BUFFALO, N.Y. — A movement to ban books nationwide appears to be gaining traction. A new report from the American Library Association says attempts to ban or restrict books set a record in 2022. There were 2,500 different books objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and 566 in 2019. That's an increase of nearly 350%.
Here in Buffalo, schools are taking notice. 2 On Your Side had the chance to talk with Westminster Charter Principal Teresa Gerchman during 'Read Across America Day.' She says, "I don't believe in censoring books at all."
Educators like Gerchman not only oppose outright bans but also attempts by some groups to get rid of language that they feel is offensive or racist from classics, most notably in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and Roald Dahls' classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which was made into two popular feature films. Dahl used words like "fat" to describe the spoiled and over-indulgent chocolate-loving Augustus Goop. Gerchman noted, "I don't think that we need to change those words. I think it's important that we talk about those words and how things change over time. and how fat and calling people fat is mean."
It's a sentiment shared by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr, who told 2 On Your Side's Mary-Alice Dembler, "I think it's dangerous if we forget the historic moment in which things were written. I think we need to try to forgive and have empathy for the historic moment in which artists were making work."
For now, the debate remains in the spotlight. There is no consensus among literary experts on whether re-writing children's books benefits or harms the kids who read them.
In the literary world, Puffin Books, the publisher of Dahl's works, continues to get criticism worldwide for printing new versions of the Author's books.