0:00:06.417,0:00:08.199
I'm very happy to be here,

0:00:08.200,0:00:11.045
very happy to see your beautiful faces.

0:00:12.313,0:00:15.006
In 2008, I gave a presentation

0:00:15.007,0:00:19.480
to a librarian group[br]in Salt Lake City, Utah,

0:00:19.481,0:00:23.006
and afterwards, someone[br]stood up and asked me

0:00:23.007,0:00:26.761
why I write about[br]such terrible things for children.

0:00:26.762,0:00:29.059
It was not a friendly question.

0:00:29.060,0:00:30.290
(Laughter)

0:00:31.161,0:00:36.207
There are many reasons[br]why books get challenged

0:00:36.208,0:00:38.844
with the hopes of banning them,

0:00:38.845,0:00:41.606
the 12 most frequent being:

0:00:41.607,0:00:43.518
offensive language,

0:00:43.519,0:00:46.440
explicit sexual descriptions,

0:00:46.441,0:00:50.533
incidents of violence[br]or brutality, including rape,

0:00:50.542,0:00:53.788
disparagement of family values,

0:00:53.789,0:00:57.708
treatment of satanism,[br]via cult or witchcraft,

0:00:57.709,0:01:00.647
New Age anti-religious stories,

0:01:00.648,0:01:02.767
examples of racism,

0:01:02.768,0:01:05.497
examples of substance abuse,

0:01:05.498,0:01:09.648
materials that include[br]depressing or morbid topics,

0:01:09.649,0:01:13.158
attacks on patriotism,[br]or established authority,

0:01:13.167,0:01:16.291
texts that include anti-feminism or sexism,

0:01:16.292,0:01:20.043
and derogatory imagines of the handicapped.

0:01:21.653,0:01:24.071
I can understand why people

0:01:24.072,0:01:27.960
who work with and live with children

0:01:27.961,0:01:34.280
might assume the right[br]and responsibility to protect them.

0:01:34.281,0:01:36.753
Children are vulnerable,

0:01:36.754,0:01:39.500
their brains are different.

0:01:39.865,0:01:44.367
And people may think[br]that by controlling the way

0:01:44.368,0:01:49.873
in which children encounter[br]the things on this list,

0:01:49.874,0:01:52.699
they are protecting them.

0:01:55.107,0:01:58.880
Certainly, one can see

0:01:58.881,0:02:03.473
how the things on this list are important.

0:02:03.474,0:02:05.498
Look at sexuality,

0:02:05.499,0:02:10.392
when sexual experiences,[br]whether real or imagined,

0:02:10.393,0:02:13.041
can influence your sexual identity,

0:02:13.042,0:02:16.376
and your sexual identity can affect

0:02:16.388,0:02:20.767
whether or not you are able[br]to form a lasting relationship

0:02:20.768,0:02:23.420
that can carry you through life.

0:02:23.421,0:02:24.762
Look at religion.

0:02:24.763,0:02:27.694
If you are a person of faith,

0:02:27.695,0:02:30.852
you may very well want to make sure

0:02:30.853,0:02:33.480
that the children that you love

0:02:33.481,0:02:35.617
share this faith.

0:02:36.153,0:02:39.551
I understand these things.

0:02:39.552,0:02:44.423
Yet, I write about all the things[br]that are on this list.

0:02:45.309,0:02:48.022
I have a book called[br]"Song of the Magdalene,"

0:02:48.023,0:02:50.513
that takes place in the first century,

0:02:50.514,0:02:54.173
in the land we now call Israel.

0:02:54.174,0:02:56.539
The main character has epilepsy,

0:02:56.540,0:02:59.812
she falls in love with someone[br]who has cerebral palsy.

0:02:59.813,0:03:01.541
In that time and place,

0:03:01.542,0:03:06.249
people with physical[br]and mental maladies were pariahs,

0:03:06.250,0:03:11.500
so there is quite a lot[br]of derogatory images of the handicapped.

0:03:11.512,0:03:14.004
And the main character is raped.

