09/27/10
Banned Books Week
Posted In: Uncategorized
September 25 – October 2 is Banned Books Week. Yes, we’re celebrating banned books! Of course we aren’t celebrating the fact that books are banned, but we are celebrating our first amendment right and our freedom to read. Plus, Banned Books Week is a great way to highlight the ways that censorship is damaging and narrow-minded.
Unfortunately books are challenged and banned ever year. Sometimes those books are removed from the shelves, and ultimately denying anyone the chance to read them. Challenging a book and banning a book are not the same. When someone challenges a book, it’s an attempt to remove the title, when the book is actually banned the title is removed. Here’s is what the ALA has to say about the difference:
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. 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. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.
What warrants a challenge?
Usually the reasons are the materials are ’sexually explicit’ or contain ‘offensive language.’
According to the ALA, the number one reason for challenging a book is because it’s deemed ‘sexually explicit.’ The initiator of the challenge is usually a parent, in fact 48% of the time it is. And most the attacked institutions are the classroom, school libraries and public libraries.
That is incredibly disturbing to me. I’m not a parent. If I were, I would not allow someone to dictate what my child reads. I don’t have a problem with a parent deciding what is appropriate for their own child, but I can’t condone banning a book for the masses.
I’m proud to say that I read banned books and promote the reading of banned books!
Banned/Challenged Books I’ve read:
1. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
2. House of Night series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
3. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
6. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
7. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
8. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
9. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
10. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
11. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
12. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
13. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
14. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
15. The Giver by Lois Lowry
16. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
17. Forever by Judy Blume
18. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
19. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
20. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
21. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
And growing…..
Related posts:
- I Read Banned Books
- Body Image Week: Guest Post Liviania of In Bed With Books
- Body Image Week
- Body Image Week Guest Post: My Favorite Author
- YA Connection: Week of Dec. 6-12, 2008
50 Comments
-
Charlotte's Web and Winnie-the-Pooh have been banned/challenged? Why? I haven't read either in a while but I can't think of a reason why there would be an issue with them.
-
Great list Kristi! I am working on my list this week too and putting more banned books on it. I will do a recap at the end of the week.
-
Whoa! That's a crazy list. Winnie-the-Pooh and Charlotte's Web? Why are those banned?
-
Charlotte's Web and Winnie-the-Pooh have been banned/challenged? Why? I haven't read either in a while but I can't think of a reason why there would be an issue with them.
-
In honor of banned book week I'm reading Twenty Boy Summer. I didn't know the Vampire Academy series was on the list too, cause I'm reading that now too lol.
-
Great list Kristi! I am working on my list this week too and putting more banned books on it. I will do a recap at the end of the week.
-
Whoa! That's a crazy list. Winnie-the-Pooh and Charlotte's Web? Why are those banned?
-
In honor of banned book week I'm reading Twenty Boy Summer. I didn't know the Vampire Academy series was on the list too, cause I'm reading that now too lol.
-
its incredible things like still exist in the world
-
Hi Kristi
Please ignore the comment above as that was not written by me. Seems as if that link goes to some kind of spammy site
I have definitely read a couple of these books on your list and am still planning to read what I just haven't gotten around to yet – and that includes Twenty Boy Summer and Speak.
-
its incredible things like still exist in the world
-
Hi Kristi
Please ignore the comment above as that was not written by me. Seems as if that link goes to some kind of spammy site
I have definitely read a couple of these books on your list and am still planning to read what I just haven't gotten around to yet – and that includes Twenty Boy Summer and Speak.
-
Winnie the pooh and charlotte's web banned/challenged equals one word ridiculous.
-
I believe the parents are either really religious, really over-protective, really strict…..or they suck and need to get REAL lives that REALise it's a new and REAL world we live in and becoming.
Thanks for my right to ramble Kristi
-
Winnie the pooh and charlotte's web banned/challenged equals one word ridiculous.
-
arre challenged books and banned books are only banned at libraries and the like?
-
Golden compass=love.
I'm goign to read mockingbird or Huckleberry fin:P -
I think people would be amazed by the books that make this list. I know I was!
-
OMG! Four of the books on this list I had to read for school! LOL…WOW
-
I believe the parents are either really religious, really over-protective, really strict…..or they suck and need to get REAL lives that REALise it's a new and REAL world we live in and becoming.
Thanks for my right to ramble Kristi
-
arre challenged books and banned books are only banned at libraries and the like?
-
Golden compass=love.
I'm goign to read mockingbird or Huckleberry fin:P -
I think people would be amazed by the books that make this list. I know I was!
-
OMG! Four of the books on this list I had to read for school! LOL…WOW
-
I can't believe 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is on the list? What possible justification can there be for that?
I'm not sure that I really agree with banning literature. It would be easy to ban Mein Kampf, for example, but that's akin to burying your head in the sand and hoping it never happened.
Literature, especially literature you don't agree with it important as it can challenge your own views. Or at least form a part of history, as in the case of Mein Kampf, that might give us the tools to ensure that it never happens again.
-
I can't believe 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is on the list? What possible justification can there be for that?
I'm not sure that I really agree with banning literature. It would be easy to ban Mein Kampf, for example, but that's akin to burying your head in the sand and hoping it never happened.
