Banned Books Week ~ reasons for banning

How many of these banned characters can you name?

Cross-posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Day Two ~ banned classics

According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been the target of ban attempts.  For more information about this list, read this ALA post.

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Cross-posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Banned Books Week ~ Sept 27 to Oct 3

It's Banned Books Week, so what are you reading?
Cross-posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Lethal ideas

"Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don't discuss them.  Ignorance is not bliss, it's stupid.   Banning books shows you don't trust your kids to think and you don't trust yourself to be able to talk to them."

— Anna Quindlen

Dangerous Words

Judy Blume has her own page about censorship.

Mighty Girl has a great article on banned books, naming books in several categories:

Children's ~ inappropriate for age group

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (age 9 -12)
Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry (age 8 - 12)

Too scary ~ books banned for violent content

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (age 10 and up)
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay (the Hunger Games trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (all age 12 and up)

Prejudiced ~ books banned for racism

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (age 10 and up)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (age 10 and up)
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (age 15 and up)

Irreverent ~ books banned due to religious objections

The Golden Compass  by Philip Pullman (age 10 and up)
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (age 9 - 13)

Too sexy ~ books banned for sexuality

Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden (age 13 and up)
The Color of Earth graphic novel by Kim Dong Hwa (age 10 and up)

Hiding the truth ~ banned nonfiction

It’s Not The Stork by Robie H. Harris (age 4 - 7)
It’s So Amazing by Robie H. Harris (age 6 - 9)
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris (age 10 and up)
Let’s Talk About You And Me by Robie H. Harris (age 3 - 7)
The What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras (age 9 to 15)
Ready, Set, Grow by Lynda Madaras (girls, ages 8 - 12)

The article adds a couple of other helpful categories:

Dangers of censorship
Recommended resources

One commenter thinks the best line is...

"A Mighty Girl believes that most topics can be introduced even to the youngest age groups, provided it is done with care and that parents or teachers help children discuss their reactions to these concepts."

Banned Books Week ~ begins today

Last Monday, a school board in North Carolina banned the novel Invisible Man from its reading list.  Although one board member said at the meeting, "I didn’t find any literary value ... I’m for not allowing it to be available," Ralph Ellison won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953 for this book.  In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Invisible Man nineteenth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

Invisible Man ~ by Ralph Ellison, 1952 As a first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century.  The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood," and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.

They banned the book just in time for Banned Books Week, which begins today.  If you have a review of a banned book you'd be willing to share here, let me know.  Leave a comment, or email me (Bonnie) at emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com

Would you call this censorship?

A Canadian publisher has taken away Santa's pipe — and thus the smoke curling around his head — in a new version of an old favorite.  Twas the Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Elena Almazova and Vitaly Shvarov, was published in September and has already caused quite a ruckus.

"The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath."

While some complain that taking out a line that Clement Moore wrote a hundred years ago is censorship, the author wanted to help Santa kick his smoking habit.

"I'm not telling people not to read books, and anyone is free to go out and buy one of the many other editions of this book. But smoking is going to kill one billion people in this century, and that needs to be discussed."

On the other hand, the publisher easily found this in a child's email letter to Santa:

"I also want my Mom and Step Dad to stop smoking.  Pretty Please."

What do you think?  Read the article (or any of the many others online — just google "Santa smoking" to find them), and let's talk about this change in a classic book.  Is it censorship, or is it a good idea?

Censorship

On this second day of Banned Books Week, Jan @ Yearning for God wrote about censorship, refuting this quote by George Bernard Shaw:

Censorship

will Rage

until it reduces itself to

Absurdity;

and even then

the best books will be

in Danger still.

Jan took part in a Read-Out on Saturday.  She read from Shel Silverstein's challenged book, A Light in the Attic, and shared one of his whimsical illustrated poems on her blog.

