I must say that I'm extemely distressed that in a such an advanced country as the USA, schools are banning inoffensive books. (By this I mean both JRRT and JKR).
The only advice I can give you is to change schools, because if they're so shortsighted as to imagine that these books could harm their students, they obviously have such a weak grip on reality that their teaching abilities must be seriously suspect.
Naturally, this is of little use if you are a schoolkid, (and I'd encourage you to learn whatever you can while you're there). However, I'd imagine that if you could mobilise the support of school governors and parents and present well-supported arguments to them (see various threads about LoTR and Religion on this site for examples), reasonable people should come around to our view.
I must say this issue really makes me angry. Any book contains the thoughts of an individual human being and is therefore worthy of respect, or at least a fair assessment from society. Fair enough, if they have 'adult' themes, they should not be available to minors, but Lord of the Rings contains nothing illicit in my view (and the views of the vast majority).
In my book, Religious fundamentalism presents an infinitely greater danger to the world (9/11 etc) than any fantasy fiction. (Btw. is the word fundamentalism derived from fundament + mental?)
What next, are they going to burn Farenheit 451 ?
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Rumil of Coedhirion
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