0:03:14.209,0:03:16.500
In "Alligator Bayou,"

0:03:16.501,0:03:21.666
which takes place in 1899[br]in Tallulah, Louisiana,

0:03:21.667,0:03:24.523
we are in the middle[br]of the Jim Crow South.

0:03:24.524,0:03:28.526
The society is stratified[br]along racial lines.

0:03:28.542,0:03:31.792
Sexism, my goodness,[br]nobody was even aware of it!

0:03:31.793,0:03:34.992
The book is full of racism and sexism,

0:03:34.993,0:03:37.440
and there is a lynching.

0:03:37.736,0:03:44.424
In "Three days," which is a story[br]that takes place contemporaneously,

0:03:44.425,0:03:49.498
a little American girl[br]is driving with her father in Italy.

0:03:49.499,0:03:51.345
He has a heart attack,

0:03:51.346,0:03:54.555
he manages to pull off[br]the side of the road safely,

0:03:54.556,0:03:55.991
but he dies,

0:03:55.992,0:03:58.174
and this little girl is waiting

0:03:58.175,0:04:00.256
until someone finally picks her up.

0:04:00.257,0:04:02.024
And the people who pick her up,

0:04:02.025,0:04:04.756
want her for their own reasons.

0:04:04.757,0:04:07.615
So, why on earth do I do these things?

0:04:07.616,0:04:12.618
You know, the last thing I want[br]to do, as a writer for children,

0:04:12.619,0:04:14.216
is hurt my reader.

0:04:14.217,0:04:16.918
I love to tell a good story,

0:04:16.918,0:04:22.628
a funny, scary, mysterious, whatever story

0:04:22.629,0:04:25.616
but terrible things draw me.

0:04:25.617,0:04:27.892
Am I hurting children?

0:04:28.192,0:04:29.946
Let's look at the child

0:04:29.947,0:04:33.441
who is growing up with plenty to eat,

0:04:33.442,0:04:36.437
good food, her own bed,

0:04:36.438,0:04:39.220
a place to study,

0:04:39.221,0:04:43.472
she goes to a school where the teacher[br]cares about what she's learning

0:04:43.473,0:04:47.818
and works very hard to make it a good day.

0:04:47.819,0:04:51.963
There are people who talk[br]to her and listen to her,

0:04:51.964,0:04:54.359
and she can talk to them.

0:04:54.360,0:04:56.659
This is a loved child.

0:04:56.660,0:04:58.807
This is a protected child.

0:04:58.808,0:05:01.052
Let me set this child aside[br]for the moment.

0:05:01.053,0:05:02.907
And let's look at the child

0:05:02.908,0:05:06.050
who maybe doesn't have[br]her own bed to sleep in,

0:05:06.051,0:05:07.502
maybe doesn't sleep that well,

0:05:07.503,0:05:09.768
maybe there is no blanket[br]to keep her warm,

0:05:09.769,0:05:12.521
maybe she went to bed hungry,[br]she wakes up hungry,

0:05:12.522,0:05:17.283
she goes to an underfunded,[br]overcrowded school.

0:05:17.284,0:05:19.999
Maybe she's very much loved,

0:05:20.000,0:05:23.209
but the socio-economics[br]of the situation are such

0:05:23.210,0:05:27.601
that she is battling[br]a number of things constantly.

0:05:27.602,0:05:30.500
And then, there are other children,

0:05:30.501,0:05:32.580
who are not so much loved.

0:05:32.581,0:05:36.348
And this has nothing to do[br]with socio-economic status

0:05:36.349,0:05:39.179
or race, or religion, or ethnicity,

0:05:39.180,0:05:40.401
none of that.

0:05:40.402,0:05:46.111
We all know that all kinds of things[br]happen behind closed doors

0:05:46.112,0:05:49.178
in every sector of our society.

0:05:49.179,0:05:52.183
So these are the unprotected children.

0:05:52.184,0:05:55.098
What happens to an unprotected child

0:05:55.099,0:05:56.922
when they read a book

0:05:56.923,0:06:02.004
in which the main character[br]is also unprotected?

0:06:02.980,0:06:04.491
One things that happens,

0:06:04.492,0:06:07.935
is that they find out[br]that they are not alone.

