Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) “And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (click to enlarge) "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier (click to enlarge) "The Color Purple," by Alice Walker (click to enlarge) "The Golden Compass," by Philip Pullman (click to enlarge) "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Librarian talks about five books for Banned Books Week By Kaitlin Manry Herald Writer MARYSVILLE -- Librarians in Snohomish County and across the country are encouraging readers to reach for forbidden books. Banned Book Week begins Saturday. "Banned book week is important because when someone tries to tell me what I can and can't read, that infringes on my freedom," said Marysville children's librarian Kathy Smargiassi. Displays of books that people frequently try to get libraries to ban are currently featured in libraries throughout Snohomish County. Here are Smargiassi's thoughts on some of the books included in the Marysville display: "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. "It's a book about penguins. It's two male penguins that raise an egg together. I think we should keep it because it's a really heartwarming story about two penguins who adopt an egg. Even though they might not be a traditional family, they love this egg." "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier. "I read it when I was in library school. I didn't particularly like it because there's no strong adult guiding presence in the book. It's kind of like 'Lord of the Flies.' The kids kind of go off and things get really out of hand -- and that's why people object to it, because teenagers get out of hand and there's violence in there. But on the other hand, there are some teenagers who are really, really angry at the world and it touches them." "The Golden Compass," by Philip Pullman. "The author is an atheist. If you read the book, it's kind of anti-religion, but it's also a really good fantasy and if you really look at the book, it's more anti-religion than it is anti-God." "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain. "It's on the list for racism, but of course if you actually read the book, Huckleberry Finn is the one who treats Jim as a person, even though society tells him he's being (bad) for treating him like a person. And Mark Twain actually writes him as an actual person -- not just as a stereotype, so I don't agree with the charge." "The Color Purple," by Alice Walker. "The reasons (it's on the list) are homosexuality, (being) sexually explicit and offensive language, but on the other hand it really speaks to someone's experience. You get to think about, 'Gee. Were things really like this for this certain segment in this certain population?' It gets you talking about racism. ... With these kinds of books, there are more people who can read books and recognize themselves in the literature." READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Girl's death in car crash stuns Granite Falls 2. 787 starts ‘final gantlet' of tests before first flight 3. Inmates to help families of police 4. Lewd baristas face stricter rules 5. Swine flu shots to be available to all in county 6. Woman who died in fire named 7. Roe picked as interim prosecutor 8. Gregoire's budget offers no easy way out of deficit 9. Payout of $44.7 million to clean up Asarco contamination in Everett 10. Roche Harbor's second derby a big hit 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Snohomish County offers the best and most affordable venues for conferen ... • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed