Hook Your Tweens and Teens on Reading Banned Books

My kids aren’t reading like they used to. It’s not good. But, I have a plan . . . I’m going to entice them with the controversy of banned books. In fact, I think the emotional tug of unfairness and lack of choice will motivate your tweens and teens, too. Because there’s nothing more resonating to kids than unfairness. And when books are banned, it’s unfair.

Kids want choices. Kids want fairness.

At our house, I’m seeing too much screen time and not enough reading. I want to see more reading. Not to mention, more thoughtful reading.

What about your kids? If you need a hook, try the idea of the banned books with me!

Hook Your Tweens and Teens on Reading Banned Books

The idea of banning books is a great discussion to have with kids anyway. There are plenty of historical examples of book banning to discuss. Talk about the main reasons for book banning like sex, language, violence, and certain kinds of content and why parents or leaders might seek banning.

As for me, I want my kids to be able to self-censor. It’s my job to teach them to be thinkers. Then, when I’m not around, they will learn to make their own choices. They’ll learn for themselves what they prefer to read and not read.

Of course, I think school librarians and teachers should be discriminating in choosing what books are available for their students. Certainly. Clearly, it’s not a good idea to have a bomb-making book on the shelves when there are plenty of other, incredible book options.

But banning is more than careful discrimination. It’s a formal prohibition of specific books. I dislike banning since it’s not trusting readers (and teachers and librarians) to make their own choices.

So what controversial banned books might entice tweens and teens to read? I have a list! Keep reading.

And when my child picks a book, I’m asking them to read with a discerning eye. My big question will be this: can they figure out what might be controversial about the book?

Parents, if you’re concerned about any of these books, read the book with or to your child. See what amazing discussions you can have! (See my post and the interesting comment thread about my debate about if I should let my 10-year old daughter read The Hunger Games.)

I purposefully did not include why these books were banned. Do you want that or do you want to decide for yourself? If you want to learn specific reasons for each book’s banning, visit the ALA site here.