Posted on September 13, 2022 at 2:13 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
We tend to think of history as repeating itself.
And when it comes to book bans and challenges, it's accurate to say this isn't the first time we've seen groups trying to restrict what everyone — not just their own children — can read.
But Jonna Perrillo, a professor of English education at the University of Texas at El Paso, has some bad news about today's book bans and challenges.
They're more dangerous than previous eras' challenges, because they're targeting books that kids actually choose to read — not necessarily ones assigned in the classroom.
She covers the modern history of book bans in a guest column for the Washington Post.
As if to underscore her point, one author of beloved YA novels has shared his experience as the one whose work is caught up in these challenges.
Vulture chatted with John Green, author of Looking for Alaska, about how people in the school district he attended are trying to ban that book.
“It’s weird on a few levels,” he told Vulture. “For one thing, I know some of the people involved. Like, I remember you from middle school.”
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Categories: Today in Books