Val Stadick, Owner, Main Street Books, Minot

On behalf of Independent Book Stores in North Dakota I would like to inform the community that Oct. 1-7 is National Banned Books Week. This is a week that celebrates our Freedom to choose what we want to read. It is also a celebration that brings to light the importance of bookstores and libraries to be able to choose what they want to put on their shelves and for parents to choose the books that they believe are appropriate for their own children to read.

Why is this important? This is important because it is vital to be exposed to hard things (as well as easy) in our literature so that we feel less alone in their world. It is important to bring different ideas into our lives so we cannot be afraid of topics as diverse as having two mothers or as common as dealing with the pain and healing from sexual assault. When we (and our children) find connections between books and our own lives life becomes a more beautiful and less confusing place.

Censorship and banning books strips away our belonging, our securities and our freedom to explore and learn and grow.

Classic books from “Catcher in the Rye” to “To Kill a Mockingbird” have been banned–these are books which depict real life scenarios. Harry Potter has been banned and challenged for themes of witchcraft and sorcery. Books that are “full of debauchery” such as “The Great Gatsby” and the teen novel “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, which depicts the seedy and dark side of prostitution, have even faced bans and challenges.

The books however that have faced the most bans and challenges in our country are currently LGBTQ+ themed. As a parent and a grandparent I would be devastated if that gay child in my life was unable to read about other people that were like them. When our freedom to read is infringed upon so are all our other freedoms. Our freedom to be who we are without feeling isolated, discriminated against and unworthy is also in danger of being stripped away from us.

Parents can choose what their children read. Experienced librarians can help guide children to books that are appropriate with a parent’s help. Bookstores can be places of solace and refuge for finding that information that makes you feel whole and welcome in this world.

This freedom to read isn’t only an essential part of our education but it is also essential to our democracy. Celebrate the Freedom to Read during Banned Books Week. Pick up a book while you can. Any book. Your local school, library and bookstore shelves are still full. We intend to keep them that way.