Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

I bought this for the same reason I bought Melissa, by Alex Gino. They both turned up on a list of books banned or removed from school libraries in the USA. I could understand – not condone: understand – Melissa upsetting people. But what, I wondered, was there about a book about racism in Mississippi in the 1930s, written by the great-granddaughter of a former slave, that could make some people want to ban or restrict it. You’d think it would be welcomed for its insight.

Well, the answer – or one, at least – was this: protesters wanted it removed because of ‘its harsh depictions of racism and its use of racial slurs’.

Which makes me ask: is there a cuddly version of racism? One suitable for children – the readership the book is intended for? Racism with fluffy bunnies or talking spiders, where those naughty old racists realize the error of their ways and everybody ends up in a big happy cuddle at Christmas, with presents and mince pies for all?

A book about racism where nobody ever uses any bad words because we all know bad words aren’t nice and we need to protect the children? So that way they can grow up and visit a former plantation in the Deep South and then complain on TripAdvisor that the guide ruined the tour of a lovely old building by talking about… slavery!

Actually, I suppose I have to be glad somebody somewhere wanted Roll of Thunder taken off library shelves. Because if I hadn’t heard about that, I wouldn’t have bought it, and then I would have been denied the experience of reading a really, really good book.

As Stephen King said: ‘The second a school bans a book, have your kid go the library, check that book out, and read it! Because any book that’s banned is a book you definitely need to read.’