Region of Waterloo Library discussion

Have you ever read any of the books on our reading list before? What did you think about the book(s) you read?

I read The Wars in first-year university for a class. I don't remember it - I feel like I probably didn't like it because I "had" to read it. I should give it another shot! I've also read The Handmaid's Tale - loved it! But who doesn't love Margaret Atwood? ;)

Chantel wrote: "I read The Wars in first-year university for a class. I don't remember it - I feel like I probably didn't like it because I "had" to read it. I should give it another shot! I've also read The Handm..."

If you are interested in rereading The Wars, RWL has a copy of it you can borrow. http://goo.gl/w4Trga

What did you love about The Handmaid's Tale? It is definitely, a well-known book that has had it's share of controversy.

I have read 8 or so of the books on the shelves and enjoyed each of them. Most I read quite some time ago so can't comment in any detail. A few I want to re-read, the latest being The Giver. I hadn't read it before last year. Don't know why, as it certainly is my type of book.

Heather wrote: "I have read 8 or so of the books on the shelves and enjoyed each of them. Most I read quite some time ago so can't comment in any detail. A few I want to re-read, the latest being The Giver. I h..."

The Giver is a great title! It's hard to believe that it ended up on the challenged works list. Here is the challenge it received (let us know your thoughts!)

1998—A parent in Simcoe County (ON) complained about the presence of this book and Robert Cormier’s novel We All Fall Down in two elementary school libraries.

Objection—The parent said that teaching this book would be more appropriate at the Grade 11 level. The book is aimed at children aged 10 to 13.

Update—The board considered the objection but decided to leave The Giver in school libraries for Grade 6, 7, and 8 students.

Yes, I've read many of these books.I think I recommended "Margaret and I" - don't know anyone else who has ever commented on it. I think "Handmaid's tale" is one of the few of Atwood's novels I liked. Not a fan. Some of the most interesting books are the most controversial. Makes sense.

YZ wrote: "Yes, I've read many of these books.I think I recommended "Margaret and I" - don't know anyone else who has ever commented on it. I think "Handmaid's tale" is one of the few of Atwood's novels I li..."

It does make sense. We all enjoy discussing something that evokes a strong reaction - whether it is good or bad. The Handmaid's Tale definitely provokes that type of discourse. Here is the reason it was challenged:

2008 — In Toronto, a parent formally complained about the use of this dystopian novel in a Grade 12 English class at Lawrence Park Collegiate. The parent said that the novel’s “profane language,” anti-Christian overtones, “violence” and “sexual degradation” probably violated the district school policies that require students to show respect and tolerance to one another.
In 2009, a review panel of the Toronto District School Board recommended that schools keep the novel in the curriculum in Grades 11 and 12. - In from the Freedom to Read website.

I also enjoyed The Giver (I read it for the first time in my twenties), but I can see why some parents might not want their young children to read it. It deals with some pretty serious issues. Infanticide, for example, is the one that I find most disturbing. Ironically, if discussed thoughtfully with a child who is old enough to understand, the story itself can be used to demonstrate why our freedom is so precious and worth fighting for!

The thing is, kids are all so different and I think only a parent can really know when their child is ready to grapple with these tough issues. In my opinion it's less about age than emotional maturity. They need to be able to understand that the book depicts a dystopia, what we DON'T want our world to be like. (Even some adults have trouble grasping this.) Furthermore, some kids have very tender hearts and are more sensitive than others. Books like this could give them nightmares!

In early childhood education circles, we always talk about parents being the child's first and most important teacher. As a parent myself, I believe it is my responsibility to teach my child what I think he needs to know in life. That includes protecting him from things I don't think he needs to know yet. In a public library, yes, I think The Giver (like other challenged books) is totally appropriate because parents are free to come in and help choose their child's reading material as they deem appropriate. But I definitely think school libraries need to be more cautious. I totally defend these parents' rights to express their concerns. They know their child best. (Sorry about the lengthy post! I have obviously thought long and hard about this, haha.)

I have felt the same about some books that my daughter brought home from school. I asked her about them and the themes , on in particular about a boy being molested by his father. She said that that stuff is nothing new and said that those things happen to kids she knows, so that yes it is appropriate for her to be reading it and studying it in class.

