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The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. Sherman Alexie’s National Book Award-winning young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, claimed the top spot.

Throughout the year 2014, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 311 reports of challenged books. Click here to check out an infographic that explores “Banned Books Through History.”

Here’s an excerpt from the ALA report: “The lack of diverse books for young readers continues to fuel concern…A current analysis of book challenges recorded by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) from 2001 – 2013, shows that attempts to remove books by authors of color and books with themes about issues concerning communities of color are disproportionately challenged and banned. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness.”

10 Most Frequently Challenged Library Books of 2014

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

3. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell with illustrations by Henry Cole

4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

6. Saga written by Brian Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

9. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

10. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

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Here are some literary events to pencil in your calendar this week.

To get your event posted on our calendar, visit our Facebook Your Literary Event page. Please post your event at least one week prior to its date.

Writer Bill Berkson will headline a reading for his new poetry collection, Expect Delays. Hear him on Tuesday, December 2nd at City Lights Booksellers starting 7 p.m. (San Francisco, CA)

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression will celebrate Banned Books Week from September 21st to September 27th.

The organization plans to shine a spotlight on graphic novels and comics. Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee, had this statement in a press release: “This year we spotlight graphic novels because, despite their serious literary merit and popularity as a genre, they are often subject to censorship.”

The American Library Association recently revealed the top ten list of most frequently challenged books for this year. Jeff Smith’s comic series, Bone, occupies the #10 spot. Earlier this year, Smith designed the cover for Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Banned Books Week Handbook. Follow this link to access a free digital copy. Check out the entire list after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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Stephen Chbosky wrote and directed the feature film adaptation of his novel, The Perks of Being A Wallflower. He's written novels, screenplays and edited a collection of short stories, Pieces.

Stephen Chbosky giving his keynote to over 1,200 rapt attendees

Stephen starts his talk by saying

"The next generation of classics are literally in this room."

He's sharing the rejections he got for "The Perks of Being A Walllflower, " and then tells us that:

"If you're going to write your timeless classic, it starts with you."

Step one: find the great idea - your great idea

It sounds facile, but Stephen actually shares an exercise to help us - help you -  find that idea. It's something he's done twelve times.

It's about finding out the thing about you that's most beautiful and sharing it with the world. But we're not always the best judge of our own beauty…

Here it is: Write down every story idea you have. (He suggests to register them.) Then you take that list and you share it with the people closest to you, the ones who genuinely want you to succeed. Or ask kids you're trying to reach.

Everyone who reads it will gravitate towards one or two ideas.

Taste and talent are completely different things, and often we, as authors, don't always recognize what's unique and which is the great idea we already have inside us, and this is a way to find it!


Next, Stephen walks us through the other steps - the room is riveted!

Two more amazing quotes from the keynote:

"Books change lives. Books save lives." 

and that

"If you're really doing it for you, you're doing it for the world."

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Jay Asher's debut teen novel, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, spent over two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list (and began as a SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant Winner!). His second book, THE FUTURE OF US, was coauthored with Carolyn Mackler.

Stephen Chbosky wrote and directed the feature film adaptation of his novel, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

The mutual respect and admiration each has for the other already makes this session a great one.

When Jay thought up the idea for THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, he was afraid. It was not the type of book he thought he would want to read. That's when he decided to focus on making it a page turner.

Stephen has learned more about the page turn by watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer because it's all about what happened or what happens next.

Jay notes that his books are more plot driven suspense and Stephen's more character driven suspense.

Jay was thinking about the reader the whole time he wrote THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, thinking about what he wanted to say and what he wanted the reader to be thinking about. He wanted the reader to always be guessing what's going to happen next. If they're right, they'll be happy that they were, or if they weren't, hopefully they will be surprised by what happened in a good way.

Jay needs an ending in mind to shoot for, not that it means the ending might not change. He still needs to leave some room for the story to surprise even him as he writes it. He loves those moments. Let your characters sometimes surprise you.

