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| 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."
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| 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!
Check out ALA's list of most frequently challenged books here!
What does it mean for a book to be challenged?
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| 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.
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| 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!***
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| 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!***
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| 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!***
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| 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.***
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| 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
-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.***
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| 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.***
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| 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!)***
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| 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!***
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| 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.***
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| by Rainbow Rowell |
Eleanor & Park
Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.
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!)
