But then these are mainly not just banned books, they're banned ideas. This week is about "Celebrating the Freedom to Read" for all people in the world.
Because the first response to something you don't like should always be to keep it from everyone else, right?
Some of the books that have been banned are also on the list of books that helped shape America, like these;
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, 1966
Moby-Dick; or The Whale, Herman Melville,1851
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, 1963
This isn't an old problem, mainly gone away, as I write this the Chicago Public Schools have removed Persepolis, a book once featured in CPS-endorsed “Speak Truth to Power” Human Rights Curriculum from said curriculum. I guess it doesn't "Speak Truth to Power" any more.
So this week defy the censors. Choose a book from a recent list, buy it and read it. Don't be afraid of being exposed to ideologies you disagree with, having the facts as presented by the believers will give you a better argument.
Here's a start;
Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009
1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16. Forever, by Judy Blume
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20. King and King, by Linda de Haan
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25. Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27. My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29. The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30. We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
32. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
37. It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38. Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39. Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40. Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41. Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42. The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43. Blubber, by Judy Blume
44. Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45. Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby: The First Graphic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the creators of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
48. Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
51. Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53. You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54. The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56. When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58. Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61. Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62. The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63. The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64. Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68. Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
70. Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71. Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
72. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
73. What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75. Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
77. Crazy: A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78. The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79. The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
80. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81. Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82. Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83. Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84. So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86. Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87. Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89. Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
92. The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93. Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
95. Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96. Grendel, by John Gardner
97. The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98. I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100. America: A Novel, by E.R. Frank
How many have you already read?
Sorry, but I can't take the ALA seriously.
ReplyDeleteIf you follow the link to their website, they state that it's the responsibility of the parents to watch what their children read, but then most of the books are on the list because some parents didn't want their kids to read them.
More telling, the selection of books reflects tremendous bias. If the list is meant to truly reflect banned books, then the Torah and the Holy Bible would top the list since they are illegal in China and the Islamic countries.
In the US, we see suppression of political books with conservative themes (Coulter, Beck, Goldberg, etc...), but that doesn't make this list. Instead we get Harry Potter and Captain Underpants! Seriously? The number of sales JK Rowling lost due to this sort of "ban" doesn't even count as round-off error.
If you look at this list, you see either the book banning of the 0.000001% (Harry Potter) or you see parents trying to limit their kids to age appropriate material. Unless you think elementary school libraries should stock porno magazines, then you'll agree that a line should be drawn somewhere and the only disagreement is where.
That is not anywhere close to banning books.
Ah, but whether or not you agree with that particular selection of books you do agree that there are still books being banned. That list was a starter because it was easy, but I suggested that you find any book that is banned and read it this week. If you prefer the Bible or Ann Coulter then go with them.
ReplyDeleteAnd that parents should be involved with their children's reading is important, but because any particular parent doesn't approve of any particular book doesn't mean it should be kept away from all. My pwn father had several battles with librarians over the years about the fact that it was his job to monitor my activities, including reading, not theirs. And when I got my hands on reading materiel he didn't think I needed to be exposed to yet HE took it away, while telling me how old I needed to be to understand that. If I read something that he didn't agree with or approve of HE sat down with me and we discussed the book and it's meaning. No teacher or librarian can teach your children your viewpoint, that has to be up to the parent. And that is what is meant by parents supervising their children's reading, not banning books in whole.