Whether you have a student who is a reluctant reader, a student who needs more support, or a student who will read anything you put in front of him or her, CBLDF’s Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels…
Category: Education
Labor Day Marks End of a Busy Summer for CBLDF
Summer seems like it should be a slow time for book censorship, but the last few months kept CBLDF and fellow free speech advocates busy. Now that Labor Day is here to mark the unofficial end of summer, let’s take…
Breaking Free of Social Programming with Books
Recently, a story by Susie Rodarme of Book Riot came to our attention. In the piece, Rodarme reflects on her upbringing in a predominantly white town and a racist household. Rodarme was told by her father that “If you ever…
Ohio Superintendent: Controversial Books Aren’t for Summer Reading
In response to concerns about the inclusion of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things on a high school summer reading list, Superintendent Jim Powell of the North Ridgeville, Ohio, school district said that controversial books should be assigned only during the school year, when teachers are readily…
Tell Us About Your Banned Books Week Plans!
Banned Books Week 2014 is coming up in less than a month, and this year the focus is on comics and graphic novels! As a sponsor of the annual week celebrating the freedom to read, CBLDF wants to hear from…
On the Border of Fourth Amendment Rights
As evidenced by the Ryan Matheson case, one of the risks we face as comics fans is the search and seizure of electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops when we cross international borders. Two recent decisions in Riley…
Pennsylvania School Board Rescinds Ban of The Handmaid’s Tale
A Pennsylvania school board, which last month voted to ban Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as a high school summer reading book, has reversed that decision at its subsequent meeting, the National Coalition Against Censorship has learned. As in so…
Using Graphic Novels in Education: Amelia Rules!
Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including…
In Defense of Smoking Scarecrows
Last week, we reported on the controversy that erupted over Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s The Scarecrows’ Wedding, which depicts a smoking scarecrow. Donaldson and Scheffler are also the creative force behind The Gruffalo, one of the most beloved children’s…
Brunswick County Superintendent Stands Behind Part-Time Indian
This week, Superintendent Edward Pruden released a letter that he sent to Frances Wood, the woman who is leading a campaign against Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in Brunswick County, North Carolina. In the letter,…