The Bane of Banned Books

Bill Moyers, honorary co-chair of Banned Books Week, talks about how libraries provided his first opportunity to indulge his love of reading and learning.  He shares his dismay over efforts to remove books from schools and libraries in modern times in this video essay entitled, "The Bane of Banned Books."  (If the video quits working, click on the link to view it on YouTube.)

Banned Books Week ~ starts tomorrow!

"Many people are amazed to learn that books are still banned and challenged in libraries and schools across the United States of America.  Join us in spreading awareness about censorship by participating in the American Library Association's Banned Books Week 2012.  Banned Books Week runs September 30th through October 6th."

 This thought that flashed across the screen (at 0:44) is oh-so-true!

People ban books because

they can't ban thoughts.

If the video quits working, see it on YouTube here:  50 State Salute to Banned Books: Massachusetts Library Association.  Many thanks to A.M. for sharing this link.

Calling all bloggers!

Sheila @ Book Journey is "looking for bloggers to participate in Banned Books Week by choosing to read one or more of the Banned Books on the list or to write a post about banned books week.  All participants will go into a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift card as my thank you for participating in a week that is near and dear to me."

Here are the books Sheila has reviewed (so far) on this Banned Books blog:

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ~ by Sherman Alexie
• Are You There God?  It's Me, Margaret ~ by Judy Blume
• Beloved ~ by Toni Morrision
• The Face on the Milk Carton ~ by Caroline B. Cooney
• Fahrenheit 451 ~ by Ray Bradbury
• Freedom Writers Diary ~ by Erin Gruwell and her students
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ by J. K. Rowling
• Hunger Games ~ by Suzanne Collins
• To Kill a Mockingbird ~ by Harper Lee
• Mrs. Dalloway ~ by Virginia Woolf
• Night ~ by Eli Wiesel
• Speak ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Speak (The Movie)

Sept 30—Oct 6 is Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week 2012
September 30 — October 6

I hope you'll have a book review or two
that we can post around that time.

Mapping censorship.
Resources.
ALA Banned Books Week.

Whoopi Goldberg reads banned books

Shel Silverstein and Whoopi Goldberg? A good combination.

A Day No Pigs Would Die ~ Bonnie's Review

Review for Banned Books Week (BBW #22)

A Day No Pigs Would Die ~ by Robert Newton Peck, 1972, YA fiction (Vermont)

I've had a hard time trying to decide how to tell you about this book.  It's been challenged and banned because of its graphic violence and sexual content.  It has both.  It starts with the boy, Robert, nearly getting killed saving a calf when the cow had trouble giving birth.  The novel has a scene where a boar is thrown in with a pig who hasn't gone into heat and basically rapes the pig who is screaming the whole time.  And there's one heartbreaking day when the pig raised by a 12-year-old boy must be slaughtered to provide food for the family.  The boy, who "becomes a man" that day, had already learned how getting his chores done felt good, and he is aware of the beauty of the world around him.  There was a lot of violence, but it depicted what life was like on a Shaker farm.

One complaint given by those who challenge this book is that the novel condones animal cruelty.  And this is the scene that bothered me the most.  The boy's father, Haven, invites his neighbor to let his dog learn weasel-killing skills on a weasel Haven has captured in the chicken coop.  The two animals are thrown in together.  When it's over, the weasel is dead, but the dog is so badly injured that she must be put to sleep.  However, the father realizes he can't ever let that happen again, no matter how many chickens he loses.  Nobody enjoyed what happened, and it wasn't done out of callousness.  The father is trying to teach his son about "doing what's got to be done."

"I swear," Papa said.  "I swear by the Book of Shaker and all that's holy.  I will never again weasel a dog.  Even if  I lose every chicken I own."

His father told Robert he would not live much longer, and the boy would have to be a man at thirteen.  We see how tender-hearted Robert is by what he does afterwards.

"I sat watching the red cinders turn gray.  I stayed there until the fire died.  So it would not have to die alone."

Haven, the father, was a butcher.  He's the one who had to slaughter his son's pig.  That's the most memorable scene in the book -- and the one shown on the cover above.  The boy/young man said,

"Oh, Papa.  My heart's broke."
"So is mine" said Papa.

