The American Library Association is holding its 27th annual Banned Books Week starting today September 27th to October 4th. Check out their great site that includes a lot of great links at this link.
I think it's important to point out that a lot of the books today may not be banned but are actually "challenged books". Here is what the ALA has written about this subject:
"Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) is asked why the week is called “Banned Books Week” instead of “Challenged Books Week,” since the majority of the books featured during the week are not banned, but “merely” challenged. There are two reasons. One, ALA does not “own” the name Banned Books Week, but is just one of several cosponsors of BBW; therefore, ALA cannot change the name without all the cosponsors agreeing to a change. Two, none want to do so, primarily because a challenge is an attempt to ban or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A successful challenge would result in materials being banned or restricted.
Although they were the targets of attempted bannings, most of the books featured during BBW were not banned, thanks to the efforts of librarians to maintain them in their collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society." (http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/backgroundb/background.cfm#wbbw)
This has always been a important cause to me and I have no doubt that most of you book bloggers out there support the ALA in this effort. I fully support a parents right to decide which books they feel are appropriate for their own children, hoping that the parent at least takes the time to read the book first and not rely purely on dogmatic suggestions from others. However, I do not support any person or group that feels they have the right to make those decisions for everyone else.
I hope to spend some time this week focusing on a few books that have been attempted to be banned or have been challenged.
Today I will start with the ALA's list of the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2007 (and it lists the reasons why the book was challenged)
1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism
6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit
9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
I have read The Chocolate War, The Color Purple, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Huckleberry Finn. I never read any of these particular books just because they were on a challenge list but I have read other books just because they were challenged. I would like to ask: Have you read a book because it was on the banned book list? Which ones?
9/27/08
Banned Books Week 2008
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4 comments:
I read banned books all the time. Some I don't realize are banned though. We're reading The Witches by Roald Dahl in one of my groups next month (most are reading it this week) and it was banned.
While going through a list of banned books,here are the ones I've read:
I loved the Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz when I was a kid! I’ve read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (assigned reading in high school, no less), all of the Harry Potter books (some of them more than once), I have Bridge to Terabithia in my TBR pile (one of my online groups is reading it this year), I’ve read several of the Goosebump books (but preferred his Fear Street series much more), I loved A Wrinkle in Time (and A Ring of Endless Light and Troubling a Star- L’Engle was a fantastic author), I have never read or seen The Witches but it is October’s group read for the group I own, I’ve listened to the audio book of The Bluest Eye, I loved To Kill a Mockingbird and have read it twice (once in high school also), Flowers for Algernon was really sad (another one I was required to read in school, middle school actually), I own a well-loved copy of a Light in the Attic (how in the world could you ban such wonderful poems?!), I’ve read the first book in Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series (I liked it but it’s not my favorite by her), also read Cujo twice, loved the movie James and the Giant Peach but have never read the book (yet!), Lord of the Flies was very creepy (another assigned read in high school), and I’ve read Carrie and The Dead Zone twice too.
I've never read a book because it was on the banned list, but I have read ones that are on the list. After your post, I'm going to get that list and save it for future reference! Thanks!
I picked up "Three Wishes: Palestinian and Isreali Children Speak" for my 11-year old to read this week, after finding it on a list of challenged books. I'm hoping to review it with him at the end of the week as part of my Banned Book Week celebration.
Ladytink- It seems like these days it is the YA books that really take a hit and I think they are some of the best written books.
Kristina- great idea!
Ali-I think that is fantastic!
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