On the flip side, trust the teachers. They all have two university degrees and have taken courses specifically aimed at teachers. They also have access to educators with even more specialized academic qualifications.

Of course, I'm not knocking teachers. I know firsthand what a dedicated and hard-working group of people they are - I used to be one. ;) But from what I've read, if you compare different education systems around the world, students tend to do the best where parents care the most about what their kids are learning and take an active role in their education.

I have to agree with that Leanne. Involved parents are key to raising children to be balanced successful adults.

That being said, an amusing story. I had some books with adult themes that I told my teenaged daughter that they weren't appropriate for her to read. I set them aside. I should have known that by telling her that, she waited till I left the house and promptly read them. Later she admitted it to me and told me that she wished she had listened to me, that she wasn't ready for those themes. oh well, we do try.

Haha, of course, the forbidden books are the most enticing! Smart girl to realize Mom was right after all though. Right now all my son wants to read are books about Elmo and puppies. (He's 1.) Whew, no controversial topics there. ;)

There are some really great points being made here. The role of parent-as-teacher vs. teacher in the educational process is always challenging. Especially in public schools where kids of vastly different backgrounds and belief systems are brought together. Also, the idea of context being an important aspect of determining if something is age-appropriate is interesting.

Leanne, Heather, and everyone else - Are there specific titles that you have been concerned about for age-appropriateness? Young Adult literature often can be controversial because it tends to deal with really intense, difficult topics.

RWL wrote: "The role of parent-as-teacher vs. teacher in the educational process is always challenging. Especially in public schools where kids of vastly different backgrounds and belief systems are brought together."

Exactly! I thought of this discussion today when I was helping a woman pick books for some 90-year-old residents of a Mennonite nursing home. They wanted extremely squeaky clean historical fiction (with no swearing, sex or violence). So there you go: concerns about book content from the other end of the age spectrum!

Harry Potter is one example that might not be for everyone. Some people want to stay away from sorcery of any kind. Personally, I don't have a problem with the series, but I'd be more concerned that after reading the books, kids would want to watch the movies. I think the final ones in the series are rated PG-13 and were pretty dark. I really wish books had some sort of universal rating system like movies do. IMDB.com even has a parental guide section that lists any questionable content a movie might have (swearing, violence, sexual content, intense scenes, etc.). Does anyone know, is there something similar for books?

I took a look and couldn't find a standardized rating system that is akin to the movie system. However, I did find a lot of debate over the validity or need for this kind of system.

This is a really big topic worth discussing further, so I'm going to create a new discussion topic just focused on this idea. Here is the link to the new discussion

I am looking forward towards the next month when we switch topics. Does anyone have a specific book they would like to discuss as a group?

I've been reading a lot of Cdn authors lately. Susanna Kearsley, Cathy Marie Buchanan, Ania Szado. Would love any of those or any other Cdns.

RWL wrote: "I am looking forward towards the next month when we switch topics. Does anyone have a specific book they would like to discuss as a group?"

Thanks for the suggestion! I think we can manage a Canadian author. Are there any more requests from anyone?

Just throwing this out there: a collection of short stories maybe? For example, I enjoyed Olive Kitteridge (don't know off-hand if that was a Cdn author tho, and maybe others would prefer a novel...)

I have a couple of suggestions. How about for our March discussion we explore The Town that Drowned by Riel Nason. Click on the link for details about the book http://olco.canlib.ca/client/rwl/sear...

Then in April we could discuss Alice Munro's Runaway stories. A Nobel Prize winning Canadian author's short stories will foster a great discussion.

Does this plan work for everyone? If so, please email libhq@regionofwaterloo.ca with your card number, the book title. Please indicate in the email that this is for the online book club.

I'm game for March's discussion, will send my email shortly

Sounds good! Sending my email now.

Does anyone else need a copy of The Town that Drowned?

It's officially Freedom to Read Week! Check out this 30 Challenged Publications Poster for some titles that have been on the censor's hit list. http://www.freedomtoread.ca/wordpress...