Banned Books Week
Sparkman 9 Library-Media Center
Celebrating the Freedom to Read
What is Banned Books Week?
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek
Why do libraries and other educational institutions acknowledge BBW?
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek
The First Amendment
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
Censorship...
- is when a person or group successfully imposes their values upon others by stifling words, images or ideas and preventing them from reaching the public marketplace of ideas.
- is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other such entities.
Reading Tip: Censor yourself, not others.
The Difference Between BANNED and CHALLENGED
- A CHALLENGE is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.
- A BANNING is the removal of those materials.
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/about
Why are books CHALLENGED?
Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children from “inappropriate” sexual content or “offensive” language. The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom:
- the material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
- the material contained "offensive language"
- the material was "unsuited to any age group"
TOP 10 BOOKS CHALLENGED IN 2015
- Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. - Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”). - I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group. - Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”). - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”). - The Holy Bible
Reasons: Religious viewpoint. - Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”). - Habibi, by Craig Thompson
Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. - Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence. - Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).
Top 10 Books Challenged in 2014
1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”
2) Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”
3) And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”
4) The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”
5) It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”
6) Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. Additional reasons:
7) The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence
8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”
9) A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
10) Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
Reasons: sexually explicit
A Few Frequently Challenged Books
Looking for Alaska, by John Green
image from johngreenrevieWs.com
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
image from amazon.com
Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
image from content.time.com
Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
image from en.wikipedia.org
The Hunger Games by, Suzanne Collins
image from amazon.com
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
image from en.wikipedia.org
And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
image from en.wikipedia.org
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
image from en.wikipedia.org
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
image from en.wikipedia.org
James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Book Challenged in Limestone County
http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050417/books.shtml
Chris Crutcher Visits Alabama to Defend His Work.
http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050922/banned.shtml