Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

 Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel-232 pages

I wanted to read this book both because it counts for the monthly challenge and because it has been challenged/banned. I wanted to read it for myself and see why people might want to challenge it's inclusion on the shelves. It's a memoir of the author's childhood and early adulthood. She discovers that she's a lesbian and that her father was gay/bisexual while she's off at college. She realizes that she was always different and wasn't a "girly" girl. There are some depictions/images of naked women, but never in the context of sexual intercourse. At its heart, this is simply Alison Bechdel's recollections of her childhood and early adulthood and grappling with puberty and family issues. Her father also ran the "fun home" which was a funeral home. I liked reading this book. 

Halloween A B C by Eve Merriam

Halloween A B C by Eve Merriam – 28 p.

This little book is a deliciously spooky way to get ready for the greatest holiday of the year. The fact that some have attempted to ban it just ramps up the fun! A clever little poem accompanies each letter, some more malevolent than others (D for demon vs. O for owl). Parents can quickly suss out which are appropriate to read to their little kiddos. Older ones will have a blast (and maybe a good, healthy scare) reading all of them. Just remember not to cry, or “you’ll end up in pumpkin pie”.

“Halloween ABC is on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 as ‘it allegedly contains satanic references, cult symbols, and promotes violent and deviant behavior.’” [Wikipedia]