Literacy has many positive effects, not the least of which is knowing how to read. A good book not only transports a child (or adult) to another world through words, but also teaches children about empathy, character, politics, relationships, and more. Even still, in the last two decades, more books have been banned due to political correctness than anything truly harmful. Last year, the chief executive of Index on Censorship, Jodie Ginsberg, said books were being banned due to the “anger of the mob” online, adversely affecting young readers.
There are hundreds of great novels kids should read to discover the world that was, the world that could be, and the world as it is. It would be impossible to draft a comprehensive list. But in the spirit of literacy and the First Amendment, kids going back to school should at least read these classics before they’re banned from schools once and for all.
The Hunger Games
I know this isn’t a classic in the typical sense — it’s not in the literary canon per se — but the dystopian young adult novel has already been banned in several schools due to its portrayals of violence. This is precisely, in part, why I think older kids should read the book if a parent allows it. The violence has meaning and its meaning is important to understanding some important ideas.
The Hunger Games is more political than any other young adult fiction to be published in the last few decades. The novel takes place in a future where a dictator in the Capitol, President Snow, has taken over all 12 districts that exist. While the Capitol and its residents live in excess, many of the rest, particularly Katniss’s District 12, live in total poverty, scrounging for food. To keep the residents from rebelling, games are held annually, and two kids from each district must fight to the death in an arena filled with wild animals, weapons, and other special effects that the Capitol manipulates at will. Katniss Everdeen, the heroine, sees through this oppression and tries to free her district, and the others, from the tyranny that impoverishes innocent people.
Kids will be fascinated by the blend of futuristic ideas and technology with the primitive, grotesque nature of the games. Parents and teachers can encourage all kids while reading to notice the effects of a dictatorial government and the driving force of every human to live in freedom. The parallels to real life are multiple, profound, and should be compelling to any sharp kid.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain is arguably one of the finest writers of the 19th century and it’s not for nothing this novel has been called “The Great American Novel,” such is the way it captures American life in the South, boyhood, mischief, and even race. However, the book has been banned for its use of coarse language and racial slurs, representing that time. Ernest Hemingway said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.” It’s easy to see why.
The novel follows Huck Finn, a mischievous, adventurous boy, just living his best life as he and Tom Sawyer had been in the previous, much lighter novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. However, this book takes a much more serious, darker turn, and he and Tom Sawyer form an epic duo helping runaway slave Jim, despite their unease and potential consequences. The novel explores themes all young kids, but especially boys, will relate to: identity, friendship, risk, adventure, and race.
To Kill a Mockingbird
This is yet another classic novel and kids will readily identify with the main character, Scout Finch, the book’s child narrator. Her father Atticus Finch is a wealthy attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape. Additionally, Scout and her brother Jem encounter Boo Radley, a bizarre and mysterious neighbor, who eventually saves them from being murdered.
The plot of this novel, as well as the themes about race, forgiveness, and character, are difficult for children and I’d only recommend this for mature kids who can handle it. Still, despite how powerful the messages of the novel are, it’s been banned in some schools for those mature themes — which is why I think kids who can process these ideas should read it.
A Christmas Carol
This classic novel by Charles Dickens, which he wrote in a furious hurry to stave off poverty, has been banned in schools for mentions of God. Still, that’s no reason for your children not to read one of the most heartwarming and inspiring books about gratitude of all time. The book follows Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from materialism and greed to thankfulness and selflessness through three “ghosts” who appear to him “all in one night!”
It has enough mysticism to sustain kids who love Harry Potter and they’ll relate to the dramatic emotions of Scrooge and the ghosts. Not to mention, they’ll easily understand the life lessons of the story, and in the years to come recognize some of the most memorable lines of English literature. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
