, and learns some good lessons about controlling what you do. What you do eventually creates who you are.

I think that if you liked Harry Potter or ever wished you could find a Narnia of your own, you should read this book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling

OK. So I've been a little derelict in my duty lately with regard to the blog. But I've had a little medical thing which is hopefully sorting itself out. I haven't read much lately but I am getting back into it slowly but surely. Let's start with this.

The second HP is my least favorite of the lot. Why? Because one of them has to be. In this one, we find Harry barely being spoken to by the Dursleys since they're afraid he's going to blow them up or something else just as sinister with magic. So while he's not being treated as badly as before, he's being ignored and neglected by them ... and his friends. Or so he thinks. He hasn't gotten a single letter from Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid and he thinks they've forgotten about him.

A visit from a strange being called a house elf changed that. What's a house elf? It's a magical being that works for a family throughout its life until it either dies or the family sets it free. The magic binding the elf to the family breaks when a member gifts the elf with clothes. Dobby (the elf in question) breaks his family's rules and goes to warn Harry about danger that's to come to Hogwarts this school year. He stopped letters to Harry, tried to get him expelled from school, stopped the gate from letting him through, and sent a Bludger after him to "protect" him. Dobby sees him as something of a savior.

Harry does wind up back at Hogwarts, efforts of the Whomping Willow notwithstanding. And the year starts out as normal, with classes, Quidditch practice, Malfoy & Snape being a jerk. Then ...

Mrs. Norris (the caretaker's cat) is petrified shortly after Harry hears a voice. Odd as there was no way she could have come into contact with anything that might have caused it. But that, along with an incident at the Dueling Club, and several other attacks, leave many people wondering if Harry is the Heir of Slytherin. He is persecuted and tormented mostly for being different but Ron and Hermione stick by him as usual.

A lot more happens in this book. We see the seeds of the relationship between Ron and Hermione being sown. Ginny actually talks to Harry. The Weasley twins are ... well, they're the twins. Wood is still maniacal about Quidditch. All's well that ends well ... or is it?

If you get a chance, please listen to the audiobook by Jim Dale. He's fabulous.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling

OK. I make no secret of my love for HP. Here's why ... this is a well crafted, well written story for all ages. Everyone can read this series and get something different out of it. For kids, it's a chance to see someone their own age accomplish a task that no adult thought he could do. For adults, it's a classic tale of good and evil, the trials and tribulations that go into making us human. Love.It.

When the story begins, there are celebrations all over England but many people aren't sure why or what is being celebrated. They don't have any magic in their blood so they are unaware of another culture living within their midst. The celebrations taking place amongst witches and wizards in the Wizarding world. You see, their greatest enemy to date has been defeated and disappeared but no one is quite sure how. The person who defeated Voldemort is ... a baby? Little Harry Potter caused the Killing Curse that Voldemort sent at him to rebound and strike its creator. However, the Potters are murdered just before Voldemort turns on Harry so he's left an orphan.

In come the Dursleys. Petunia is Harry's aunt, his mother's sister. She has a deep loathing for anything to do with the magical world but reluctantly agrees to take him in. They proceed to treat him neglectfully, almost cruelly, until he's about to turn eleven. It would border on child abuse in the US, if not set foot over the line into it.

Harry is about to enter secondary school, which is our equivalent to middle school from what I can figure. And odd things happen when he's upset or angry. His hair grows back after a particularly horrid haircut. Ugly sweaters shrink so he can't wear them. He's flicked out of harm's way when in danger without knowing how he got there. Petunia and Vernon know that he's a wizard but are determined not to let him join or know about that world.

After a disastrous trip to the zoo (where Harry somehow removes the glass from the python tank and sets it free), a letter arrives for Harry. He's never gotten a letter from anyone so he's not quite sure how to handle it. He accidentally starts to open it at the table where it's confiscated by Uncle Vernon. Once they see the coat of arms on the back of the envelope, Vernon and Petunia set out to prevent Harry from getting the letter. Their journey takes them to a tiny little island on the sea. Lo and behold, someone arrives at the stroke of midnight on Harry's eleventh birthday to the tiny island hideout.

This man looks like a giant and is able to knock the door to the cottage down. He then proceeds to tell Harry exactly who he is, much to the displeasure of Vernon and Petunia. And so changes the course of Harry's life as he knows it. A brand new world opens to him, one in which he leaves the stigma of being the forgotten, orphaned child behind and can succeed or fail based on his own talents.

Well, I won't bore you with an exact retelling of the story. And I'm sure most of you reading this have already read the books. lol ...

And to those critics who called Twilight "the next Harry Potter" I'd like to say ... STICK IT!