Bully Prevention Month

Did you know it's Bully Prevention Month? It's a month long effort that encourages everyone to take an active role in the bullying prevention movement. To find out more you can visit Pacer.org.

There are two awesome bloggers that are doing their part, Jodie from Uniquely Moi and Amy from Lady Book Stuff. They've asked a bunch of us to write guest posts about bullying and are giving away daily prizes. Today you'll find my guest post, Portrait of a Bully at Uniquely Moi. Visit their Facebook page to find out who will be up tomorrow.

Wednesday is Unity Day. If you care about students who are bullied and want bullying to end, make your color ORANGE on Unity Day, Wednesday, Oct. 10. That's the day everyone can link together—in schools, communities and online—and send one large, ORANGE message of support to students who have experienced bullying.

Ways to unite on Oct. 10 in your school, home or community:

1. Wear the color orange. 
2. Write the word “UNITY” on your hand, on your notebook, or on a poster to hang in your locker or hallway
3. Set up a “unity” table.

•  Hand out orange “unity ribbons.” (Create your own ribbons. Purchase a spool of ribbon at craft or dollar store. Cut into 12” strips. With black marker, on the ribbon, write UNITY, “The End of Bullying Begins With Me”, or create your own bullying prevention message)
• Give the opportunity to donate for the ribbons and send the proceeds to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.

Online:

1. On Oct. 10, update your Facebook status to “UNITY DAY, October 10th— Join the movement to make it orange and make it end! If you are being bullied, you are not alone. Unite and be a champion against bullying!
2. Share” the Unity Day event with your friends.
3. Post pictures of anyone wearing orange to this UNITY DAY Event page
4. Sign “The End of Bullying Begins With You” Petition.

 
Let's work together to help end this nationwide problem.

Banned Book Week Read Aloud: Twilight

Not one of my favorite banned books, but a fun one to read from I suppose. So here it is, the scene where Bella and Edward talk about the fact that Edward is indeed a vampire.  Ooooh.

Banned Book Week Read Aloud: The Scarlet Letter

So, today I'm reading an excerpt from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel was banned because it conflicted with values of the community. Okaaaaayyy. Pretty much the norm around some parts.

I really loved The Scarlet Letter. I read it in High School as required reading, but it was one of my favorite books I HAD to read. So there you have it, and now my reading.

Banned Book Week Read Aloud: The Hanmaid's Tale

Last year I read aloud from some of my favorite banned books. I know it's Wednesday, but better late than never, right? So here you go. An except of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Banned Book Week!!!!

Did you know that this week is Banned Book Week? What is Banned Book Week you ask?

It's an annual celebration of our freedom to read whatever we choose. Libraries and bookstores nationwide get involved, drawing attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of banned books and hosting a variety of events. Banned Books Week began in 1982 and more than 11,300 books have been challenged since. For more information on Banned Books Week, Visit the  American Library Association (ALA). According to the ALA, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011. The 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
   Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language; racism

 I will say this, number 10 is my favorite book ever. Racism? Um, do we need to censor that fact that racism ever took place? It's a historical fact that there were bigots in our country, and hey, guess what, come here, I have a secret, *whispers* there still are.

I'm appalled that books are still banned in this day and age, but you know what, I hope that someday I am in the company of these wonderful books, and that my book also makes the list of challenged books.