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32 flavors and then some
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Banned Books Week 2005
Sept. 24-Oct. 1 is banned books week for 2005.
First, a disclaimer. I'm not posting this because of the theme of this years announcement, but because intellectual freedom is important to me.
Banned Books Week raises awareness of attacks on gay, lesbian-themed books
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Banned Books Week raises awareness of attacks on gay, lesbian-themed books
Librarians, booksellers, publishers celebrate freedom to read, Sept. 24–Oct. 1
(CHICAGO) Who decides what you will find freely available in your public and school libraries? Almost 25 years after its initiation, Banned Books Week (September 24–October 1) has special resonance as gay and lesbian-themed books come under attack.
Three of the 10 books on the “Ten Most Challenged Books of 2004,” compiled by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, were cited for homosexual themes—which is the highest number in a decade. These titles include:
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“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
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“King & King” by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
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“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
In the wake of proposed legislation and resolutions in several states this year to restrict or prohibit access to materials related to sexual orientation, the ALA Council passed a resolution in June affirming the inclusion of materials that reflect the diversity of our society and encouraging libraries to acquire and make available materials representative of all people.
“The voices and stories of gays and lesbians cannot be silenced in our culture or on our bookshelves,” said ALA President Michael Gorman. “Banning books is an extreme disservice to our readers. Not only does it hinder tolerance and acceptance, it also limits the information exchange Americans hold dear.”
Thousands of libraries and bookstores will sponsor events and exhibits speaking out against attempts like these to censor books and celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week. An Alabama librarian plans to bring author Chris Crutcher, whose book “Whale Talk” was banned in Limestone County schools, to discuss his books and experiences with censorship. South Dakota State University library hosts petitions calling for the release of imprisoned writers. And the first-ever Downtown Omaha Lit Fest will salute Banned Books Week with readings and an art exhibit. Observed since 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom to read freely for granted.
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 547 challenges last year, up from 458 in 2003. Robert Cormier’s “The Chocolate War” topped the 2004 list—drawing complaints from parents and others concerned about the books' sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint and violence.
A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
“I believe the more we exercise our freedom to read and read widely, the better equipped we are to make good decisions and govern ourselves,” Gorman said. “Controversial ideas should be debated, not driven into dark alleys.”
Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
To learn more and get involved, please go to www.ala.org/bbooks. To arrange interviews with Banned Books Week spokespeople, please contact Larra Clark, ALA Media Relations Manager, at 312-280-5043 or lclark@ala.org or Macey Morales, ALA PR Coordinator, at 312-280-4393 or mmorales@ala.org.
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The ten most challenged books in American Public Libraries and public school libraries, 2004:
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*"The Chocolate War" for sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint, being unsuited to age group and violence
*"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers, for racism, offensive language and violence
*"Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A. Bellesiles, for inaccuracy and political viewpoint
*Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, for offensive language and modeling bad behavior
*"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, for homosexuality, sexual content and offensive language
*"What My Mother Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones, for sexual content and offensive language
*"In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak, for nudity and offensive language
*"King & King" by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, for homosexuality
*"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group
*"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for racism, offensive language and violence
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The most challenged authors:
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1. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of the Alice series
2. Robert Cormier, author of The Chocolate War and We All Fall Down
3. Judy Blume, author of Blubber, Forever, and Deenie
4. Toni Morrison, author of The Bluest Eye, Beloved and Song of Solomon
5. Chris Lynch, author of Extreme Elvin and Iceman
6. Barbara Park, author of the Junie P. Jones series
7. Gary Paulsen, author of Nightjohn and The Beet Fields: Memories of a Sixteenth Summer
8. Dav Pilkey, author of The Captain Underpants series
9. Maurice Sendak, author of In the Night Kitchen
10. Sonya Sones, author of What My Mother Doesn’t Know
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Why books are challenged:
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Between 1990 and 2000, of the 6,364 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom (see The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books):
*1,607 were challenges to “sexually explicit” material (up 161 since 1999);
* 1,427 to material considered to use “offensive language”; (up 165 since 1999)
* 1,256 to material considered “unsuited to age group”; (up 89 since 1999)
* 842 to material with an “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism,”; (up 69 since 1999)
* 737 to material considered to be “violent”; (up 107 since 1999)
* 515 to material with a homosexual theme or “promoting homosexuality,” (up 18 since 1999)and
* 419 to material “promoting a religious viewpoint.” (up 22 since 1999)
Other reasons for challenges included “nudity” (317 challenges, up 20 since 1999), “racism” (267 challenges, up 22 since 1999), “sex education” (224 challenges, up 7 since 1999), and “anti-family” (202 challenges, up 9 since 1999).
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The 100 most challenged books from 1990-2000:
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1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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When I have a parent object to the material in a book we're reading in class, such as The Chocolate War, number one on the list, I suggest to them that they take the opportunity to discuss exactly what it is that they object about the book with their child, and invite them to come discuss the book with the class. Most of the time, they haven't even read it.
Students are allowed, upon parental request, to opt out of a book. That's fine with me; parents should take an active role in their children's educations. They shouldn't be allowed, however, to decide for everyone else what they are or aren't allowed to read. That's why this is insidious.
You want to object to The Perks of Being a Wallflower? Don't object because it has sexual themes, homosexual characters, or drugs in it, object because it's poorly written tripe.
Read a banned book during banned book week and post what you thought of it here. Try to pick something new, something you haven't read before. Praise it, dissect it, attack it, tell us what's good or bad about it, but decide for yourself. Don't let someone else decide for you.
Gilda
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I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that.
~Steven Colbert
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