Freedom to Read Kit 2012
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About This Year's Kit
The year 2011 was inspirational for proponents of free expression. A deep longing for democracy, human rights and equality drove people into the streets across the Muslim world and North America.
Although they sometimes faced violent responses, ordinary people armed with powerful ideas
toppled governments in North Africa and challenged inequality at home. These events remind
us that free expression is vital to building and maintaining healthy democracies.
Freedom to Read 2012 looks at pressing issues of censorship and free expression in our Canadian
democracy and around the world.
In this issue, we look at the freedom of Canadian youth to read. Lucy White explores censorship in theatre for young audiences. Anne Jayne writes about a newly amended law in Alberta that limits discussion of sexual orientation in public schools. And Professor George Dei explains why he is a longtime advocate for Africentric public schools.
Freedom to Read 2012 also features interviews with two tireless Canadian advocates of free
expression: John Ralston Saul, the president of PEN International, and David Bouchard, an
award-winning author and champion of literacy in aboriginal communities.
Librarians David Burke and Carol Perry tell us about their attempt to gain access to government
documents, and Alvin Schrader and Donna Bowman report the latest attempts to remove books,
magazines and DVDs from Canadian public libraries.
But there is much more in this issue of Freedom to Read 2012: book reviews, international news and ways to promote freedom to read in your community. I won’t give everything away. Enjoy!
— Josh Bloch, Editor
Poster
The 2012 Freedom to Read poster was created by award-winning designer David Wyman.
» Click here to see a larger view in the Poster Gallery (opens in a new window)
Word Searches
Download the Freedom to Read and Banned Authors word search puzzles (PDF)
Clip Art
Use Freedom to Read Week clip art to make bookmarks or "shelf-talkers" (cards to insert between books on the shelves in your school or public library or bookstore to catch the patrons' attention) for books included on the Challenged Books List, or other books challenged in your community.
To download the clipart image, right-click on the file name below the image and choose "Save Link As"
Credits
Editor: Josh Bloch
Consulting Editor: Franklin Carter
Design: Reva Pomer
Poster Design: David Wyman
Contributors: Donna Bowman, Ron Brown, Grant Buckler, David Burke, Brendan de Caires, George J. Sefa Dei, Anne Jayne, Wayne MacPhail, Hilary McLaughlin, Charles Montpetit, Carol Perry, Cheryl Rainfield, Alvin M. Schrader, Susan Swan, Lucy White
Sponsors
See the complete list of Freedom to Read Week sponsors.
For earlier versions, see the Freedom to Read Archives.
