Why I love Sherman Alexie

Books are something that I'm passionate about. It might explain why I have chosen jobs that allow me to spend alot of time around books-I work part-time at a public library and substitute at a local middle school library.
I find great joy putting a book into the hands of kids or recommending a great book to a reluctant reader. Books have always been a comfort, an escape and a source of happiness for me.
Last year my son came home from school with an assignment to write about the "Growing Trend of Young Adult Books-How exciting for me! My teenage son still doesn't really get what my blog is about-nor at 16 does he really care. LOL!
While researching the topic he came across an article that was featured in The Wall Street Journal written by Meghan Cox Gurdon called Darkness Too Visible? In which she asks the question-

Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea? The full article is found here .

Of course the article found alot of attention from readers-pro and con, bloggers and authors.

One of my very favorite authors Sherman Alexie responded to Meghan Cox Gurdon's article with an essay called Why the Best Children's Books are Written In Blood. It's found here . His words brought me to tears while reaffirming to me why it's so important that we put these "challenged" books into the hands of kids that NEED to read them.

During this week we celebrate the freedom to read-

I gladly take this opportunity to participate in Banned Book Week. During this week you have a chance to win  an excellent book by Sherman Alexie called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Information is found on side bar as well as below.