0:06:07.936,0:06:13.105
Children often do not talk[br]about the problems that they have.

0:06:13.106,0:06:14.946
Sometimes because they know

0:06:14.947,0:06:16.711
they can't do anything about it,

0:06:16.712,0:06:19.448
so, what's the point of talking about it?

0:06:19.449,0:06:21.268
Sometimes, because they are loyal

0:06:21.269,0:06:24.250
to the people that they love.

0:06:24.251,0:06:26.925
Sometimes it could be because of fear.

0:06:26.926,0:06:30.542
If you tell and people believe you,

0:06:30.543,0:06:34.252
maybe you'll be snatched from[br]your family, and then what?

0:06:34.253,0:06:37.260
And if you tell and people[br]don't believe you,

0:06:37.261,0:06:40.967
then you have to go back[br]to the situation you were in,

0:06:40.968,0:06:44.401
and deal with the people[br]who know that you told on them.

0:06:44.402,0:06:46.733
It could be much worse.

0:06:46.734,0:06:48.632
So, there you are!

0:06:48.633,0:06:53.103
You are alone, and you don't know

0:06:53.104,0:06:56.347
what other people are dealing with.

0:06:56.348,0:06:59.589
There, in a book, you find out!

0:06:59.590,0:07:01.504
This person talks to you in a way

0:07:01.505,0:07:05.101
that maybe no one else[br]in your life talks to you,

0:07:05.102,0:07:07.768
in a more intimate way!

0:07:07.769,0:07:10.881
If you have done something terrible,

0:07:10.882,0:07:16.181
really done it or just imagined it,

0:07:16.182,0:07:18.858
you may think you are an awful person,

0:07:18.859,0:07:21.338
and there, in a book, you'll find out

0:07:21.339,0:07:23.505
that absolutely ordinary people

0:07:23.506,0:07:27.048
do terrible things[br]and think terrible thoughts.

0:07:27.049,0:07:30.541
There's no one as lonely[br]as a child who thinks

0:07:30.542,0:07:33.699
that she's the worst person ever.

0:07:33.700,0:07:37.402
In a book you find out[br]that you are not alone.

0:07:37.403,0:07:41.539
If terrible things are happening to you

0:07:41.540,0:07:45.697
and you don't know[br]they happened to other people,

0:07:45.698,0:07:48.659
you can feel that maybe[br]there's something about you

0:07:48.660,0:07:51.512
that make them happen to you!

0:07:51.513,0:07:54.339
Maybe there is something wrong with you.

0:07:54.340,0:07:56.019
Maybe it's your fault.

0:07:56.020,0:07:58.795
You can suffer guilt.

0:07:58.796,0:08:03.007
There, in a book, you see this child[br]did nothing to make it happen to her!

0:08:03.008,0:08:05.248
But it's still happened.

0:08:05.249,0:08:09.977
Terrible things happen[br]to good people all the time.

0:08:09.978,0:08:12.380
It's very comforting.

0:08:12.381,0:08:13.847
Or you may think

0:08:13.848,0:08:16.004
that you're the only one it's happening to

0:08:16.005,0:08:19.153
and you develop[br]a big chip on your shoulder,

0:08:19.154,0:08:20.897
you're angry about it,

0:08:20.898,0:08:24.255
you don't understand[br]that lots of people around you

0:08:24.256,0:08:28.488
are coping with things[br]that they are not talking about either.

0:08:28.489,0:08:33.432
So, it can give you[br]a wonderful perspective

0:08:33.433,0:08:36.974
that allows you some consolation.

0:08:37.284,0:08:39.893
Another thing that reading[br]these books can do,

0:08:39.894,0:08:43.255
is give you hints, help

0:08:43.256,0:08:45.298
in coping with your situation.

0:08:45.299,0:08:49.419
Not that these books are going to deal[br]with the same situation that you're in,

0:08:49.420,0:08:51.242
they may be dealing with something

0:08:51.243,0:08:54.205
that's very different[br]from what you are in.