And the son forgave what his father had to do.  Robert was given the piglet, named it Pinky, raised it, fattened it up, and won a prize showing her.  The pig was barren, and the family didn't have enough meat for the winter or enough feed to keep the pig as a pet.  Slaughtering it was necessary.  The son knew...

"He did it. Because he had to. Hated to and had to. And he knew he’d never have to say to me that he was sorry."

When Haven the butcher died, his co-workers came to his funeral, making that "a day no pigs would die."  Because of Haven’s death, the pigs would live an additional day.

I rate this book 8 of 10, a very good book.

Also posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Bonnie's Review ~ The Face on the Milk Carton

Review for Banned Books Week (BBW #19)

The Face on the Milk Carton ~ by Caroline B. Cooney, 1990, YA fiction (Connecticut), 9/10

Summary:  A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads 15-year-old Janie to think she was kidnapped a decade ago.  So she goes on a search for her real identity.

"Janie finished her essay.  She never knew what grade she would get in Mr. Brylowe's English class.  Whenever she joked, he wanted the essay serious.  Whenever she was serious, he had intended the essay to be light-hearted."

I was curious enough to keep reading after those opening lines, but more because of the mystery of that face on a milk carton.  Writing an essay?  That's what I do when I review a book.  On the other hand, when I was her age, I also had to learn about writing and (as I read on the next page or so) thought about names.  She thinks "Jane" is too plain, so she considers "Jayne."  I, on the other hand, was the only Bonnie I knew, besides the aunt I was named for, so I longed for a more usual kind of name.  I guess all kids feel weird about something.

I kept reading this book, but I wasn't imagining how it would feel if I'd been taken from my mom and dad, as I think most teens would, but as the mom wondering where her daughter was.  For example, this section really got to me.  All I could think was that her mother had missed all of these life events.

"Janie climbed the stairs to her room, passing by the ascending wall of photographs.  Her parents disliked albums: they immortalized Janie on the stairs.  Janie at the beach, on skis, in a Scout uniform, in her first dancing dress.  Janie on their trip to the Grand Canyon.  Janie in gymnastics.  Janie at the Middle School Awards Ceremony.  Janie on the runway for the fashion show the hospital sponsored as a benefit" (p. 26).

Why was this book banned?  I can't imagine, since there's nothing in it that seems objectionable.  Janie and a boy had an opportunity for sex, but didn't.  Yet in 2002-2003, it was challenged in Texas Public Schools for "sexual content and challenge to authority."  Ignore them and read the book, which kept me turning the pages.  When I learned there are three more books in the series, I got online tonight and put them on hold at my library so I can read.....

Whatever happened to Janie? (1993)
The Voice on the Radio (1996)
What Janie Found (2000)

I rate this one 9 of 10, an excellent book.  Also posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Bonnie's Review ~ Epaminondas and His Auntie

Review for Banned Books Week (BBW #11)

Epaminondas and His Auntie ~ by Sara Cone Bryant, 1907, children's, 10/10

A child can feel good about knowing (or understanding) something when the child in the story just doesn't get it.  Every time Auntie gives Epaminondas something to take home, he messes up.  The cake she sent with him arrives in crumbs, and Mammy tells him he should have brought it home under his cap.  Next time, it's butter and it's a hot day, but Epaminondas remembers and puts it under his cap.  See the buttery yellow cover?  That's butter melting all down his face and neck.  Mammy says he should have dipped the butter in the water to cool it, but the next thing he brings home from Auntie's is a puppy-dog, almost drowned (more than "almost" in the original).  Should have tied a string around its neck and come along home, says Mammy.  So imagine the loaf of bread he brings next.  Mammy gives up and says to him,

"O Epaminondas, Epaminondas, you ain't got the sense you was born with; you never did have the sense you was born with, you never will have the sense you was born with!  Now I ain't gwine tell you any more ways to bring truck home."

