Dear Ms. Berner,

I understand that M.S. 51 is planning to ban certain books from the 6th grade libraries at school. Many articles show how banning books badly affects students, and why letting them read books they are interested in is so important. Books shouldn't be banned because students who are dealing with heavy issues that they might not want to talk about often turn to books that discuss the same or similar issues.

When a child or teen feels uncomfortable talking about a problem going on in their lives, they often turn to books that are about the same issues that they are dealing with. This way, they feel understood, knowing that other people have dealt with the same issue, and that they are not alone. "Illness, depression, sexuality- these are all things teens are going to bump against in their lives, whether directly or at one remove, through family members, friends, or other representations in media. The Daily Mail seems to be suggesting that it is inappropriate for these issues to be looked at in one place where difficult subjects have been most sensitively explored for teens: fiction written specifically for them." ("Sick Lit? Evidently Young Adult Fiction is Too Complex for the Daily Mail," by Michelle Pauli). If teens don't have books to turn to, they will feel as though no one understands what is going on in their lives and they have no one who they can talk to about it.

Many teens who are dealing with complicated issues in their own lives might feel as though adults are uncomfortable with or afraid of talking about whatever is going on in their lives. "Ignorance is no armor. And those whose lives are touched by the issues I write about deserve to know they are not alone." ("Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti- Censorship Manifesto," by Ellen Hopkins). If these students see that not everyone is afraid to talk about the issue if people are currently writing about it, they will know that they are not alone. This will cause the students to be able to talk about the problem freely.

Some parents, teachers, or librarians might argue that many younger students (such as 6th graders) are too young to read about darker topics such as the ones found in many young adult books. In "Darkness Too Visible," author Megan Cox Gurdon explains that young readers are surrounding themselves with "dark images," which is apparently "unhealthy." But everyone is different, with a different maturity level, so a book that may be too "dark" for one 6th grader could be interesting and even useful to another. "If you don't like the content in a book, don't read it. If you don't want your child to read a book, take it away. But you do not have the right to decide 'appropriateness' for everyone. What's perhaps not right for one is necessary to another." ("Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti- Censorship Manifesto," by Ellen Hopkins). This shows that some teens need to read certain books to know that they are not alone against the problems they are facing.

In conclusion, books shouldn't be banned from the 6th grade libraries. If 6th graders are dealing with a certain issue, and they read a book where the character is dealing with the same issue, they wont feel as alone knowing that others have dealt with and understand the issue. Also, teachers, librarians, and parents don't have the right to decide what's appropriate for everyone. A parent should be allowed to make sure that their child doesn't read a certain book/ genre, but that doesn't mean these books should be taken away from the entire grade. "This (book banning) is merely a stupid, cruel idea invented by some marketing maven who thinks only of the convenience of supermarket shelf stackers and nothing of the way in which children come to books." ("Age- Rated Books: Right or Wrong?," by Anne Fine).