Banned Books List

Did you know that this is the 23rd year of "Banned Book Week"? I've been perusing a copy of the "2004 Banned Books Resource Guide" by Robert Doyle. I decided to share some info from it, including a few examples of books that have been challenged. I borrowed the book from one of my teachers who bought it from the ALA website, but I can't find a picture and description of it online. However, I did find a book called "Teaching Banned Books: 12 Guides for Young Readers" that looks like it might be interesting for those of you who teach childrn.

Here's a short article on banning classic literature. According to the "2004 Banned Books Resource Guide," some of the challenged and banned books in 2003 and 2004 include (but are not limited to):

Judy Blume's "Deenie"
David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars"
Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"
Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye"
Walter Dean Myer's "Fallen Angels"
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"
Mildred D. Taylor's "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"
Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

I found this cute little blurb about teenagers' desire to read banned books simply because they are banned. I was the exact same way when I was younger (and still am to some extent). I went to a parochial school where the library was arranged by grade level, with all of the picture books in one section, the chapter books for grades up to 6th in another, and books for 7th and 8th grade in its own area. The problem was that I was an advanced reader and in third grade, I was bored with the books in my area. I started checking out books from the 7th and 8th grade section, but one day the librarian wouldn't let me anymore. I was furious and from that day forward, I refused to check books out from the school library because I didn't want my choices restricted. Later that year I went on to read "First Blood" (I read real literature too, but that book stands out because it definitely wasn't intended for younger readers).