"Stories bond us, but so does struggle"

~Sam Helmick

In this episode of Rogue Librarians, we speak with Sam Helmick, President of the American Library Association. This is our third conversation with Sam! This time we are focusing on the upcoming Youth Media Awards and what this event means to children, librarians, and book lovers everywhere. Below are all the pertinent links.

Stream the Youth Media awards at ala.unikron.com and on the ALA Facebook page.

For more information go to the ALA Youth Media Awards information page

Sam Helmick’s contact information:

@geometric rabbit or @shelmick on Instagram

@samhelmick on Bluesky

@samhelmick on Facebook

Some books we talked about during the podcast:

Bluebird, by Sharon Cameron

American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins

The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers

Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures, by Walter Moers

Good Spirits, by BK Borison

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White - special edition

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell

The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare

Big, by Vashti Harrison

Hair Love, by Matthew A. Cherry, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

A Heart In The Body Of The World, by Deb Caletti

In this episode we do a close reading of the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. As always, we found the conversation enlightening and cathartic. Learning about Pakistan’s history and the Pashtun people was fascinating. We also found that the struggle between religious conservatives and those challenging traditional values is universal, not isolated and far away. Additionally, we tried the sacred reading practice Florilegia, which we learned from the folks over at Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. The result was compelling.

First, we apologize for some sound issues we were having in this episode. We’ve changed a few things and are learning as we go. We hope to solve this problem before our next recording.

In this Part 1 episode we discuss the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. In Part 1 we discuss why the book is banned, share some context to help understand the book, and give our assessment of why it’s worth reading. The book was published in the US and UK on Oct. 8, 2013, exactly one year after the author, Malala Yousafzai, was, as the title implies, shot by the Taliban in a direct assassination attempt. The memoir was co-written by journalist Christina Lamb. The book has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Today’s banned bit was a story published by the ALA entitled, “Court permanently blocks Trump’s executive order to dismantle federal agency for America’s libraries.”

We found information on why the book was challenged in the following articles:

• ‘The Color Purple’ and 30 Other Banned and Challenged Books You Should Be Watching - PEN America

• Report: 1,586 School Book Bans and Restrictions in 86 School Districts Across 26 States - PEN America

• These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida - PEN America

• Pakistani private schools ban Malala Yousafzai's book 'I Am Malala', calling teen activist 'a tool of Western powers' | National Post

• The Complexities of I Am Malala Criticism: An Analysis, from Bookeys

• Censoring Malala - Harvard Political Review

Finally, we referenced these episodes of The Rogue Librarians, check them out!

• Episode 52. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
• Episode 53. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 2 : Close Reading)
• Episode 63. Sold (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
• Episode 64. Sold (Part 2: Close Reading)