Stephen echoes the same thoughts: If I know everything in the beginning then there's no room to make it better.

Jay wanted THIRTEEN REASONS WHY to read clean so that it would read quickly, building suspense and not allowing the reader to come out of the story.

Stephen on confusion: It's confusion if the reader is lost and doesn't know what's going on but
it's great suspense if the reader is guessing what the confusion is.

Jay Asher: Your book has one main thing that has to be solved that the reader knows will be solved at the end, so along the way the reader is going to need some micro-mysteries along the way to keep them reading forward to the end.

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Everything has remained the same with our best selling young adult books for this month—proving just how these titles truly are popular books for teens (and many adults, too). With the March movie release of Divergent, it's no wonder that our best selling young adult book list features the popular book for teens, Divergent, by Veronica Roth.

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With the March movie release of the movie version of Divergent, it's no wonder that our best selling young adult book list features the popular book for teens, Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Our hand selected titles from the nationwide best selling young adult books, as listed by The New York Times, remain the same; featuring titles by super-talents John Green, Ransom Riggs, Stephen Chbosky, Markus Zusak and Rainbow Rowell.

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Our best selling young adult book list features popular books for teens; including Allegiant by Veronica Roth and our hand selected titles from the nationwide best selling young adult books, as listed by The New York Times, featuring titles by super-talents John Green, Ransom Riggs, Stephen Chbosky, Markus Zusak and Rainbow Rowell.

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This month's bestselling Young Adult books are ... Read the rest of this post

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Best Selling Kids’ Books & New Releases

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: December 1, 2012

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review and the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

20 of the Best Kids Christmas Books

Oliver Jeffers on Writing, Illustrating, and Bookmaking

Christmas Board Books for Babies and Toddlers

How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development

20 Sites to Improve Your Child’s Literacy

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THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

Pandora the Curious (Goddess Girls)

By Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

Ages 8-12

Huggy Kissy

By Leslie Patricelli

Ages 1-3

The Twilight Saga White Collection

By Stephenie Meyer

Ages 14 and up

The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book 5: Trust No One

By Linda Sue Park

Ages 9-12

Deadly Little Lessons

By Laurie Faria Stolarz

Ages 12-17

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THE BEST SELLERS

The best selling children’s books this month:

PICTURE BOOKS

This Is Not My Hat

by Jon Klassen

Ages 4-8

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

By Eric Litwin

Ages 4-8

Llama Llama Time to Share

By Anna Dewdney

Ages 3-5

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

By Sherri Duskey Rinker (Author), Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)

Ages 4-8

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

by Ian Falconer

(Ages 3-7)

_______

CHAPTER BOOKS

“Who Could That Be at This Hour?”

By Lemony Snicket

Ages 9-12

LEGO Ninjago: Character Encyclopedia

by DK Publishing

Ages 6-12

Lincoln’s Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

by Bill O’Reilly

Ages 10-15

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio

Ages 8-12

Insurgent (Divergent)

by Veronica Roth

Ages 14 and up

_______

PAPERBACK BOOKS

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

Ages 14 and up

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Ages 14 and up

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

Ages 14 and up

Thirteen Reasons Why

by Jay Asher

Ages 12 and up

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

Ages 12 and up

_______

SERIES BOOKS

Hunger Games Trilogy

By Suzanne Collins

Ages 12 and up

Dork Diaries

By Rachel Renee Russell

Ages 9-12

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

By Jeff Kinney

Ages 9 to 12

The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 10-14)

Matched Trilogy

By Ally Condie

Ages 14-17

This information was gathered from the New York Times Best Sellers list, which reflects the sales of books from books sold nationwide, including independent and chain stores. It is correct at the time of publication and presented in random order. Visit: www.nytimes.com.

