I am reading books from the ALA’s most challenged list. I checked off all the books I have already read (although I plan to go back and read some) and now I am working through the part of the list I am interested in reading. I went through the list in my school library and grabbed this one. I finished it this morning and sobbed through the last two chapters.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why this one would be challenged. All I can discover is it is challenged for “offensive language”. Cause you know, no 11 or 12 year old has ever heard damn, which is about the worst thing I could find.

Vernon Dibbs is one of 5 children being raised by their father after their mother’s death. The Dibbs family lives in a rundown neighborhood in Baltimore. In their neighborhood is a duplex in habited by a retired teacher and an alchoholic with a retarded son. As the story goes on Vernon is tutored by the retired teacher and to repay her helps out the mother and son.

This intense story shows great character development, and insight into types of people many kids may never know. I plan to recommend this book to several of my students.