Have you noticed any changes in the types of books being banned or challenged over the years?

“My first book was published in 1977 so we’re going way back. The question was never raised about homosexuality in books. It wasn’t until much later that there began to be gay characters in books, and that’s become an issue now many, many books are challenged and because of gay characters.”

Has location played any part in what books are getting challenged or banned?
I’m particularly noticing it being in Florida, because one of the things that they’ve taken up is that there cannot be any books dealing with slavery in the schools. And you know, that’s an attempt, a successful one, so far, to change history. And it but it’s an example of an odd phenomenon that’s happened quite recently is that books have been banned in certain places, not because of profanity or sex, but because they might make kids feel bad. And that’s the purpose of a book to get kids to feel is the thing the writer most hopes for.

What do you feel is the primary reason behind why books get banned?

“I thought a lot about that, because my particular book, The Giver, does not have any profanity and does not have any sex, and so that was puzzling. I’ve come to believe that the reason that it’s been challenged so many times by parents is because they feel a loss of control. Their fear, I think, is the motivating factor. Today’s parents have more to fear than my parents did, because the world is such an uncertain and frequently frightening place for them now, and so they’re clinging to their beliefs and when their own kids, begin to fight back against those beliefs, and they see this reflected in a book, then they fear that book, and then it might encourage their kids in rebellion and all the things that they’re frightened of.”

What do you think book banning says about society’s approach to education or freedom of thought?

“I’m very frightened of the increased book banning that’s taking place now because of the removal of people’s freedom of speech, which is a constitutional right in this country. It’s a politically frightening thing and makes us worry about what the future holds for education.”

Do you believe that books containing difficult or controversial topics can actually provide valuable lessons for young readers?

“I feel very strongly that literature that contains difficult or controversial topics, when handled well by the author and by the person who places the book in the hands of a young person, can be absolutely invaluable, because every kid, even if it hasn’t happened yet to them, it will happen in the future: something terrible will happen. They will have to be witness to or participant in some tragedy, because that’s what human life consists of, and reading about it, reading about these things in the context of fiction…will allow him or her to to feel all the emotions that are connected to difficult and controversial things, but in a in a safe way.”

What advice would you give to students, teachers, or parents who encounter book challenges or bans?

“They should take part in whatever form that controversy takes you, they should go to the school board meeting. They should speak up if they have an opinion, either for or against. They should write letters to the newspaper. And there are organizations that are very helpful along with that. One is called the National Coalition against censorship.”

How do you respond to those who argue that sometimes banning books can actually protect children from harmful ideas or other things?

I believe that all these parents who get involved in this kind of controversy are decent parents who are really, genuinely trying to protect their child, whom they love. And I have children. Mine are grown, but I have grandchildren, and I’d like to protect them from everything too. Unfortunately, that kind of super protection has a reversed effect, because it causes children to go silent and to avoid topics when they’re aware that their parent doesn’t want them to know about X, then they’re never going to talk about X. Rest assured, they’re thinking about X, but they go silent, and that’s harmful. I think in the long run, it leaves them very vulnerable. I think they’re better off if they’re allowed to read.

As a writer, how do you balance the desire to challenge readers with the need to be mindful of sensitive topics?

I think that happens intuitively. It’s not something I have to think about, because I’m aware always, while I’m writing a book, I’m aware because of the age of the characters, usually I’m aware of the age of the reader, because generally, the reader will be more or less the same age as the characters, and that will be a young age. And because I was a child, and because I have children and I have grandchildren, I just intuitively write in a way that would never be harmful to them.