Just when I thought that perhaps we had talked about everything we could this week for #Banned Books Week and #SpeakLoudly , I saw a headline while scanning my Facebook friends' updates. There is a mother trying to get rid of THE HUNGER GAMES. Her objection (and to be completely forthcoming, it was being read in a fifth grade classroom) reason for removal is that it is too violent and will desensitize kids to violence. Now, here is a case where the picture is quite murky. Would I be using this as a 5th grade classroom read? Probably not. That does not mean I would not recommend it to some fifth graders. It does, though, mean that I would not use it as a class novel. (Heck, using class novels is not a good idea in any event, but that is a topic for another day) Is this censorship? Yeah, it is. The parent does not want her child excused; she wants the book removed. The story I read indicated that the superintendent was following policy and had asked for a committee to read the book and make recommendations. We will have to follow this and see how it concludes (and I would love to give you the link but I cannot locate it now. It is on my iPad and this hotel only has ethernet access!). Finally, Deb Heiligman has a terrific blog post here: http://deborah18.livejournal.com/