Banning books ..........

[Mie1]

"1001 Laffs" and "Black Beauty" are or were amongst the nearly 15 000 books banned in South Africa by the previous regime. I have not yet seen a case for banning books. Restrict them, maybe, to ceratin age group, but you don't ban books ..... or do you?

See the case of the bastion of democracy and champion of the Free World: The United States Of America!


Scifi Books that Have Been Banned in the Twenty-First Century

In just the last decade, parents have tried to remove their least favorite titles from school libraries, and works of science fiction have been among the casualties. So, grab a flashlight, hide under a sheet, and read (or re-read) science fiction’s most suppressed books of the 21st century.

These books come from the American Library Association’s most frequently challenged books from 2000-2007:

Captain Underpants and The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
Position on the List: #10, #47
Why it gets Challenged: Ever since Dav Pilkey released his series about alien-empowered underage superheroes, they’ve topped the banned books list. Parents have complained about the language (which includes such linguistic horrors as “Poopypants” and “Booger Boy”) and that the protagonists routinely defy their nasty principal. Most parents, though, are just happy their kids are reading.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Position on the List: #21
Why it gets Challenged: As frequently happens with challenged books, parents who complain about The Giver tend to miss the point. They cite features of Lowry’s initially appealing but ultimately dystopian society in their complaints, namely the low social status of biological mothers and the practice of infanticide and euthanasia. Then again, some just don’t like that main character Jonas feels “stirrings” when he sees a pretty girl.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Position on the List: #29
Why it gets Challenged: Predictably, Pullman’s interdimensional saga is frequently challenged for its portrayal of the Church and figures from Judeo-Christian tradition. Pullman, for his part, says that every banning of his books fills him with glee, since it tends to result in higher sales.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Position on the List: #37
Why it gets Challenged: In another instance of colossal misreading (or failure to read), Huxley’s work, one of the most banned of last century as well, gets challenged because the soulless, pill-popping world Huxley meant to criticize is such a downer.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Position on the List: #45
Why it gets Challenged: Violence? Check. Blasphemy? Strong language? Magic Fingers? Check. Not only has Slaughterhouse Five been challenged in school districts, just last year law enforcement in Howell, Michigan was asked to review the book to determine if any of its contents were illegal.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Position on the List: #72
Why it gets Challenged: Perhaps missing the humor in attempting to censor a book on censorship, challengers still go after Fahrenheit 451 because its firemen characters smoke, drink, and swear. And at least one complainant claimed its discussion of the Bible offended their religion.

Shade’s Children by Garth Nix
Position on the List: #85
Why it gets Challenged: That the titular children of Nix’s dystopic young adult novel grow up fast leaves a lot of parents anxious. Vulgar language and a post-apocalyptic key party keep it on the ban list.


This year’s list (2009!) of banned and challenged books features some rather interesting titles:

• T.A. Barron’s The Great Tree of Avalon 1: Child of Dark Prophecy
• Eoin Colfer’s The Supernaturalist
• Robert A. Heinlein’s The Day After Tomorrow (Sixth Column)
• Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones
• Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
• Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight Series
• Joan Lowery Nixon’s Whispers from the Dead
• Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000-2007 - from the American Library Association

