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Giving Thanks for the Freedom to Read

11/27/2014

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I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by books. My home had books; my schools had good libraries; and our small town’s public library was only a mile or so down the road. The adults in my life encouraged me to read wherever my curiosity led me. Not every child is so fortunate.

Sometimes adults, whether they are parents, educators, or publishers, dictate what children can read. They demand action beyond the decisions individual parents make about their own child’s reading. Would-be censors often have the best of intentions, and they come from a range of political and religious beliefs. Whenever a book is removed from a library or placed in a “restricted” area, whenever publishers expurgate a book to make it more “acceptable” to modern audiences or decide to stay away from controversial topics or writers altogether, a child’s world shrinks just a little.

According to Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read by Robert P. Doyle, this year’s list of challenged or banned books has 1,890 entries. The reasons most often cited for censoring a book are sex, profanity, and racism. Most challenges take place in schools and their libraries. As I leafed through this book, I was struck by how many of my childhood favorites were on the list. Here’s a small sampling:

  • My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara was pulled from reading lists in 1990 because of the words “damn” and “bitch” (referring to a female dog).
  • Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh was challenged in school libraries because the book “teaches children to lie, spy, backtalk, and curse.” Its sequel, The Long Secret, faced a challenge because it is “demented” and makes fun of religion.
  • Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare won the Newbery Medal in 1959. It was challenged in 2002 for promoting witchcraft and violence.
  • The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander includes The High King, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1969. The series was challenged in 1993 as required reading because of “religious themes that are pagan in nature” and “the allure of witchcraft and black magic that runs through the books.
  • A Study in Scarlet by A. Conan Doyle, the novel that introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to the world, was removed in 2011 from a required reading list because “the book casts Mormonism in a negative light.”
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine C. L’Engle won the Newbery Medal in 1963. It has been challenged three times for promoting witchcraft, sending “a mixed signal about good and evil” and “undermining religious beliefs.”
I am thankful for these books. They helped to shape my childhood and make me who I am today. I would have been poorer without them.

More recent favorites for children continue to be challenged or banned as well. Nine of Louise Lowry’s books are on the list. The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 1994. It has been banned, restricted, or challenged eight times. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books have been challenged, restricted, or banned an astounding 100 times.

To protect the rights of other readers, particularly children, you can join the supporters of your local public library or check out The Freedom to Read Foundation. You can also participate in Banned Books Week, held every September.

When a few people decide for a whole community what we can read, then we all lose the right to choose.
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Then and Than

11/20/2014

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Like "passed" and "past," the words "then" and "than" are often used interchangeably although they have different meanings.

"Then" locates something in time or in a sequence. Generally, if you can substitute "(at) that time" or "subsequently" in the sentence, then the word to use is "then."
Examples:
We'll see you then.
In the recipe, beat the butter and sugar first and then add the eggs.
Dolley Madison, then First Lady, fled the White House when the British invaded Washington in 1814.

The word "then" is also used in hypothetical statements in combination with the word "if." Example: If you have problems doing the homework, then you can ask questions tomorrow in class.

In contrast, the word "than" has nothing to do with time. It is used instead to make comparisons.
Examples:
The commute to her new job is longer than her last commute.
Other than the occasional mystery, he reads nonfiction.
I enjoy hiking more than jogging.

The table below outlines when to use "then" and "than."
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Remember, use "then" to locate items in time or in a sequence. Use "than" to make comparisons.
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Last Words: The Final Sentence

11/13/2014

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Every writer knows how important the first line of a novel is, but what about the final sentence?

If the job of the first sentence is to convince someone to read more, then the job of the last one is to seal the deal. If the writing has been strong throughout and the story sound, then the job of the final sentence is not to squander the good feeling the reader has about the book so far. Ideally, the last sentence lives in the memory and persuades the reader to seek out more of the writer’s work.

A strong last sentence:

  • Provides a sense of resolution or closure
  • Reflects the theme of the story
  • May mirror the beginning of the story
  • May look ahead to the future (particularly if the book is part of a series) 

Writers work differently to craft that last sentence. Some discover it in the process of writing. Others have the final sentence, or some version of it, in mind from the very beginning. The good news is that your first draft doesn’t have to have a perfect final line. Rewriting and editing can uncover it. 

Here are some examples of famous last sentences:

“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” –George Eliot, Middlemarch

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

"Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” –Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

“But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” –A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

“He loved Big Brother.” –George Orwell, 1984

Do you have a favorite last line? Share your suggestions in the comments; I'd love to hear from you.
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Past and Passed

11/6/2014

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Deciding when to use the words “past” or “passed” can be puzzling. The word “past” has a few different meanings. It can refer to a time before the present and be used as a noun or an adjective. Here are two examples: “The items in the time capsule are from the past” or “past performances have received standing ovations.”

“Past” can also describe movement, as in “Jeremy ran past Owen,” or take the place of the word "beyond," as in “the path to the river is past the gate.”

The word “passed,” on the other hand, means to go by. The conjugation for the verb “to pass” appears below.

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Confusion arises when a noun passes past an object. Here are examples of how to handle both words correctly:
She passed her brother without waving.
She ran past her brother without waving.

To muddy the waters further, “passed” can also mean to hand something off, as in “the congregation passed the plate.” Another meaning is to demonstrate knowledge of content, as in “most of the class passed the science test.”

The table below summarizes when to use “past” and “passed.”
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A little bit of practice and the tips above will help you to keep “past” and “passed” straight.
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    Rose Ciccarelli offers writing and editing services through Rosebud Communications.

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