Adrian Birds

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103-63

Neary, Lynne. "Too Graphic? 2014 Banned Books Week Celebrates Challenged
Comics." NPR. NPR, 24
Sept. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Banned Books Week is an annual event aimed at raising awareness to

the freedom to read and is surrounded by those books that are banned,
censored or challenged. The event started in 1982 by library activist Judith
Krug (1940-2009). It is celebrated for a full week in September is sponsored
by a number of different associations and organizations, the event has also
become an international celebration.
In addition to books being banned Comic Books are also banned and
added to the list of challenged books. In Too Graphic? 2014 Banned Books
Week Celebrates Challenged Comics author Jeff Smith finds his work on the
challenged list. Jeff is the author of the comic book series Bone, which has
been challenged due to racism, violence, and political viewpoints. Smith
recollects when he first heard that his series was being challenged I was
sitting in a room a fairly large room, there was probably between 500 and
1,000 people in the audience and there was all ages and races in the

room, and everybody was just like: What??" Smith just didn't get it. As of
2013 other titles on the list of challenged books are Fifty Shades of Grey for
nudity, offensive language, and sexual explicitness, The Hunger Games is
also on the lest for its religious viewpoints, and number one on the list was
Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey for offensive language and violence. After
getting over the initial shock of finding out he was on the list Smith became
content with being on the list "I mean my heroes are on this list," he says.
"People like Mark Twain and Steinbeck and Melville and Vonnegut, so part of
me also kind of says, 'OK, fine I can be on this list.' "
Judith Platt, who serves as the current committee chair for the Banned
Books Week Committee, implies that the books on the list have been placed
there because they prompt children to question authority. Platt believes that
it is important for children to know that it is okay to challenge authority or
something they feel is not right. The challenges to ban these types of book
are not always successful according to Platt, Teachers, librarians, parents
and kids often fight to keep these books available for those who do want to
read them.

Analysis: The article draws attention to specifically to books that are

being challenged and a little bit of an insight on how those feel who are
having their work challenged. It offers great perspective into my research

question and was easily read and understood. This could help other people
researching topics in banned books, or freedom to write or read.