My Reflection

When I decided to open a bookstore, equity and inclusion were definitely core values of the culture I am striving for at my new and used bookstore. Given the current political climate I knew some of my choices may prove to be controversial in time. I was not expecting it at my second pop up event. People have truly gone off the rails with complaints.

My second pop-up event was at our local Peddlers Faire. It was a lovely event held at our downtown district. There were tons of booths and great food. My community seemed receptive to my concept and bought up the bilingual children’s books I had on display. It felt great connecting with my community.

Towards the end of the day a person stopped by and commended me on my booth and being bold enough to display a “banned book”. I was surprised by the comment and immediately inquired, “Which one?” Without delay they responded, “Charlotte’s Web.” I laughed thinking they were joking.

A quick Google search revealed that Charlotte’s Web had indeed been banned in a Kansas school district. The irony is that parents complained saying that the talking animals were “blasphemous and unnatural“. Perhaps they should ban the Bible as well. After all- the apostle Paul came face to face with a talking donkey. Ok, Ok, I am being facetious. However, this book banning in the United States has officially gone too far, in my opinion. Let’s just encourage the kids to read.