Happy banned books week everybody!

[twitchy]

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2006, marks BBW's 25th anniversary (September 23-30).

BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedboo...dbooksweek.htm

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

“[I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume

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 & 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 & 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

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2005” reflect a range of themes. The books are:

• “It's Perfectly Normal” for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion and being unsuited to age group;
• “Forever” by Judy Blume for sexual content and offensive language;
• “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger for sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group;
• “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content and offensive language;
• “Whale Talk” by Chris Crutcher for racism and offensive language;
• “Detour for Emmy” by Marilyn Reynolds for sexual content;
• “What My Mother Doesn't Know” by Sonya Sones for sexual content and being unsuited to age group;
• Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence;
• “Crazy Lady!” by Jane Leslie Conly for offensive language; and
• “It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families” by Robie H. Harris for sex education and sexual content.
• 
  

[pacific breeze]

So many wonderful books on those lists. Banning books is one step away from banning people, I wish more people would remember and honour that.

[NoDayButToday]

Some of my favorite books from when I was growing up are on that list. The Giver was so good, I hate that they are opposed to children thinking. The Witches is awesome too, I loved Roald Dahl.

Wait, Where's Waldo? Seriously? What is offensive about Where's Waldo?

The LGBT/women's studies office on campus is celebrating banned book week by having drawings for books on the list. I should stop by and enter.

[Sojiita]

Damn that is almost like a reading list of good literature.


The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein- I am old enough to have the original one!!!

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene-how could this be offensive!


Ordinary People by Judith Guest-please! it was only made into an Oscar winning movie-so let's ban it!*rollseyes*

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut-so good!

this makes me want to hit the used bookstores around here!

[darksithbunny]

All books of Madge's books should be burned. As for the rest of them, WTF? I read half of them in English class in high school! They were required reading to graduate!

[NawdleZouss]

Why is Julie of the Wolves banned?! I wouldn't read it again (I broke down into a sobbing heap of mush at the end), but I can't find anything remotely ban-able about it.

[Tati]

We had half of these books in our elementary school classrooms for free reading. I love so many of these, I grew up with them! So sad.

[buttmunch]

Of Mice and Men is banned? Are they fucking kidding me? Morons. And I see Go Ask Alice is on there. I say we all go buy one or more banned book and then discuss why they SHOULDN'T be banned.

[Goose]

I think my jaw hit the floor when I opened this. I would despise to ever see a book banned, but I've read probably half the books on this list, and like others have mentioned some were elementary school reading for me. Bridge to Terabithia? A Wrinkle in Time? Are You There God it's Me Margaret???

ETA: I agree with Butt...I'm tempted to print out this list just to have a new list of books to order and read. I'd love to reread a lot of these, and read some that I haven't yet.

[pinklilycat]

Why on earth is ANYTHING by Judy Blume on this list???? That's nuts! I'm pretty sure they must have been controversial in the U.S only, as they were essential reading when I was a kid!

Just finished Catcher In The Rye (again) what a FANTASTIC book. I swear, people are just crazy.

[Daphne]

I am working on a master's in library and information science, and I work at a public library. It's amazing to me the number of people who come in to complain about books they disagree with or don't think are appropriate. I always tell them that the beauty of the library is that it caters to all different people and their interests. If they don't like something, they shouldn't check it out. This is coming from people who live in Las Vegas btw, not some tiny conservative town.

[travelbug]

Amazing. A lot of these books I read in elementary and middle school 20 years ago and they were considered classics then. Seems like we've taken a step backwards if they are considered offensive now.

[mistify]

Can someone tell me why The catcher in the Rye is so bad?? ANd I read ALL of Judy Blumes books on this list in my middle school library. I think anyone who doesn't read The Color Purple or Huck Finn should be banned. Both of these books were amazing. I donot understand why reading a book any book is bad. I know there are lots of nutcases and people who are influenced to do bad things, but I think anything could push these type of people over the edge. And as far as offensive material Don't read the damn thing. I cannot ever see why a parent would want their childrens schools to limit what they read unless it was pornography or something just hideous, but ban because of a word. I will never get it.

[WickedHo]

I wouldn't even want Hitler's Mein Kampf to be banned. Banning books is stupid.

[mistify]

I wouldn't even want Hitler's Mein Kampf to be banned. Banning books is stupid.

Yeah I agree.......... I read parts of Mein Kampf just because I was so curious and yeah he was a crazy mf but heck if anything the parts i read showed he was a hypocrite and absolutely NUTS ...... The only book I kinda wish would go on a very far up bookshelf is The Anarchist Cookbook don't think most people should know how to build a bomb.