Humor

Book Banning BINGO

Rachel Cordasco

Staff Writer

Rachel Cordasco has a Ph.D in literary studies and currently works as a developmental editor. When she's not at her day job or chasing three kids, she's writing reviews and translating Italian speculative fiction. She runs the website sfintranslation.com, and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

You guys, I’m really, REALLY sick of these book challenge stories.

I mean, I listen to Jeff and Rebecca talk about them on the podcast, and I read about them online, and I just absolutely dread the day my kids come home from school and announce that a book they’re supposed to read for English class has been challenged by someone’s mom and so they’re not reading it for class anymore.

In case you didn’t know, I have a particularly ragey place in my heart for book banners, book challengers, and anyone else who points to a book and whines “ohhhhhh think of the children, think of their pure, sweet, blank-slate minds!!!!” In some cases, the challenger hasn’t even read the book in question, or has read only part of it. It’s just that they heard that there are references to LGBTQ issues or there are some f-bombs sprinkled throughout. WHAT WOULD THAT DO TO THE CHILDREN OH FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE.

These ridiculous challenges just lend themselves to satire (see Michelle’s recent Mad Libs post). And so, because I just can’t help myself, here’s a Book Challenge Bingo card to play on those dark, rainy nights when you’re in the middle of re-reading Lolita and watching A Clockwork Orange and reading up on home-schooling.

bingo