by Norman Weibel

Created on: November 21, 2008

Purportedly the idea of rating books is for the purpose of making it easier for parents, teachers and other authorities to choose the "proper" book for their child. It sounds, on the surface like something quite helpful and plausable. It is neither.

Parents who are readers will be able, from their own reading experience, to reccomend books of interest to their child. Non-reading parents will have to depnd on the judgement and recommendations of others, such as the child's teacher, the school librarian or the public library's librarian, as well as the child's peers. Actually, even reasding parents will compete with those others in the formation and developement of their child's reading skills and tastes.

I was fortunate enough to have been taught to read at my grandfather's lap. I learned to sound out words from his newspaper. Of course, I could not understand all the words I was able to sound out, so my grandfather taught me the use of both Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Colliers Encyclopedia. I, to this day, read with reference material at the ready.

The advantage of learning to read when I was four was that it gave me a headstart on learning to love the adventures and information books bring. The disadvantage was that I had to challenge authority at an earlier age. When I was approaching my eighth birthday, I completed reading all the books in the Children's Library, which, in my home town was housed in a wing of our Carnagie Library. I naturally decided to see what the adult side offered and discovered Paul de Krief's "Microbe Hunters", the story of the Curies. I proudly took my selection to the check out desk. The librarian glared at me and informed me that I had no right to be in the Adult library and would not be allowed to check out adult books.

I was shocked and dismayed, but by the time I reached my grandparent's home I was angry. When told of my problem, my grandmother called our County Supervisor, who also sat on the library's Board of Directors and told him that the policy had better be changed. She then marched me ack down to the library. I was sent into the children's section, so I never heard their conversation, but the librarian, with tears in her eyes, told me that I'd be allowed not only access to the Adult Library, but could retrieve my desired book.

The book was over my head, but by the time I had read it three times, I understood most of it. I then tackled the great sea stories of Rafael Sabatini. It was the high point of my love affair with books. Though now I've been reading for seventy years my tastes remain eclectic and I can be found reading the outragious humor of Christopher Moore, the horror of Dean Koontz, the murder mysteries of James Patterson, the autobiography of Mohandus and Benezar Bhutto, and the rollicking history penned by McCullough. I usually read forty to fifty books a year and am usually reading two or three at the same time. I have generally chosen good books because they are more interesting than trash.

Being trusted to use my own judgement didn't lessen my daring, but did increase my discernment. Oh. yes. I did explore "bad" books. I read Erskin Caldwell's "God's Little Acre" and "Impatient Virgen" at ten. I found both boring. I simply didn't get why salacious material was enjoyable until I was a good bit older.

I think my experience was ideal. Books banned in Boston always sold well. XXX movies attract a few, but most people ignore picture ratings. They will do the same if books get labels. Books should neither be banned nor labeled. They should not be burned. Freedom of thought and expression demand that we make our own choices. It's time we do so and reject this absurd un-American idea.

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