Banned Books Week: September 27th – October 4th

Check out Ideas from 2007 on ways to celebrate Banned Books Week

Posted May 12 on the ALA website:

And Tango Makes Three” tops ALA’s 2007  list of most challenged books

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For a second consecutive year, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning “And Tango Makes Three,” a children’s book about two male penguins caring for an orphaned egg, tops the list of ALA’s 10 Most Challenged Books.

 

The 2007 list includes three books that haven’t been included in the Top Ten list before: “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes; “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman; and “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle.

“Free access to information is a core American value that should be protected,” said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Not every book is right for each reader, but an individual’s interpretation of a book should not take away my right to select reading materials for my family or myself.”

For more than 15 years, OIF has released the list of most frequently challenged books, based on reports we receive in the office. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. In 2007 we received 420 reports on efforts to abolish materials from school curriculum and library bookshelves.

Public libraries, schools and school libraries report challenges to OIF, but a majority of challenges go unreported.

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and comprises the following titles:

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, Offensive Language

4. “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman

Reason: Religious Viewpoint

5. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain

Reason: 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

Reason: 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

Off the list this year are two books by author Toni Morrison–“The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved,” both challenged for sexual content and offensive language, were #5 and #9, respectively, on the 2006 Top Ten list.

*The Top Ten list is featured in many libraries’ and schools’ Banned Books Week exhibits and events. This year’s Banned Books Week celebration begins on September 27 and runs through October 4.*

For more information on book challenges and censorship, please visit Challenged and Banned Books <http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.cfm>. For help with challenges, visit Support for Dealing with or Reporting Challenges to Library Materials <http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/challengesupport/challengesupport.cfm>. For ideas on how to celebrate Banned Books Week, visit Action Guide, Suggested Activities <http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/actionguide/actionguide.cfm>.

For more information from the ACLU of Vermont:

The ACLU of Vermont cares not just about the freedom to read but about all the freedoms in our Constitution. Contact them with questions you may have around civil liberties: info@acluvt.org or visit http://www.acluvt.org