September 26 – October 3 marks Banned Books Week 2009. It’s a week during which we celebrate our rights of intellectual freedom – our freedom to read, express, and explore ideas, even if such ideas are “unorthodox or unpopular.” Every year, the American Library Association takes the last week of September to sponsor BBW, to raise awareness of censorship, and to celebrate the educators, librarians, and readers who have fought against book banning.
We Book Smugglers are taking this week to celebrate our intellectual freedoms, because we believe in the ALA’s message and disagree with censorship and bigotry.
Here’s a list of the Books Banned & Challenged in 2008-2009, which include:
A
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part?Time Indian.
Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima.
Anonymous. Go Ask Alice.
Avi. The Fighting Ground.
B
Bailey, Jacqui, and Jan McCafferty. Sex, Puberty, and All That Stuff: A Guide to Growing Up.
Barron, T. A. The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy.
Berendt, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story.
Bowden, Mark. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War.
Brannen, Sarah. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding.
C
Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Colfer, Eoin. The Supernaturalist.
Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. My Brother Sam Is Dead.
Comfort, Alex. The Joy of Sex.
Cox, Elizabeth. Night Talk.
Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs.
D
de Haan, Linda, and Stern Nijland. King & King.
Drill, Esther. Deal With It!: A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL.
Dubberley, Emily. Sex for Busy People: The Art of the Quickie for Lovers on the Go.
F
Follett, Ken. Pillars of the Earth.
G
Gardner, John C. Grendel.
Green, John. Looking for Alaska.
Grove, Vicki. The Starplace.
H
Harding, Kat. The Lesbian Kama Sutra.
Harris, Robie H. It’s Perfectly Normal: A Book about Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health. Hartinger, Brent. The Geography Club.
Heinlein, Robert A. The Day After Tomorrow.
Holmes, Melisa, and Trish Hutchison. Hang?ups, Hook?ups, and Holding Out: Stuff You Need to Know about Your Body, Sex, and Dating.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World.
J
Jackson, Jon A. Dead Folks.
Jahn-Clough, Lisa. Me, Penelope.
K
Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted.
L
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lockhart, E. The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them.
M
Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. In Country.
Meyer, Stephenie H. Twilight Series.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye.
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels.
Myers, Walter Dean. Hoops.
Myracle, Lauren. ttfn.
Myracle, Lauren. ttyl.
N
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice on Her Way.
Nixon, Joan Lowery. Whispers from the Dead.
O
Oh, Minya. Bling Bling: Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels.
P
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister’s Keeper.
Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes.
Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass.
R
Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full?Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson.
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three.
Riley, Andy. The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don’t Want to Live Anymore.
S
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye.
Schreier, Alta. Vamos a Cuba (A Visit to Cuba).
Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones.
Seierstad, Åsne. The Bookseller of Kabul.
Silverstein, Charles, and Felice Picano. The Joy of Gay Sex.
Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep: A Novel.
Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand.
Stroud, Jonathan. The Golem’s Eye.
Stroud, Jonathan. Ptolemy’s Gate.
T
Tarbox, Katherine. A Girl’s Life Online.
Taylor, Mildred D. The Land.
Tucker, Todd. Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan.
Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
W
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.
Z
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States.
(Items in RED denote books we have read)
Here’s the list of the top 10 most frequently banned books of 2008.
Other items of note – you might want to check out the opinion piece that was in the Wall Street Journal last Friday, in which Mr. Mitchell Muncy argues that “censorship” is no longer present in the United States, and that Banned Books Week is in itself a form of censorship against concerned parents who seek to protect what their children read. He also argues that in the age of amazon, even if books are “banned” they are easily available with the click of the mouse.
Once you’re good and riled up over that, check out author Ellen Hopkins’s response post at her blog. Ellen Hopkins is the bestselling author of young adult novels Crank and Glass (which are about a young girl’s addiction to crystal meth) and was recently banned from speaking at a middle school in Oklahoma.
And for more information, take a look at the most recent statistics concerning book banning in the United States, by year and by reason (click to enlarge):
Then go forth and check out other bloggers who are celebrating Banned Books Week:
Angie of Angieville
Karen of Karen Mahoney
Katie(babs) of Babbling About Books, And More!
And finally, we leave you with a particularly memorable, and hilarious audio clip from Field of Dreams. You’ll remember the PTA scene? I think Annie Kinsella says it best:
Annie Kinsella: They’re talking about banning books again! Really subversive books, like “The Wizard of Oz”…”the Diary of Anne Frank”…
And of course:
Annie Kinsella: At least he’s not a book burner, you Nazi cow.
Beware! Knowledge lurks for those who seek it!
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18 Responses to Banned Books Week 2009
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If parents are so worried about what their children are reading, they should read with the children and open the lines of discussion.
My mother did that with me and because of that she introduced me to a world of books that I would have never read.
I rather a child read a book over watching television or playing video games everyday. And look at the amount of violence, sex and other topics and language there.
How could anyone be against To Kill a Mockingbird? I read that in 8th grade and adored that books to pieces. The relationship between the father and daughter is what makes that book so special as well as the social commentary written about.