0:08:54.206,0:08:59.434
But you see somebody persisting,

0:08:59.435,0:09:02.083
being resilient,

0:09:02.084,0:09:06.883
being resourceful,[br]looking for help in different places,

0:09:06.884,0:09:13.012
and it gives you some ideas[br]of how you might go about

0:09:13.013,0:09:15.523
trying to manage.

0:09:15.713,0:09:19.868
Now, sometimes,[br]the problems that a child faces

0:09:19.869,0:09:22.685
are child-sized problems,

0:09:22.686,0:09:26.550
and are something[br]that the child can influence.

0:09:26.551,0:09:28.783
But sometimes, they are not!

0:09:28.784,0:09:34.524
Children are our least[br]powerful members of society.

0:09:35.250,0:09:38.049
So, these books over here,

0:09:38.050,0:09:41.060
they better not be saying

0:09:41.061,0:09:45.632
that the child can solve[br]an enormous problem.

0:09:46.250,0:09:48.084
Richard Pak,

0:09:48.096,0:09:51.579
one of the wonderful writers for children,

0:09:51.580,0:09:54.105
says: "Writers for children

0:09:54.106,0:09:57.757
cannot afford to traffic in happy endings,

0:09:57.758,0:10:03.470
because if we do, we risk leaving[br]our reader undefended."

0:10:03.471,0:10:06.007
It is very important for the child

0:10:06.008,0:10:11.509
who is in a situation[br]that they cannot change,

0:10:11.510,0:10:14.179
to see what happens to a child

0:10:14.180,0:10:17.908
in another situation[br]that they cannot change.

0:10:17.909,0:10:19.789
It is my job,

0:10:19.790,0:10:23.520
or I think it is my job[br]when I am writing a story,

0:10:23.521,0:10:25.851
to let a child know that

0:10:25.852,0:10:30.219
you may not be able to change your world,

0:10:30.220,0:10:33.521
but with hard work and good will,

0:10:33.522,0:10:39.550
you will be able to find a way[br]to live decently within your world,

0:10:39.551,0:10:43.642
even if it's only inside your head.

0:10:43.643,0:10:48.260
Hope, peace, even joy,

0:10:48.261,0:10:53.736
can be a strictly internal matter,

0:10:53.737,0:10:58.318
an it's very important[br]for children to see that!

0:10:58.319,0:11:04.986
So, these books can be a life line[br]to the unprotected child.

0:11:06.179,0:11:09.734
And now let's take[br]the child that is protected,

0:11:09.735,0:11:11.951
and take a look at this child!

0:11:11.952,0:11:16.643
I want to argue that this child[br]needs those books even more.

0:11:16.644,0:11:21.067
For one, the child[br]will not always be protected,

0:11:21.068,0:11:25.918
you cannot put your child[br]in a cotton-lined box for life.

0:11:25.919,0:11:31.486
The child will burst out,[br]the box will be crushed from outside.

0:11:31.487,0:11:33.753
Things happen to people.

0:11:33.754,0:11:36.953
We don't live charmed lives,

0:11:36.954,0:11:40.965
and everybody needs[br]to learn coping skills.

0:11:41.470,0:11:44.966
In the book you can see somebody coping,

0:11:44.967,0:11:49.826
and it can help to prepare you[br]for when you need to cope.

0:11:51.076,0:11:54.506
But even more than that,

0:11:54.507,0:11:57.759
I think the child who is protected

0:11:57.760,0:12:00.258
really needs these books,

0:12:00.259,0:12:02.908
because without them,

0:12:02.909,0:12:04.710
if this child grows up

0:12:04.711,0:12:09.052
with only good things happening

0:12:09.062,0:12:11.291
and unaware

0:12:11.292,0:12:17.417
that terrible things[br]can happen to people like them,

0:12:17.436,0:12:24.988
they run the risk of becoming[br]intolerant and intolerable people.

0:12:25.550,0:12:30.022
They run the risk of walking[br]past a homeless person,

0:12:30.023,0:12:33.360
who is emaciated,[br]and perhaps, stinking,

0:12:33.361,0:12:36.076
and thinking, "It's his own damn fault!"

0:12:36.077,0:12:40.277
They think that all the good things[br]that have happened to them,

0:12:40.278,0:12:43.230
have happened because they merited it,

0:12:43.231,0:12:45.856
they worked hard, they had a good spirit.

