Banned Books Week: What You Need to Know

The importance of the First Amendment and the concept of "intellectual freedom" might not always be readily apparent to most kids, but Banned Books Week is a great opportunity to make those lessons come alive for children — and adults.

Banned Books Week is held annually during the last week of September (Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2012). The week is an occasion for libraries and bookstores across the U.S. to help folks realize just how real and ongoing a problem censorship is.

In Brookfield, a challenge to using Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye in the classroom last year led to Board of Education (BOE) members questioning whether it was suitable for high school students and triggered a review of the district's policy for challenging and reviewing books.

The revised policy will not affect the status of The Bluest Eye in Brookfield High School (BHS), as it is being used as "instructional materia" and not a major part of the course curriculum, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"book-review-policy-won-t-extend-to-instructional-materials"} -->, however some have