The United States is a country founded on freedom. The free exchange of ideas, the freedom to say what you think, the freedom to choose your reading materials are all examples of our basic freedoms. Yet in this free country there are people who would choose what books are not suitable for you to read, who would choose what ideas you hear, who would censor you for holding ideas different than their own. In school districts today Sherman Alexie's book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, winner of both the National Book Award and the PNBA Award, is banned. Why ban a book that encourages children to strive to learn, to avoid living down to the expectations of others? It is scary that people are able to stop the free flow of ideas, to censor reading material and to restrict ideas. At Sunriver Books & Music we pay tribute to some of the books that have been banned. The first book on this list celebrating the works of literature that have been banned is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. I believe it is the best book ever written, it has survived over 400 years, yet there are people who would censor this fabulous book!
