BANNED BOOKS WEEK!

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association

Time to celebrate Banned Books Week! From ALA's webpage dedicated to Banned Book Week,

 "Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information."

Image from Banned Books Week website

My library is going to have a display with some of the librarians holding up their favorite banned book. I'll link to this once it is put up on our Facebook page!

A Children's Librarian & Me!

Check out ALA's list of most frequently challenged books here!

What does it mean for a book to be challenged?

"A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others." -ALA website

To celebrate this week and the freedom to read, I am listing my top ten favorite books that are on the most frequently challenged book list.

by George Orwell

1984

Winston Smith works for the Ministry of truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent - even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101...

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-its' themes include nationalism, sexual repression, censorship, and privacy

-it's “pro communist” 

-it's “anti-government”

                                         

  

***You know I love my dystopian books!! 1984 is what I consider the original "dystopian" novel. One of my all-time favorite books!***

by Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell's epic love story is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and its people forever changed. At the heart of all this chaos is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett O'Hara and the dashing soldier of fortune, Rhett Butler.

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-its' portrayal of Blacks in the 19th-century South

-seems to condone marital rape

-the use of the words “nigger” “damn” and “whore”

***I first read this book as a very girl (5th grade) and I was swept away by the romance of this book. I wasn't judging it based on its' language or racism -  I was just enjoying a good book!***

by Lois Lowry

The Giver

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-the book's treatment of suicide, euthanasia, & infanticide

-its' references to death are inappropriate for young children

-it's “lewd” and “twisted”

-depictions of "adolescent pill-popping"

***Again, another childhood classic of mine. Just saw the movie and it just made me love this book even more. Another old-school dystopian book!***

by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game

Once again, Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a front assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who? Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child. Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. In simulated war games he excels. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game. Right?

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-Contains swear words & terms inappropriate for younger children

-One parent complained that it was "pornographic"

***I'm sorry but I can't see this as being pornographic. If anything, I would say this book shows world leaders committing genocide! This book (and its' sequels) got me hooked on science fiction.*** 

by Caroline B. Cooney

The Face on the Milk Carton

The face on the milk carton looks like an ordinary little girl: hair in tight pigtails, a dress with a narrow white collar, a three-year-old who was kidnapped more than twelve years ago from a shopping mall in New Jersey. As fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson stares at the milk carton, she feels overcome with shock. She knows that little girl is she. But how could it be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, until she begins to piece together clues that don't make sense. Why are there no pictures of Janie before she was four? Her parents have always said they didn't have a camera. Now that explanation sounds feeble. Something is terribly wrong, and Janie is afraid to find out what happened more than twelve years ago.

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-contains sexual content
-depicts challenge to authority
-inappropriate for age group

***Again, one of my childhood favorites. Good psychological thriller that I was happy turned into a series.***

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. 

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-not appropriate for teens due to the subject of rape

-it's“soft-pornography” 

-it “glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex”

-it “teaches principles contrary to the Bible” 

***I wouldn't necessarily call this one of my favorite books, but it ended up on my list here because of why it was challenged. I thought it was a powerful book that brought to life an emotional and scarring experience that should never happen to anyone. No one wants to talk about rape and its' victims, and I applaud Laurie Halse Anderson for bringing it up.***

by M.T. Anderson

Feed

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires.

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-the book is “trash” and “covered with the F-word”

***A science fiction book set in a creepy futuristic world? Sign me up! I'm not one to shy away from crude language and the concept of computer chips implanted into our brains is fascinating (and scary enough, could one day happen!)***

by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-it's “sexually explicit, violently graphic and morally corrupt”

-it's “detrimental to Christian values.”

***Got to love these classic dystopian books!! This was the only book in my AP lit class that I read. I also just discovered there is a film adaptation - I must now go find it!***

by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-it's "pro-communist"

-contains offensive language

-"it undermines religious beliefs and challenges the idea of God"

-contains references to several Biblical verses and is overtly Christian

-"the characters are really witches practicing black magic under the guise of 'New Age' religion"

-it promotes occult practices & sadism

-employs Satanic suggestions

***I think this is just a wonderful fantasy kid's book that I highly enjoyed as a kid.***

by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Reasons given for challenging this book:

-the use of profanity

-its' treatment of sexuality

-themes of "bullying, poverty, racism, and abuse"

***Though this book isn't a favorite (I only gave it 3 stars), I was surprised to see it on the challenged list for 2013. A realistic fiction book that deals frankly with tough issues. Doesn't hurt that it is set in my hometown of Omaha ;)  ***

What are your favorite books that have made the challenged list? Comment below!!

I also encourage you to check out this article by Spencer Althouse - he lists 15 Classic Children's books that have been banned (like Where's Waldo? and Green Eggs and Ham!)