Original article: Best Kids Stories – December 2013

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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This coming-of-age story absolutely shines. Charlie is your average teenager trying to navigate the treacherous waters of adolescence, yet he's so much more than that. Recognizing something special in Charlie, a teacher feeds him literature and tries to guide him into growth and maturity. Charlie has a bit more on his plate than he knows [...]

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By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 3, 2012

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

Gearing Up for Kindergarten

Best Halloween Books for Kids: Scary, Spooky, and Silly

Review: Scat by Carl Hiaasen

How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development

Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online

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THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

Llama Llama Time to Share

by Anna Dewdney

(Ages 3-5)

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

by Eric Litwin

(Ages 4-8)

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: As Retold by Mo Willems

by Mo Willems

(Ages 3-7)

Shatterproof (The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers, Book 4)

by Roland Smith

(Ages 8-12)

Caught (Missing)

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

(Ages 9-12)

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THE BEST SELLERS

The best selling children’s books this month:

PICTURE BOOKS

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

by William Joyce

(Ages 4-8)

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

by Eric Litwin

(Ages 4-7)

I Want My Hat Back

by Jon Klassen

(Ages 4-8)

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

by Sherri Duskey Rinker (Author), Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)

(Ages 4-8)

Press Here

by Herve Tullet

(Ages 4-8)

_______

CHAPTER BOOKS

The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 10-14)

Insurgent (Divergent)

by Veronica Roth

(Ages 14 and up)

The Fault in our Stars

by John Green

(Ages 14-17)

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio

(Ages 8-12)

Heroes of Olympus, The, Book Two: The Son of Neptune

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 9-11)

_______

PAPERBACK BOOKS

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

(Ages 14 and up)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

(Ages 14 and up)

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

(Ages 14 and up)

Thirteen Reasons Why

by Jay Asher

(Ages 12 and up)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

(Ages 12 and up)

_______

SERIES BOOKS

Hunger Games Trilogy

by Suzanne Collins

(Ages 12 and up)

Maximum Ride

by James Patterson

(Ages 13-17)

Dork Diaries

by Rachel Renee Russell

(Ages 9-12)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

by Jeff Kinney

(Ages 9 to 12)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 9 to 12)

This information was gathered from the New York Times Best Sellers list, which reflects the sales of books from books sold nationwide, including independent and chain stores. It is correct at the time of publication and presented in random order. Visit: www.nytimes.com.

Original article: September 2012: Best Selling Kids’ Books, New Releases, and More …

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 1, 2012

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

5 Family Favorites with Elizabeth Bard

Giveaway: Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen

Splash into Summer with 3 New Picture Books

How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development

Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online

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THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

by Ian Falconer

(Ages 3-7)

Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Novel

by James Patterson

(Ages 13-17)

The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 10-14)

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: An Origami Yoga Book

by Tom Angleberger

(Ages 8-12)

Big Nate Makes the Grade

by Lincoln Peirce

(Ages 8-12)

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THE BEST SELLERS

The best selling children’s books this month:

PICTURE BOOKS

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Author Stephen Chbosky will direct a film adaptation of his 1999 novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. According to New York Magazine, Chbosky will write the screenplay as well.

Although no one has been cast yet for the lead role of Charlie, two book-based-movie stars have signed up: Harry Potter actress Emma Watson and Percy Jackson actor Logan Lerman.

In 2009, Chbosky’s book hit the #3 spot on the American Library Association’s top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009. The association listed these reasons for the challenges: “anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group.” (Via the Huffington Post)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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An F in Stephen Chbosky.

An F, for total failure as both pop culture guru AND as young adult lit expert.

How come none of you told me that Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is also the Stephen Chbosky who is the creator of the TV series Jericho?

Links to my Jericho posts: Jericho, uh oh its cancelled, but it came back for a final season.

So, guess who was at ALAN (and when I have more time I will totally do a post about the awesomeness of ALAN)?

Stephen Chbosky.

Which is how I found out about Jericho.

And was then a total, embarrassing myself fangirl.

Resulting in my copy of Perks being signed thusly:























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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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