Should the language be changed to make the mother sound more educated?  No, of course not.  The language is colorful, and changing it makes the book lose its appeal, in my opinion, though many have tried.  "You ain't got the sense you was born with" sounds more like something his mama would say than "You don't have the sense you were born with."  This is especially true at the end of the book where the instructions to Epaminondas must be phrased in a way that leaves the kind of ambiguity that "allows" him to step on the six mince pies left to cool off while Mammy goes to visit Auntie herself.  I wasn't happy with the original version, back in my childhood days:

"Well, now, you hear me, Epaminondas, you be careful how you step on those pies."

I never, ever thought that sounded like anything an adult would say to me. It was that word "how" that didn't work for me. And this is "how" Epaminondas did it:
This book has been rewritten many times, including this version where, to eliminate the charge of racism, the main character becomes a possum.

Epossumondas ~ by Coleen Salley, 2002, children's, 7/10

This is a retelling of the Epanimondas story. That same section of the book goes like this:

"Ooooooh!  Epossumondas!   Epossumondas!  You DON'T have the sense you were born with!  You never DID have the sense you were born with!  You never WILL have the sense you were born with!  Now I'm not telling you any more ways of bringing truck home..."

That word "truck" in the mouth of a modern woman talking to a diapered possum just "ain't" right. But the 21st-century author did phrase the final instructions in a way that's more logical to our ears:

"Well, Epossumondas, you be careful about stepping on those pies!"

Yes, we realize immediately what going to happen, even with these bland words.  Being careful "about stepping on those pies" works better for me than being careful "how you step on those pies."  But still, this one doesn't grab me like the original, which has more character.  I don't relate to the silly little possum, but I could imagine myself responding to instructions from my own mother, just as the little boy Epaminondas did.

The boy's struggles to do the right thing endeared him to me, in a way holding an opposum does not.  When I was a child, I thought like a child.  Would I have misunderstood the way Epaminondas did?  No! ... so I could feel good about myself.  Would I have known what my mother meant?  Yes! ... so I could feel good that I was a big girl who could understand instructions.  I wouldn't have related to a possum wearing a diaper.  No, I was too big for that.

Back to Epaminondas and His Auntie:

According to Intellectual Freedom in Libraries: Then and Now, access to library materials was restricted in response to an objection by the San Jose, California branch of the NAACP claiming that this book depicts a black child as “completely idiotic and stupid.”

Epaminondas isn't stupid.  He isn't an idiot.  He's a little boy trying very hard to get it right.  It's the adults who aren't thinking clearly.  His Auntie could have been more specific, if only she had known how badly the poor guy was struggling to do the right thing ... just as I did, when I was a child.  He was doing exactly as he was told, poor fellow.

Best comment I found online was written by Jan Zehr in 2003.

I credit "Epaminondas and His Auntie" with my ability to think critically. I am an entrepreneur have employed many people. The single, biggest problem in today's work force is the lack of ability to think critically. When given an instruction, if it is remembered(!), that instruction is construed to mean applicable in EVERY instance. Epaminondas is the condition of too many people today.

One example, true story, comes to mind of an airplane crash, the accident site was flooded with jet fuel and one of the survivors, on fire, was told to roll on the ground. Yes, that is the normal survival routine that we are all taught....it just doesn't apply if the ground is flooded with jet fuel!  Life is flooded with jet fuel. We have think beyond the instructions we've been given. We have to analyze the conditions and THEN think of the solution.

I compare "Epaminondas and His Auntie" with Aesops Fables. I do NOT think that because a character is black it is bad. Does everyone need to be white? Let's rewrite "Epaminondas" in every color and every language. It was a definitive book in my childhood.  Jan Zehr

Yes! Thanks, Jan, I love it!

I still love the book, having re-read it for the ten millionth time before writing this post.  I rate it 10 of 10, because I still can't put it down.

