Off the Shelf--West Media Center
Issue #2 / September 21-27--Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week--Celebrating the Freedom to Read
"The freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities, is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Censors, good or bad, try to limit the freedom of others to choose what they read, see or hear." Robert P. Doyle, ALA For more information: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/about
Banned Books Bell Ringer?
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Challenged, but retained in the Northville,
Mich. middle schools (2013) despite anatomical descriptions in the book. Frank’s honest writings about her body and the changes she was undergoing during her two-year period of hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam can serve as an excellent resource for students themselves undergoing these changes.
Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Challenged on a suggested reading list for Columbus, Ohio high school students (2013) by the school board president. A board member described the book as having an underlying socialist-communist agenda. Morrison is an Ohio native, Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Retained in the Teton High School sophomore English class in Driggs, Idaho (2013) despite concerns about the novel’s mature content. Anaya’s best-known work, it was awarded the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol. President George W. Bush awarded Anaya the National Medal of Arts in 2002.
Color Purple by Alice Walker
Challenged, but retained as a Brunswick County, N.C. Advanced Placement English eleventh-grade assignment (2013). Language and sexuality were most often cited as the reason for the majority of the unofficial complaints and criticisms.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Retained, despite a challenge by the chairman of the Anoka-Hennepin, Minn. School Board (2013) because parents of a student objected to the book’s content, citing its use of profanity and its treatment of sexuality.
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Challenged on the Danbury Middle School reading list in Toledo, Ohio (2013) because of inappropriate language. The book depicts the reality of the Vietnam War, with sometimes gruesome descriptions of combat and frequent foul language from soldiers.
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Challenged on the Lexington, Ky. Henry Clay High School reading list (2013) because it is too violent for teens. The book is listed on the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards for ninth through twelfth grades.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Challenged in the Verona, N.J. High School curriculum (2013) because a parent found the sexual nature of the story inappropriate. The book was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Challenged in the Marshall, Mo. Public Library (2006) because some members of the community deemed the book “pornographic” and were concerned that children would be exposed to the book.
Bone by Jeff Smith
In April of 2010, a Minnesota parent petitioned for the series' removal from her son's school library. Challenged for references to smoking, drinking and gambling.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Removed from all Chicago, Ill. public schools (2013) due to “graphic illustrations and language” and concerns about “developmental preparedness” and “student readiness.” Seventh- and eleventh-grade students study the graphic novel about the author’s experience growing up in Iran during the Iranian revolution as part of Chicago Public Schools’ Literacy Content Framework.