Have you been so bad as to read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” or “To Kill a Mockingbird“? Harbor a secret copy of Judy Blume’s “Forever” in your closet? Let your impressionable children read a Harry Potter book? Or, heaven forbid, read a picture book about two male penguins who adopt an egg to your poor preschooler?!

You, my friend, are in serious trouble. You have been the unwitting participant or enabler of reading a book that has been banned.

And this week you are encouraged to celebrate it!

Yes, this is Banned Books Week - a national celebration of the freedom to read.

According to BannedBooksWeek.org, “It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009.”

That penguin book for preschoolers? “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is once again one of the 10 most-challenged titles over the past year. Why? Reasons cited are: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group.

The 2009 celebration of Banned Books Week is being held from September 26 through October 3, but you can be a rebel all year round - now go read something someone doesn’t want you to read!

(And if you really want to cause trouble, check out these other ideas for marking the week.)

Last year I read “Bridge to Terabithia” and loved it. Haven’t decided what to read this year yet, but open to suggestions…

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• Banned Books Week (huffingtonpost.com)
• Read, Speak, Know: Banned Books Week 2009 (califmom.com)
• Mapping Banned Books in the U.S. (mediabistro.com)
• Celebrate Banned Books! (bilerico.com)