Banned Books Week is an annual event that highlights the value of free and open access to information.
The theme for Banned Books Week 2023 is “Let Freedom Read.”
When we ban books, we’re closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen.
Throughout the next week we’ll be highlighting various challenged/banned books along with the reasons for their challenges.
The first in our series of banned or challenged books is Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.
In 2014, patrons complained to the Toronto Public Library requesting that the book be removed, saying it “encourages children to use violence against their fathers.” The complainant asked that the library remove the book and issue an apology to fathers in the greater Toronto area.
The library’s Materials Review Committee cited, as a reason for keeping the book, “The children are actually told not to hop on pop.”
Let freedom read!
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This cannot possibly be real…haha!