Golden Compass

The Toronto Star reports that Halton's Catholic board has pulled The Golden Compass from school library shelves, pending a review by its trustees. Author Philip Pullman, who describes himself as an atheist, apparently wrote the series His Dark Materials as a response to C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia (which ironically have been challenged themselves).

Read a synopsis of The Golden Compass. It was voted the best children's book in the past 70 years by readers across the globe, according to news articles. Although it was published in 1995, the controversy is unfolding now because it has been made into a movie which will be released soon. Students can ask librarians for the book but it will not be displayed on shelves.

Toronto Star readers have voiced their opinions, many coming out in support of the presence of the book in schools.

Ten-year-old Awarded for Defense of Freedom to Read

Freedom to Read Poster 1994










A Toronto Star article entitled "Plucky Reader Honoured for Book's Defence" reports that ten-year-old Evie Freedman is being awarded with the Writers' Union Freedom to Read Award. Evie is a grade 5 student in the Halton Public School Board. When a number of school boards decided to pull Deborah Ellis' Three Wishes: Palestinia and Israel Children Speak, Evie was very vocal about the importance of this book and was widely quoted.

According to Evie, adults were always underestimating what kids can understand and she was adamant she didn't need anyone to tell her what she could read.

She went on to say that one particular line from Three Wishes stood out for her. "If children are tough enough to be bombed and starved, they're tough enough to read about it."