Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Banned Book Week

I've just read that Banned Book Week is 23-30 Sep 2006.

Here is a list of the top 100 Book Challenges between 1990-2000.
Which books from this list have you read?
Should the books that you've read have been banned? Why do you think it was challenged? Should any book be banned?
Pick one of the challenged books that you haven't read and read it. Let us know why you think it was challenged.

You'll notice that a number are children's or young adult books. Do you think that a parent has a responsibility to know what their child reads and to read the book either before or with the child? If you are a parent, does your child's school send home a reading list? Are books banned in their school? If so, have you been provided with a list of banned or challenged books?

I chosen "The Giver." I'll get back to you about it soon.


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

11 comments:

Flood said...

Judy Blume really seemed to push some buttons, huh?

Marcail said...

Who would of guessed this of dear Judy?

Anonymous said...

WOW! So many of the books I've read which are on this list blow my mind as to why they'd be banned/challenged.

The more I look at this list, the more I wonder if there is something relevant in the fact that I have read (and LOVED) so many of the books on this list in my lifetime!

I'll try to pick one I haven't read and get back to you... that is, if I don't get sucked into rereading my old favorites, starting with A Wrinkle in Time and Catcher in the Rye. ;)

Marcail said...

jlb,
I know. I scratch my head. It must have something to do with 'young minds being perverted' though. Let me know which book you choose.

Bernita said...

I do think parents have a responsibility to supervise their child's reading.
And I also think the decision to avoid a book should be the parent's.

Anonymous said...

I counted 27 on the list that I remember reading. At least 20 of them are still among my favorite books of all time.

Marcail, I could kiss you because one of the books--The Pigman by Paul Zindel--I stayed up for hours a few weeks ago trying to think of the name of that book. It was so influential for me at the time, but I don't hear much about it anymore.

Off to look for it at a small bookseller. Thanks soooo much for this post.

Marcail said...

Hi all-I don't believe in censorship of any kind. Even if I don't agree with the message, I have a voice that I can use in rebuttal. I'd really like to learn more about the rationale behind these challenges.

Bernita- I agree with you that we are children's stewards. If a children's or YA book is controversial, all the more reason to read it first yourself to decide if it is age appropriate and then read and discuss the book with your child.

Fringes- so happy to help you out with your memory vacuum.

mademoiselle sand said...

how are you going to ban judy blume's 'blubber' and not ban 'forever'? I was not coping with the idea of some boy calling his dick 'ralph'. I was not coping at all

Anonymous said...

Mlle Sand,
Forever is no. 8 on the list.

Anonymous said...

All thesebooks are taking imaginations away from kids

Anonymous said...

some of the books on there i've read them and i don't see why they should be banned seriously some people have some issues especially parents.