Also posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Bonnie's Review ~ Falling Up

Review for Banned Books Week (BBW #6)

Falling Up: Poems and Drawings ~ by Shel Silverstein, 1996, children's, 8/10

A good part of the humor of Shel Silverstein's poetry is the play on words, often by one who is taking something literally.  Here's an example from page 75:

They Say I Have

They say I have my father's nose,
My grandpa's eyes,
My mother's hair.
Could it be that my behind's
The only thing that's really mine?

The drawing that accompanies this poem shows a child with arm outstretched to three relatives:  dad without a nose, mom without hair, and poor ole grandpa without any eyes.  We must study the child to imagine THOSE eyes for grandpa, THAT curly hair for his (her?) mother, and an appropriately adult-sized nose for like THAT for dear ole dad.

I can relate to this poem, because I remember a time when I was a very small child that I was quite perturbed when my mother said, "Keep an eye on your baby brother."  I was so perturbed and so anxious that, to this day, I can vividly recall the feelings I felt.  I wrote a post about it for my Words from a Wordsmith blog, with the words I threw back at my mother that day, "How can I keep an eye on him?  Do I take out my eye and put it on him?"

Some of the humor of these poems comes from their evocation of the questions most children ponder.  Did you ever wonder about God?  The kid on page 78 did:

Description

George said, "God is short and fat."
Nick said, "No, He's tall and lean."
Len said, "With a long white beard."
"No," said John, "He's shaven clean."
Will said, "He's black," Bob said, "He's white."
Rhonda Rose said, "He's a She."
I smiled but never showed 'em all
The autographed photograph God sent to me.

Ah, the last line throws us for a loop!  It's so unexpected.  Well, it was for me, anyway, 'cause God never sent me a photograph, autographed or otherwise.  I liked the poem about God in yesterday's book, too, but didn't find a way to fit it into the review.

Here it is, from page 152 of A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein:

God's Wheel

God says to me with kind of a smile,
"Hey how would you like to be God awhile
And steer the world?"
"Okay," says I, "I'll give it a try.
Where do I set?
How much do I get?
What time is lunch?
When can I quit?"
"Gimme back that wheel," says God,
"I don't think you're quite ready yet."

The wheel sticks up above one of the world's oceans, and that tiny boy would have a hard time turning it.  Have I learned anything about Shel's theology?  Nah, don't think so.

If you would like to hear a poem or three animated and spoken by the author/artist, click here.  After the intro, click on "Shel's Books."  Then click on "Falling Up" to watch an animation from page 77: "The Toy Eater."

Falling Up is fun, and funny, and playful, and I rate it 8 of 10, a very good book.

Also posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Bonnie's review ~ A Light in the Attic

Review for Banned Books Week (BBW #1)

A Light in the Attic: Poems and Drawings ~ by Shel Silverstein, 1981, children's, 8/10

Why was this book banned?  Because it allegedly "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence."  Oh, my!  What about hilarious nonsense, made-up-words, and giggles?  It has also been banned because of "suggestive illustrations."  One library also claimed that the book "glorified Satan, suicide and cannibalism, and also encouraged children to be disobedient."  Oh, come on!  I think we need to give children more credit. They are smarter than some parents apparently think.  Okay, on to the book.

I love playing with words, as in this one from page 110:

Bored

I can't afford
A skateboard.
I can't afford
An outboard.
I can't afford
A surfboard.
All I can afford
Is a board.

The drawing shows a child with a board across his shoulder that spreads across both pages.

The best way for me to praise this book is by quoting from it, words and drawings.  I'll "quote" this drawing from pages 140-141, because it's one I could find online:

click to enlarge

The poem on page 22 made me think it could have been his life's philosophy:

Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.

Thank you, Shel Silverstein, for putting some silliness into this world that wasn't been there before.

If you would like to hear a poem or three animated and spoken by the author/artist, click here.  After the intro, click on "Shel's Books."  Then click on "A Light in the Attic," and choose one of the three (or all three) poems, read by their creator.  "Eight Balloons" is my favorite.