As for the Twilight series, parents are afraid of sparkling vampires who fly in trees? heh.
I recall the banning of To Kill a Mockingbird in an Ontario school. It was due to the use of the word “nigger” within the text. That was the only justification I heard of (granted I don’t live in Canada). The parent (yes, I use the singular here for a reason – I came to understand it was ONE complaint) objected to the school board and the school board folded like a card house under War and Peace. Sad, no?
lol! i lOve that part of Field of Dreams w/ Annie Kinsella
u can also follow the recent challenges to Larie Halse Anderson’s YA book,”Twisted” on her blog too at:
http://halseanderson.livejournal.com/
there is only one book and movie my dad banned me from…said it would destroy “what little religion” i had left. I got the college and first reading assignment, i read Elmer Gantry…what a disappointment! lesson learned, banning books are not going to stop a kid reading something they want to read…generally, just makes us want to read it even more.
Lol. Score with the Field of Dreams quote! That was awesome. I haven’t watched that movie in ages.
And that last picture had me just livid. That’s exactly the vibe you get off the would-be banners. *shudder*
I live under a rock, I really didn’t know that this was going on. Unbelievable! I agree, if you ban a book, it will make the kid want to read it more. Honestly, I want to pick up every single book on this list right now.
Over sheltering children is never a good idea, it will backfire on parents when the kids go out in the real world and out of their bubble.
Hi
You missed Maureen Johnson’s Bermudez Triangle.
And this RIGHT NOW: (From Maureen Johnson on Twitter: Just in time for Banned Books Week! Me, @realjohngreen, @robinwasserman, @hollyblack, and others, all up for debate: http://bit.ly/3wuL5B )
Unbelievable!
Book banners & censors should be forced to wear full Nazi regalia at all times so people know what they stand for!
Thanks for the post,
all the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
Thank you Ana & Thea! I agree with KB – if parents are worried about what their children are reading, then read with them.
I’m going to select a book from the Top 10 list and read it…just to spite those people who want it banned. I know, very petty…but fun
Well, even though I wouldn’t miss half of the books on that list I would still disagree on banning them.
And now I have go and see how somebody manages to reason that “Banned Book Week is a form of censorship”.
awesome awesome post, and i love the BBW posters/buttons, very cool. now im off to go get all riled up by clicking on the links…
[...] Banned Books Week, and numerous bloggers have some great posts about it, including Neil Gaiman, The Book Smugglers, Wendy the Super Librarian, Lauren Dane, Love Romance Passion, Romance Book Wyrm, TeleRead, Dottie [...]
Thank you for posting this. I love Banned Book Week. I wish it was a month so people could really get the message.
Most book sellers that are respectable normally put on tables or an end caps featuring some of these amazing books; unreal that in this day people are still up in arms over books-Pillars of the Earth? Seriously? One of the great works of fiction in modern day (about building a church and the town around it) being on this list is a travesty.
[...] More info…September 26 October 3 marks Banned Books Week 2009. Its a week during which we celebrate our rights of intellectual freedom our freedom to read, express, and explore ideas, even if such ideas are unorthodox or unpopular. Every year, the American Library Association takes the last week of September to sponsor BBW, to raise awareness of censorship, and to celebrate the educators, librarians, and readers who have fought against book banning. We Book Smugglers are taking this week to celeb [...]
[...] More info…September 26 October 3 marks Banned Books Week 2009. Its a week during which we celebrate our rights of intellectual freedom our freedom to read, express, and explore ideas, even if such ideas are unorthodox or unpopular. Every year, the American Library Association takes the last week of September to sponsor BBW, to raise awareness of censorship, and to celebrate the educators, librarians, and readers who have fought against book banning. We Book Smugglers are taking this week to celeb [...]
[...] More info…September 26 October 3 marks Banned Books Week 2009. Its a week during which we celebrate our rights of intellectual freedom our freedom to read, express, and explore ideas, even if such ideas are unorthodox or unpopular. Every year, the American Library Association takes the last week of September to sponsor BBW, to raise awareness of censorship, and to celebrate the educators, librarians, and readers who have fought against book banning. We Book Smugglers are taking this week to celeb [...]
[...] More info…September 26 October 3 marks Banned Books Week 2009. Its a week during which we celebrate our rights of intellectual freedom our freedom to read, express, and explore ideas, even if such ideas are unorthodox or unpopular. Every year, the American Library Association takes the last week of September to sponsor BBW, to raise awareness of censorship, and to celebrate the educators, librarians, and readers who have fought against book banning. We Book Smugglers are taking this week to celeb [...]
I rather a child or teen read a book that may have dirty language, violence or sexual situations that the crap that is on television. Knowing children are watching shows like South Park that is geared toward adults is disturbing.
I read Lord or the Flies, Flowers in the Attic and a slew of other books with disturbing situations before the age of 16 and I think I turned out well. Having a mother who was a educator and one I could discuss what I read was so important.
Books like To Kill a Mockingbird and Native Son made me want to read any book I could get my hands on. All that matters is having a parent knowing what their children is reading and willing to sit down and talk about what their children are reading and perhaps read them as well.