Saturday, September 27, 2008

Celebrate your right to read - read a banned book!


This week, September 27 - October 4, 2008, is Banned Books Week.

It's astonishing the books that have been banned. Check here for events in you area.

Exercise Your First Amendment Rights - Read a Banned Book! Let me know which banned book you read, and I'll send you one of these freadom buttons. If I don't have your address, send me an email, rjprytz at hotmail dot com.




BTW, I'm not recommending all of these books. Some are wonderful, some are poorly written, but I think they all should be available for sale in the bookstore, or in the library for borrowing, in case some one wants to read them.

Here's are a couple of list to get you started:

From the American Library Association:

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

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

This is the ABFFE's (AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS FOUNDATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION)
Banned and Challenged Book List:

This list was compiled by ABFFE from media resources as well as reports from those affected by the challenges. If you have any questions about any of the books listed, please feel free to contact Rebecca Zeidel, ABFFE program director, at (212) 587-4025, ext 13, rebecca@abffe.com.

Alphabetical by Author

A

Paula by Isabel Allende

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing by Maya Angelou


B

One More River by Lynne Reid Banks

Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence? By Marion Diane Bauer

Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Cultureby Michael A. Bellesiles

Girl Goddess, #9, I Was a Teenage Fairy and Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Deenie and Forever by Judy Blume

Doing It by Melvin Burgess

Family Values: Two Moms and Their Son by Phyllis Burke

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs


C

My Father’s Scar by Michael Cart

The Homo Handbook--Getting in Touch With Your Inner Homo by Judy Carter

Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter

Dance on My Grave by Aidan Chambers

Postcards from No Man’s Land by Aidan Chambers

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Ricochet River by Robin Cody

Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Skull of Truth by Bruce Coville

Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse

Athletic Shorts and Ironman by Chris Crutcher

Stotan! by Chris Crutcher

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher


D

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Dandicat

The Teenage Guy’s Survival Guide by Jeremy Daldry

My Brother Has AIDS by Deborah Davis

Lost Prophet: The Life of Bayard Rustin by John D'emilio

Between Lovers, Cheaters and The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey

Deal With It! by Esther Drill

Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan


E

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel


F

Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris

The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein

Life is Funny by E.R. Frank

The Trouble With Babies by Martha Freeman

My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr


G

Good Moon Rising and Holly’s Secret by Nancy Garden

Grendel by John Gardener

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Drowning of Stephan Jones by Bette Greene


H

King & King by Lindade Haan and Stern Nijland

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Hunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Hey, Dollface by Deborah Hautzig

The Misfits by James Howe

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel


J

How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson

Breaking Boxes by A.M. Jenkins


K

Pinkerton, Behave! by Steven Kellogg

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver


L

What I Know Now by Rodger Larson

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte

Anastasia Again by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Extreme Elvin by Chris Lynch


M

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich

Gays/justice: A Study of Ethics, Society, and Law by Richard D. Mohr

Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Monster by Walter Dean Myers


N

The Alice Series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


P

Choke by Chuck Palanuik

Mick Harte was Here by Barbara Park

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilky

Hot Zone by Richard Preston


R

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

Coming Out in College: The Struggle for a Queer Identity by Robert A. Rhoads

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling


S

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Rainbow Boys and Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez

Push! by Sapphire

Shadow Club by Neil Shusterman

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

America (The Book) by Jon Stewart

Double Date by R.L. Stine

Sophie's Choice by William Styron


T

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain


V

My Two Uncles by Judith Vigna


W

Peter by Kate Walker

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff

Black Boy by Richard Wright

4 comments:

Jan AKA Wammy said...

I'm a rebel and don't knoe it. From the first list of books...I have read three. I'm going to check the others listing to see how many of those I haveread. Amazing.

Mary Alice said...

I'll have to point out to my daughter that she is currently halfway through a banned book! Huck Finn.

Allie said...

I am absolutely shocked at some of these books!! They are classics! How can someone ban a book and who in the world has the okay to do it? ?Pinkerton Behave"? That's a children's picture book. What in the world...?

dot said...

I've always loved Little Black Sambo. When my husband and I were dating about 10 years ago he bought me a copy.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...