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Jun 11, 2021AMB_4 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is the quintessential Banned Books Week book for middle grade. It features, throughout, titles of books that have been at one time or another banned in libraries for various reasons. Fourth grader Amy tries to check out her favorite book from her school library only to find a parent has objected to From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and rather than go through the established objection review process, went straight to the school board and had the book "banned." Taken off the shelf. For good. Of course, she quickly finds out, it's not just this book that's been removed. She gets a whole list of books the parent has objected to, and had removed. Which just ignites her desire to rebel and read them all. She spends her allowance, what she's saved, anyway, on a few more titles on the list. Soon others are seeing her read the banned books, and they want to know what all the hullabaloo is about. Soon, Amy's running a mini-library out of her school locker. But no matter how fast the books are checked out and circulate, the parental objector just keeps adding more and more titles. Until Amy and her friends realize, they've got to do something about it, or there won't be any books left on the library shelf at all. And suddenly, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea at all. That sounds like a strategy. I won't ruin how it ends, or what Amy and her friends do to get the books back. But this is an excellent read for this week, and in general, so your students understand the impact censorship can have on their lives. And excellent read! Teacher's Note: There weren't as many free resources to teach this book as I would have expected to find.