1 Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier
4 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
5 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
6 Scary Stories - Alvin Schwartz
7 Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers
8 It’s Perfectly Normal - Robie Harris
9 And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
10 Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey
11 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
12 The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
13 Forever - Judy Blume
14 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
15 The Perks of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
16 Killing Mr. Griffin - Lois Duncan
17 Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
18 King and King - Linda de Haan
19 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
20 Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
21 The Giver - Lois Lowry
22 We All Fall Down - Robert Cormier
23 To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
24 Beloved - Toni Morrison
25 The Face on the Milk Carton - Caroline Cooney
26 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead - James Lincoln Collier
28 In the Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak
29 His Dark Materials series - Philip Pullman
30 Gossip Girl series - Cecily von Ziegesar
31 What My Mother Doesn’t Know - Sonya Sones
32 Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging - Louise Rennison
33 It’s So Amazing - Robie Harris
34 Arming America - Michael Bellasiles
35 ****** Boy - Mark Mathabane
36 Blubber - Judy Blume
37 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
38 Athletic Shorts - Chris Crutcher
39 Bless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya
40 Life is Funny - E.R. Frank
41 Daughters of Eve - Lois Duncan
42 Crazy Lady - Jane Leslie Conly
43 The Great Gilly Hopkins - Katherine Paterson
44 You Hear Me - Betsy Franco
45 Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
46 Whale Talk - Chris Crutcher
47 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby - Dav Pilkey
48 The Facts Speak for Themselves - Brock Cole
49 The Terrorist - Caroline Cooney
50 Mick Harte Was Here - Barbara Park
51 Summer of My German Soldier - Bette Green
52 The Upstairs Room - Johanna Reiss
53 When Dad Killed Mom - Julius Lester
54 Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
55 The Fighting Ground - Avi
56 The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien
57 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor
58 Fat Kid Rules the World - K.L. Going
59 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things - Carolyn Mackler
60 A Time To Kill - John Grisham
61 Rainbow Boys - Alex Sanchez
62 Olive’s Ocean - Kevin Henkes
63 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
64 A Day No Pigs Would Die - Robert Newton Peck
65 Speak Laurie - Halse Anderson
66 Always Running - Luis Rodriguez
67 Black Boy - Richard Wright
68 Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George
69 Deal With It! - Esther Drill
70 Detour for Emmy - Marilyn Reynolds
71 Draw Me A Star - Eric Carle
72 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
73 Harris and Me - Gary Paulsen
74 Junie B. Jones series - Barbara Park
75 So Far From the Bamboo Grove - Yoko Watkins
76 Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
77 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes - Chris Crutcher
78 What’s Happening to My Body Book - Lynda Madaras
79 The Boy Who Lost His Face - Louis Sachar
80 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
81 Anastasia Again! - Lois Lowry
82 Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
83 Bumps In the Night - Harry Allard
84 Goosebumps series - R.L. Stine
85 Shade’s Children - Garth Nix
86 Cut - Patricia McCormick
87 Grendel - John Gardner
88 The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende
89 I Saw Esau - Iona Opte
90 Ironman - Chris Crutcher
91 The Stupids series - Harry Allard
92 Taming the Star Runner - S.E. Hinton
93 Then Again, Maybe I Won’t - Judy Blume
94 Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume
95 Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
96 Nathan’s Run - John Gilstrap
97 Pinkerton, Behave! - Steven Kellog
98 Freaky Friday - Mary Rodgers
99 Halloween ABC - Eve Merriam
100 Heather Has Two Mommies - Leslea Newman

Out of 3,869 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.

10 most challenged titles of 2008
from the American Library Association, out of 513 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2008.

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence

3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence

5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

10 most challenged books of 2007

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 and Offensive Language

4.The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Reasons: 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
Reasons: 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

[Comrade007]

Complete agree, Mie1 - banning things is counterproductive. What a fascinating read your post has been. It kind of make me want to read so many books I have not - admittedly - been aware of.

Just to explain (from Wikipedia):

In the United States, many books have been challenged by a variety of groups and agencies in order to prevent a particular work from being read by the general public. In recent years, it has become more common for those challenging the availability of a book to do so on a local level, targeting public libraries and school libraries. In fact, many communities have a formal process by which a citizen can challenge the public availability of a work. That a book's availability has been challenged does not automatically indicate that it has been removed from library shelves in even one community.

So when we read challenged here it does not necessarily mean the book has been banned. It does mean these books have been commonly targeted for censorship....

I suppose what this also shows is that freedom of speech has to be defended each and every day. There are as many people in the United States who are intolerant as they are in any other part of the world. They will try their level best to suppress the right of free people to speak and write freely.

It is the responsibility and obligation of all freedom-loving people around the world to stand up in the face of attempts to suppress the free flow of free thoughts and to say clearly, with one voice: Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too (Voltaire).