Literature, especially literature you don't agree with it important as it can challenge your own views. Or at least form a part of history, as in the case of Mein Kampf, that might give us the tools to ensure that it never happens again.
-
Okay, most of these books I've either read, or have it on my shelf. The ones I've read are simply amazing, so… why are they banned again?
Anyway, yay for the challenge! =D
-
Okay, most of these books I've either read, or have it on my shelf. The ones I've read are simply amazing, so… why are they banned again?
Anyway, yay for the challenge! =D
-
It's fascinating to learn which books have been banned/challenged and why. When I saw the dictionary on the list I laughed out loud though. Really?
-
wow… R U serious…Winnie the pooh?
-
It's fascinating to learn which books have been banned/challenged and why. When I saw the dictionary on the list I laughed out loud though. Really?
-
wow, i didn't even realise half those books had been banned/challenged. seems so strange!! i'll be pulling out and reading my old copy of Winnie-the-pooh in defiance!
-
wow… R U serious…Winnie the pooh?
-
wow, i didn't even realise half those books had been banned/challenged. seems so strange!! i'll be pulling out and reading my old copy of Winnie-the-pooh in defiance!
-
There's a great article on Shelf Awareness by Lauren Myracle who's had two of her books banned.
-
There's a great article on Shelf Awareness by Lauren Myracle who's had two of her books banned.
-
I'm really shocked by 99% of the books on that list, most of them seem completely harmless books to me. Winnie the Pooh being on that list just boggles the mind!
-
I'm really shocked by 99% of the books on that list, most of them seem completely harmless books to me. Winnie the Pooh being on that list just boggles the mind!
-
I love the book cover. Robots. Cool. By the way nice review
-
I love the book cover. Robots. Cool. By the way nice review
-
I never read a book with the materials 'sexually explicit' or contain 'offensive language.' but not going to ban Harry Potter
cos I love J.K.Rowling's ideas *except the Dubldor thing cos I'll just ignore it*P.S. ALA are way going crazy cos some of these books are amazing; they need to tell the children it's fiction but also have other greater meanings such as friendship, bravery and much more.
Not just ban it cos the children's minds are growing faster & they will want it more if you ban it more…
-
I never read a book with the materials 'sexually explicit' or contain 'offensive language.' but not going to ban Harry Potter
cos I love J.K.Rowling's ideas *except the Dubldor thing cos I'll just ignore it*P.S. ALA are way going crazy cos some of these books are amazing; they need to tell the children it's fiction but also have other greater meanings such as friendship, bravery and much more.
Not just ban it cos the children's minds are growing faster & they will want it more if you ban it more…
-
Why is Just Listen banned and My Sister's Keeper? There are so really great books on that list and hearing that they are forbidden makes me want to buy all of them. It does get ridiculous after a bit. When I was a kid it wasn't teenage fiction that was bad, it was finding old copies of romance novels like Mills and Boon that my parents had forgotten about. Imagine if every child had an eReader in the future where parents could edit and delete sections they deemed inappropriate. That would be such a shame. Sounds like the kind of thing that might happen though.
-
Why is Just Listen banned and My Sister's Keeper? There are so really great books on that list and hearing that they are forbidden makes me want to buy all of them. It does get ridiculous after a bit. When I was a kid it wasn't teenage fiction that was bad, it was finding old copies of romance novels like Mills and Boon that my parents had forgotten about. Imagine if every child had an eReader in the future where parents could edit and delete sections they deemed inappropriate. That would be such a shame. Sounds like the kind of thing that might happen though.
-
During Banned books week there's a discussion of banning certain sites on the internet now as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-segal/stop-the-internet-blackli_b_739836.html
-
During Banned books week there's a discussion of banning certain sites on the internet now as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-segal/stop-the-internet-blackli_b_739836.html
-
So I guess now, the only safe thing to read is the dictionary? Oh, no, it has bad words on it, like explicit, and language, and offensive… so, I think it's safer not to read….
You know what's dangerous about books? They make people smarter and free thinkers.
I think these people that come up with these lists should stop writing them because it maybe dangereous for us to read them, and they should ban themselves. There. -
So I guess now, the only safe thing to read is the dictionary? Oh, no, it has bad words on it, like explicit, and language, and offensive… so, I think it's safer not to read….
You know what's dangerous about books? They make people smarter and free thinkers.
I think these people that come up with these lists should stop writing them because it maybe dangereous for us to read them, and they should ban themselves. There. -
I just began really paying attention to banned books when I came upon recent displays in HPB and the public libraries. I wrote a kind of wrap-up post this morning after initially expressing my sentiments a couple of weeks ago. The bottom line is there are many books I will not read; but I'm making my own choice. I don't think anyone allow an organization to dissuade them from reading certain titles. Where's Waldo? Come on. That's ridiculous!
-
I just began really paying attention to banned books when I came upon recent displays in HPB and the public libraries. I wrote a kind of wrap-up post this morning after initially expressing my sentiments a couple of weeks ago. The bottom line is there are many books I will not read; but I'm making my own choice. I don't think anyone allow an organization to dissuade them from reading certain titles. Where's Waldo? Come on. That's ridiculous!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Currently Reading
Surrenderby Elana Johnson
The companion novel to the dystopian novel Possession. Get ready to meet Raine and Gunner!
Contests
comments