Kona Stories Book Store to Celebrate Banned Book Week

Banned Book Week, Kona Stories Book Store, Sept. 2019. Courtesy photo

Kona Stories Book Store in Kailua-Kona will celebrate Banned Book Week—Sept. 22 through 28, 2019, with a unique display to promote controversial books on the banned list.

Every September, libraries, schools, bookstores, museums, and other locales around the world celebrate the right to read during Banned Books Week.

At its heart, Banned Books Week is a celebration of the freedom to access ideas, a fundamental right that belongs to everyone and over which no one person or small group of people should hold sway.

Banned Books Week is a celebration of books, comics, plays, art, journalism and much more.

At Kona Stories Book Store, books have been wrapped in paper bags to disguise the title. Books are decorated with red “I read banned books” stickers and a brief description of why they are on the list.

Customers are encouraged to buy the books without knowing the titles.

This is a great opportunity for our community to teach our children the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”