We Remember Banned Books

     In the article "The Banned Books We Have Loved" by Jen Doll, the idea that books we love and cherish the most are the ones that have been banned most frequently. She explores why some of these books have been banned and their themes which have been viewed as dark. Doll goes on to explain that themes of death, drugs, racism are educational, not dark or bad for children. She then says that the dark themes that have caused these many books to be banned only increase how much attention the books get. The Hunger Games was a series banned that Doll uses as an example by interviewing Rita Meade, a librarian "The Hunger Game series is being requested almost daily at my library..." Doll finishes her article by encouraging young readers to adventure in their reading lives.
   The craft moves used by Jen Doll in this article get her ideas across extremely well. One move that caught my eye was how she recognized the counterclaim to her opinion. She clearly states why each book discussed had been banned but then quickly shows how the banned book is educational in some way. Another craft move that was interesting were the opinions she included using quotes. A New York librarian, Suzanne Collins and R.L. Stine all spoke of the banned books being helpful for them and readers. More readers became interested in these books when banned. Doll also uses very interesting words to the describe the educational factor in banned books which is a wonderful craft move. These craft moves greatly aided Jen Doll in conveying her ideas.
    I agree with Jen Doll's ideas in this article She believes that banned books should not have been banned and that they are educational. I believe in this as well because many books I have read and love contain dark themes in them that may be seen as too dark to many. I have always thought that all books are fine to read but now I have a true reason for that and can support that reason with my own life experiences. Jen Doll's writing was very creative and the claims she presented to show why banned books should not have been banned and what they taught us stood out to me. Overall, Jen Doll showed me how to think about young adult literature in a different way and further proved to me that most of these books should be accessible to children of young adult age.