[Libs-Or] Tuesday Topics: Scary Stuff in the Library

Garnetta Wilker gkwilker2 at gmail.com
Tue Oct 13 08:45:39 PDT 2015


Welcome to Tuesday Topics for 2015-2016.  Tuesday Topics is a monthly
series (September- November and January- June) covering topics with
intellectual freedom implications for libraries of all types.  Each message
is prepared by a member of OLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee.    Questions
can be directed to the IF Committee member who sent the message or to one
of the co-chairs of the IFC
<http://www.olaweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=523:intellectual-freedom-about-us&catid=20:site-content>
.


*Scary Stuff in the Library*



Did you have such a good time with Celebrate Your Freedom to Read in Oregon
(Banned Books Week) that you would like to expand it into more than a week?
October, the month of Halloween and all things scary, is a great
opportunity to do just that.



A few successful books into his career, author Stephen King told about his
editor coming to him and telling him that now that he’d had some successes
with his horror novels, he needed to write something different or people
were going to think he really liked this kind of stuff.  King smiled with
an appropriately scary smile, nodded eagerly, and said, “But I do. I really
do.”  Look where his delight in what he described as preying on the
ordinary fears of people has taken him.



Stephen King is not the only person who delights in scary, suspenseful
stories.  Many readers love a good tale of suspense, horror, or fantasy.  But
quite a few of those titles end up on lists of frequently challenged books.
Reasons given include occult or satanic themes, violence, unsuited to age
group, witchcraft and magic, and against religious beliefs.  Still, many
readers of all ages eagerly seek them out (and not just at Halloween).



Is your Halloween display already up?  Consider adding some reminders that
quite a few of these books sought after in October have also made
appearances on lists of challenged books, some of them year after year.  Here
are a few resources and titles to get you started.



*Titles from lists of frequently challenged books:*



*Scary Stories in the Dark* by Alvin Schwartz   (#1 for 1990-1999)

*More Scary Stories in the Dark* by Alvin Schwartz

*Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones* by Alvin Schwartz

*Goosebumps* series by RL Stine   (#15 for 1990-1999)

*The Witches* by Roald Dahl   (#22 for 1990-1999)

*A Wrinkle in Time* by Madeleine L’Engle   (#23 for 1990-1999)

*Harry Potter* series by JK Rowling   (#48 for 1990-1999)

*Cujo* by Stephen King  (#49 for 1990-1999)

*Bumps in the Night* by Harry Allard  (#59 for 1990-1999)

*Curses, Hexes and Spells* by Daniel Cohen  (#71 for 1990-1999)

*Carrie* by Stephen King  (#81 for 1990-1999)

*The Dead Zone*, by Stephen King  (#82 for 1990-1999)

*Christine* by Stephen King  (#91 for 1990-1999)



*Halloween ABC* by Eve Merriam

*The Hunger Games* by Suzanne Collins

*Where the Wild Things Are* by Maurice Sendak

*Bony Legs* by Joanna Cole

*Wizardology – Merlin*  edited by Dugald A. Steer

*Night Chills* by Dean Koontz





*Resources and Ideas for Celebrating the Freedom to Read:*



Wayne State College Lib Guide: Children’s and YA Literature

http://libguides.wsc.edu/content.php?pid=488998&sid=4283992

This LibGuide includes annotations of children’s and young adult books that
have been challenged (not just the scary ones)



Queens Library Banned Books Week Trivia Quiz

http://www.queenslibrary.org/blog/banned-books-week-trivia-challenge



LaFourche Parish Public Library: Banned Books Book Group

https://bannedbooksclub.wordpress.com/



Christian Science Monitor: 20 Banned Books That May Surprise You

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2011/0928/20-banned-books-that-may-surprise-you/The-Witches-by-Roald-Dahl

This slide show probably does not contain many titles that will surprise
librarians in Oregon, but it might be something to use with patrons.



Banned Books Awareness: A Worldwide Literacy Project to Celebrate the
Freedom to Read

http://bannedbooks.world.edu/



http://world.edu/banned-books-awareness-halloween-abc/


Celebrate your freedom to read *every* month!

><((((º>·´¯`·.¸ .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>·´¯`·.¸
Garnetta Wilker
Co-chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee, Oregon Library Association
K-12 Representative, Oregon Statewide Database Licensing Advisory Committee
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