In a sign drawn on a flower, Shel dedicated this book to his daughter Shanna — Shoshanna means "lily" or "rose" in Hebrew — who turned eleven the year it was published. She died the following year, not yet twelve.

I rate this book 8 of 10, a very good book.

Also posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.

Two lists of banned books

Top 100 banned/challenged books of 2000-2009

1. Harry Potter (series) ~ by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice (series) ~ by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War ~ by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three ~ by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men ~ by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ~ by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series) ~ by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series) ~ by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (Internet Girls series) ~ by Lauren Myracle
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower ~ by Stephen Chbosky
11. Fallen Angels ~ by Walter Dean Myers
12. It’s Perfectly Normal ~ by Robie Harris
13. Captain Underpants (series) ~ by Dav Pilkey
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ~ by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye ~ by Toni Morrison
16. Forever ~ by Judy Blume
17. The Color Purple ~ by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice ~ by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye ~ by J.D. Salinger
20. King and King ~ by Linda de Haan
21. To Kill A Mockingbird ~ by Harper Lee
22. Gossip Girl (series) ~ by Cecily von Ziegesar
23. The Giver ~ by Lois Lowry
24. In the Night Kitchen ~ by Maurice Sendak
25. Killing Mr. Griffen ~ by Lois Duncan
26. Beloved ~ by Toni Morrison
27. My Brother Sam Is Dead ~ by James Lincoln Collier
28. Bridge To Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson
29. The Face on the Milk Carton ~ by Caroline B. Cooney
30. We All Fall Down ~ by Robert Cormier
31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know ~ by Sonya Sones
32. Bless Me, Ultima ~ by Rudolfo Anaya
33. Snow Falling on Cedars ~ by David Guterson
34. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things ~ by Carolyn Mackler
35. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging ~ by Louise Rennison
36. Brave New World ~ by Aldous Huxley
37. It’s So Amazing ~ by Robie Harris
38. Arming America ~ by Michael Bellasiles
39. Kaffir Boy ~ by Mark Mathabane
40. Life is Funny ~ by E.R. Frank
41. Whale Talk ~ by Chris Crutcher
42. The Fighting Ground ~ by Avi
43. Blubber ~ by Judy Blume
44. Athletic Shorts ~ by Chris Crutcher
45. Crazy Lady ~ by Jane Leslie Conly
46. Slaughterhouse-Five ~ by Kurt Vonnegut
47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby ~ by George Beard
48. Rainbow Boys ~ by Alex Sanchez
49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ~ by Ken Kesey
50. The Kite Runner ~ by Khaled Hosseini
51. Daughters of Eve ~ by Lois Duncan
52. The Great Gilly Hopkins ~ by Katherine Paterson
53. You Hear Me? ~ by Betsy Franco
54. The Facts Speak for Themselves ~ by Brock Cole
55. Summer of My German Soldier ~ by Bette Green
56. When Dad Killed Mom ~ by Julius Lester
57. Blood and Chocolate ~ by Annette Curtis Klause
58. Fat Kid Rules the World ~ by K.L. Going
59. Olive’s Ocean ~ by Kevin Henkes
60. Speak ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson
61. Draw Me A Star ~ by Eric Carle
62. The Stupids (series) ~ by Harry Allard
63. The Terrorist ~ by Caroline B. Cooney
64. Mick Harte Was Here ~ by Barbara Park
65. The Things They Carried ~ by Tim O’Brien
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ~ by Mildred Taylor
67. A Time to Kill ~ by John Grisham
68. Always Running ~ by Luis Rodriguez
69. Fahrenheit 451 ~ by Ray Bradbury
70. Harris and Me ~ by Gary Paulsen
71. Junie B. Jones (series) ~ by Barbara Park
72. Song of Solomon ~ by Toni Morrison
73. What’s Happening to My Body Book ~ by Lynda Madaras
74. The Lovely Bones ~ by Alice Sebold
75. Anastasia (series) ~ by Lois Lowry
76. A Prayer for Owen Meany ~ by John Irving
77. Crazy: A Novel ~ by Benjamin Lebert
78. The Joy of Gay Sex ~ by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79. The Upstairs Room ~ by Johanna Reiss
80. A Day No Pigs Would Die ~ by Robert Newton Peck
81. Black Boy ~ by Richard Wright
82. Deal With It! ~ by Esther Drill
83. Detour for Emmy ~ by Marilyn Reynolds
84. So Far From the Bamboo Grove ~ by Yoko Watkins
85. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes ~ by Chris Crutcher
86. Cut ~ by Patricia McCormick
87. Tiger Eyes ~ by Judy Blume
88. The Handmaid’s Tale ~ by Margaret Atwood
89. Friday Night Lights ~ by H.G. Bissenger
90. A Wrinkle in Time ~ by Madeline L’Engle
91. Julie of the Wolves ~ by Jean Craighead George
92. The Boy Who Lost His Face ~ by Louis Sachar
93. Bumps in the Night ~ by Harry Allard
94. Goosebumps (series) ~ by R.L. Stine
95. Shade’s Children ~ by Garth Nix
96. Grendel ~ by John Gardner
97. The House of the Spirits ~ by Isabel Allende
98. I Saw Esau ~ by Iona Opte
99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret ~ by Judy Blume
100. America: A Novel ~ by E.R. Frank

