An Ode To Books

2023 has been a year marked with book bans, forcing teachers nationwide to strip their classroom libraries and turn them in for inspection. Among the most banned books are those that discuss race, racism, sexuality, and gender identity. The prevailing argument in favor of these bans is that children should not be muddied with these adult concepts, that they cause children harm, and have no place within the schoolhouse gates. This is demonstratively false.

I went to elementary school in the early 2000s, right before little kids had social media accounts and unfettered internet access. When I was bored, I played outside, a game with my siblings, or stayed in to read. Reading, above all, was my most prized activity. Like many others, I was a voracious reader from the moment I developed the skill. I shot through Junie B. Jones, Dork Diaries, Geronimo Stilton, and eventually on to bigger, thicker, wordier books that took my eight year-old mind much more time to process and understand.

I grew up in a predominantly Black and Latino community, surrounded by working class people. School days started early, and ended late, with early-morning starts and after-school programs so that my mother could work as long as possible. My neighborhood was not particularly safe, and sometimes playing outside was not a smart option. In the literary world I built around me, I — who had never left California — stole away to Forks, Washington on rainy days to run with vampires, or into the world of Greek Mythology where I could pretend like my father was some deity who had given me heavenly power.

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