October 1, 2012
This week is Banned Books Week!
Sunday, September 30th through Saturday, October 6th.
Time to celebrate the freedom to read!
This annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information.
(http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek)
Take a look at the list of books that were challenged in 2011.
Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books in 2011:
(Out of 326 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association)
- ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r(series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - The Color of Earth(series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - The Hunger Gamestrilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence - My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - Alice(series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint - Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit - What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit - Gossip Girl(series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism
Marissa Bazan / (Former) Library Specialist