Thursday, September 27, 2012

Banned Book Week Giveaway (and Blogaversary Celebration! Yay!)

Hey, y'all, do you know what next week is?

IT'S BANNED BOOK WEEK!

That's right: it's the time when we all get together and try to figure out why on earth people want to ban A Wrinkle In Time, James and the Giant Peach, or The Egypt Game.

Coincidentally?  September 28th is also my one-year blogaversary!  So imagine my delight when I discovered this great Banned Books giveaway hop I could participate in and celebrate both at the same time!


SO: To make sure that some of these amazing, truthful, quietly life-changing books are as abundantly available as possible...I am giving away three of my all-time favorite banned or challenged books.  If they're new to you, that's awesome.  If you have copies or you've read these books before, I'd really love it if you entered anyway.  If you win, find a teenager or a teacher or a librarian and give them these books, so that even more people will get to read them.  And when you're done with my giveaway, check out the tons of other bloggers hosting Banned Books Week giveaways as part of this blog hop by clicking over to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books

In My Giveaway:



1) Looking For Alaska by John Green.  This book has been challenged based on a scene depicting a crummy, awkward sexual encounter.  The knockout punch of love and grief and confusion and anger this book delivers is somehow reduced to one unsuccessful sex act. I'll let John Green explain why he thinks that's dopey:





2)The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  This book has been banned or challenged for a lot of reasons, language being the first one that most people would notice.  When I taught this book as part of a student choice lit circle unit, the group reading it called me over in shock, thinking there was no way I had read and and decided to teach it anyway.  But it's that good.  Alexie's books have also been banned in schools throughout Arizona under their bizarro law against books that might promote resentment toward a certain ethnic group (white people) or books that are targeted specifically at students of a particular ethnic group (except white people, I guess?).  He has a really eloquent statement about that here.


3) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  The reason behind challenging this one brings actual tears of anger to my eyes: this beautiful, honest, gut-wrenching novel about a young woman's rape is TOO SEXY.  In fact, it's pornographic.  Because of a RAPE SCENE.  Here's Laurie Halse Anderson's take on the subject.  If I had my way, every high school student in the world would read this book.  Yes, guys too.  No, rape isn't a "woman's issue." 

I will also be giving away a $10 gift card to Donors Choose so that the winner can help a teacher buy books (or something else, but we're all here because of books, right?) for his or her classroom.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

70 comments:

  1. The hunger games is my fave banned book so far.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  2. The Hobbit is on the list and harry potter that don't make since. thanks for the giveaway joannie

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  3. Twilight and Hunger Games.

    Thanks for the international giveaway!!

    Rafflecopter name - Rosemarie D

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  4. Harry Potter is definitely my favorite!

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  5. The Hunger Games is my favorite out of the banned books. There are a lot of good books on that list though!

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  6. To Kill a Mockingbird. However there are alot of books on the list that are great.

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  7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Hard to believe that one got banned.

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  8. The Hunger Games, The Kite Runner, and Harry Potter series.

    Thank you so much for the giveaway!!
    Marijana Sitar

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  9. My favorite is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Excellent book. Thanks for offering the giveaway.

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  10. The Outsiders is one of my fav banned books.

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  11. To Kill a Mockingbird is probably my favorite.

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  12. It's a tie between The Hunger Games and The Color Purple.

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  13. I loved The Giver and the Hunger Games trilogy! Thanks for this amazing giveaway - I would love to win!

    Suz Reads

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  14. I loved Little Black Sambo when I was little and To Kill a Mockingbird when I got a little older. :)

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  15. I adore the Hunger Games and Harry Potter series!

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  16. The Harry Potter series and To Kill a Mockingbird

    ayed2016 at aol dot com

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  17. Lol, I entered bannedbookweeks.org first, and wondered why the site didn't exist!

    HP will always be special in my heart, but there are a lot of books in there that I liked: The Giver, The Hunger Games...

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  18. I love The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Harry Potter series. Thank you.

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  19. There are so many I like! The Color Purple, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn....A lot of the classics we were required to read in school. Go figure. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

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  20. To Kill a Mockingbird and Harry Potter!
    Lacey T

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  21. two of my favorites are harry potter and the hunger games.

    thanls for the giveaway!

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  22. Twilight, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Farhenheit 451 are some great ones I've read! =)

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  23. To Kill a Mockingbird
    jenhedger at hotmail dot com

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  24. The Harry Potter books (esp. since I still have some relatives that refuse to read them because of what their church has said about the books).

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  25. The Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games- I love them!

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  26. I love Harry Potter series, Hunger Games, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Perks of Being a Wallflower...

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  27. The Harry Potter series - I absolutely love them!

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  28. Harry Potter!!! I couldn't imagine not letting kids read it :( Thanks for the giveaway!

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  29. Love your blog name.....NEW FOLLOWER.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

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  30. So many! I loved Harry Potter, to kill a mockingbird, go ask alice, hunger games, the great gasby and many other!

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  31. To Kill a Mockingbird. Thank you for the giveaway :)

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  32. harry potter...

    if i win..i would choose Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson...
    thx 4 the giveaway..

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  33. My favorite is The perks of being a wallflower

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  34. Brave New World...I really can't believe that was banned, lol.

    x

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  35. Flowers for Algernon! Loved that one!!

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  36. Harry Potter series! Oh God, why??!!

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  37. I would probably say The Giver

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  38. The Color of Earth (manhwa series)

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  39. There are many banned books what I have read not knowing that they actually were banned. :)
    Favorite? Many, but since I have to name one, then Harry Potter.

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  40. The Harry Potter series!! It's very sad that books are still banned in some places and challenged as well!

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  41. Harry Potter and The Hobbit are among my favourites :)

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  42. Someone tried to ban the Egypt Game? I LOVED that books! *grumble* Thanks for the giveaway!

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  43. Harry Potter and 1984. Thanks for the giveaway!!

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  44. Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games Trilogy...

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  45. Too many to list...but the most recent re-read was Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt

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  46. I've read and loved several book on the list, but my favorite is probably Harry Potter. Thanks!

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  47. I love What My Mother Doesn't Know.
    Thanks!

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  48. I really enjoyed The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini! Thanks!

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  49. I have loved many of the books that are on the list... in fact, A Wrinkle in Time and The Egypt Game are favorites of mine. My all time favorite, though, would be Fahrenheit 451 by the late, great Ray Bradbury

    Lisa Hackney
    yankssssrule08 at yahoo dot com

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  50. Harry Potter books are my favorite

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