Banned Books discussion

This topic is for discussing the banned or challenged book The Call of the Wild by Jack London. It would be great if you would use spoiler tags to hide any information that might spoil the story for someone else. If you have any questions about how to do a spoiler tag, please contact me and I'm happy to explain it to you. It's really easy.

Started it today. Already 15% done. It should go vey quickly as its so short a book. Anyone else reading it yet?

Halfway through. There is absolutely no reason to "ban" this book (or any other in my opinion!) but I can see why it should NOT be filed away in the children's literature section. People put it there mistakenly thinking that because its man character is dog that its a children's book. It is not. It is an adult book with violence and cruelty... Violence and cruelty of the natural world, yes, but enough to make it not a children's adventure book.

I finished it and cannot believe that I didn't read this sooner! I don't understand why it has been banned either. Mixed in with the violence and cruelty is also a story that there are still good people in the world as well. Like the main character of the book, each of us experiences a wide spectrum of the human capacity for good or evil.

Too true, Lori, too true.

I read this a couple of years ago and was surprised to see it mentioned in this group - had no idea it was previously banned/challenged!

I do agree with both Kenneth's and Lori's comments about it being an adult book with some violence and cruelty. Always found it bizarre when people think of it as a fluffy children's book with a cute dog on the cover...

That said, I think it's a good book for parents/adults to read with kids to discuss the topics in it.

I wish I would've taken the time to read this book before! It is an incredible story of instinct, human nature, & animal nature.

While I can understand why some parents would want their children to be slightly older (maybe teens) before they read this book, nothing in it merits being banned. I agree with Evelyn that it would be a good book for parents to read with their kids & discuss.

I do believe that it is the simplicity of the concepts & story overall that it generally is placed in the genre of children's fiction. Looking back over history, even one hundred years ago, children were exposed to much deeper issues than, generally, the parents of today allow their own children to experience. They didn't have Dora the Explorer or Disney. They read Grimm's fairy tales & Mother Goose rhymes, all of which in their original text, were quite gruesome & today would be deemed too violent for children. The cruelty exhibited in Call of the Wild can't even compare to the rhyme 10 Little Soldiers.