To Kill a Mockingbird and The Color Purple have been banned in some places, and this year add the Harry Potter series to the list. This is Banned Books Week, and Tyler is part of the push to keep those books available and accessible.

Classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird are some of the books that may not be included in curriculums or available in some libraries because of challenges made over their content.

The American Library Association has recorded more than 10,000 book challenges, and after each case is reviewed, sometimes that leads to a book being banned. The ALA and thousands of libraries and bookstores across the country this week are celebrating accessing books without censorship.

The Tyler Public Library says it's celebrating the freedom to read along with authors Gene Luen Yang and Alex Gino, who have written books that have been challenged.  In fact, George by Alex Gino is one of this year's most banned books.  Others include The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

BannedBooks.org keeps us updated on some of the events happening this week around the country, and today (September 29) from 5 to 6 pm, there will be a Facebook Live event with a discussion and performance with the band Portugal the Man.  Music and books come together.  Also this week, authors will host Zoom discussions and libraries will offer free downloads and Q&A if you want to check it out and have some good discussions with your people afterward.

Banned Books Week runs through October 3rd.

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