The 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000

1. Scary Stories (Series) ~ by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate ~ by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ~ by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War ~ by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ~ by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men ~ by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) ~ by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever ~ by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) ~ by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies ~ by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead ~ by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye ~ by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver ~ by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal ~ by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) ~ by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die ~ by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple ~ by Alice Walker
19. Sex ~ by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) ~ by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins ~ by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time ~ by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice ~ by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels ~ by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen ~ by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) ~ by Harry Allard
27. The Witches ~ by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex ~ by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) ~ by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats ~ by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy ~ by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber ~ by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin ~ by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC ~ by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down ~ by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit ~ by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale ~ by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves ~ by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye ~ by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Daughters ~ by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird ~ by Harper Lee
42. Beloved ~ by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders ~ by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman ~ by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night ~ by Harry Allard
46. Deenie ~ by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon ~ by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind ~ by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face ~ by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat ~ by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic ~ by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World ~ by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy ~ by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up ~ by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo ~ by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach ~ by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook ~ by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex ~ by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People ~ by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho ~ by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Sons ~ by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret ~ by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady ~ by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts ~ by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade ~ by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? ~ by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits ~ by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton ~ by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five ~ by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies ~ by William Golding
71. Native Son ~ by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies ~ by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells ~ by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack ~ by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima ~ by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? ~ by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie ~ by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes ~ by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor ~ by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid ~ by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets ~ by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg ~ by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone ~ by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ~ by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon ~ by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running ~ by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts ~ by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? ~ by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier ~ by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo ~ by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth ~ by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose ~ by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education ~ by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones ~ by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex ~ by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms ~ by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree ~ by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid ~ by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist ~ by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom ~ by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Most frequently challenged books of 2010

According to the ALA, these are the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010.

1.  And Tango Makes Three ~ by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons:  homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ~ by Sherman Alexie
Reasons:  offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

3.  Brave New World ~ by Aldous Huxley
Reasons:  insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit

4.  Crank ~ by Ellen Hopkins
Reasons:  drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit

5.  The Hunger Games ~ by Suzanne Collins
Reasons:  sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

6.  Lush ~ by Natasha Friend
Reasons:  drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

7.  What My Mother Doesn’t Know ~ by Sonya Sones
Reasons:  sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8.  Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America ~ by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons:  drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint

9.  Revolutionary Voices ~ edited by Amy Sonnie
Reasons:  homosexuality, sexually explicit

10.  Twilight ~ by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons:  religious viewpoint, violence