0:12:45.857,0:12:50.319
They don't recognize[br]the role of luck in their lives.

0:12:50.729,0:12:53.578
People can work hard and have good spirits

0:12:53.579,0:12:56.845
and have lousy luck.

0:12:56.846,0:13:02.447
In a book, you crawl[br]inside the skin of someone else,

0:13:02.448,0:13:05.225
you live what they are living,

0:13:05.226,0:13:07.542
you come to understand it,

0:13:07.543,0:13:10.209
you gain empathy.

0:13:10.210,0:13:14.386
Empathy is the corner stone[br]of civilization.

0:13:14.387,0:13:17.930
Without empathy, we are each[br]just in our little spots,

0:13:17.931,0:13:20.767
taking care of ourselves,[br]and our children.

0:13:20.768,0:13:23.195
Who cares about the neighbor?

0:13:23.196,0:13:27.602
Empathy allows us[br]to understand why we pay taxes,

0:13:27.603,0:13:31.434
why everybody deserves an education,

0:13:31.435,0:13:35.583
shelter, food, health care.

0:13:35.584,0:13:39.594
Empathy makes us decent people.

0:13:40.239,0:13:44.039
And there is no safer way

0:13:44.040,0:13:46.575
for a child to learn empathy,

0:13:46.576,0:13:49.036
than through a book.

0:13:49.037,0:13:53.195
I want to bring this down to the personal.

0:13:54.649,0:13:55.987
When I was a child,

0:13:55.988,0:14:00.136
my favourite book was[br]"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."

0:14:00.137,0:14:03.541
I grew up in a family[br]with a lot of problems,

0:14:03.542,0:14:06.442
that got realized in a number of ways,

0:14:06.443,0:14:12.000
one of which was[br]financial insecurity, instability.

0:14:12.001,0:14:15.532
One of my worst memories of childhood was

0:14:15.533,0:14:20.165
coming home in the third grade[br]to find everything that I owned,

0:14:20.166,0:14:23.475
- and I didn't own that much,[br]I was just a little third grade kid,

0:14:23.476,0:14:26.003
but everything that I owned,[br]mattered to me! -

0:14:26.004,0:14:29.001
to find everything that I owned[br]out on the sidewalk,

0:14:29.002,0:14:32.514
because we have been evicted yet again.

0:14:32.515,0:14:34.727
And I didn't know whether or not,

0:14:34.728,0:14:38.243
anyone else was coping[br]with this kind of thing.

0:14:38.244,0:14:41.281
Kids didn't talk about it at school.

0:14:41.282,0:14:47.097
But in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,"[br]I saw Francie Nolan coping with poverty.

0:14:47.098,0:14:49.615
It was very consoling to me!

0:14:49.616,0:14:52.608
It gave me a perspective that allowed me

0:14:52.609,0:14:56.122
to enjoy a lot of things about my life.

0:14:56.502,0:14:59.015
In that book, there was also a man,

0:14:59.016,0:15:01.000
at the foot of the stairs,

0:15:01.001,0:15:04.280
who was essentially a monster.

0:15:04.281,0:15:07.146
And Francie was very afraid of him,

0:15:07.147,0:15:10.055
and he had gotten other girls.

0:15:10.056,0:15:12.276
He does not get Francie,

0:15:12.277,0:15:16.378
and I was very glad[br]that he didn't get Francie.

0:15:16.379,0:15:19.072
I would not have wanted him to.

0:15:19.592,0:15:22.329
But I would have given anything

0:15:22.330,0:15:24.192
to be able to read a book

0:15:24.193,0:15:27.043
about the girl who did not escape

0:15:27.053,0:15:29.972
the man at the foot of the stairs.

0:15:29.973,0:15:33.302
To me, it would have been a lifeline.

0:15:33.779,0:15:37.523
So, those books just were not available.

0:15:37.524,0:15:38.923
Today they are.

0:15:38.924,0:15:41.905
And I am very grateful for that.

0:15:41.906,0:15:44.075
And thank you very much.

0:15:44.076,0:15:45.345
(Applause)