If you are registering for the "
Banned Book Challenge" and are looking for suggestions to read, there is a wonderful resource of
Books Challenged or Banned in 2009–2010 for the United States. This is an annual publication by Robert P. Doyle. Books that have been challenged, banned or otherwise restricted between May 2009 and May 2010 can be found in this list, along with information about the where and when the challenge occurred and the result. The challenges are ones that have been reported through the
Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom. This bibliography is part of a
series which are available from 2003 to the present.
Take the
Banned Book Challenge. Set your own goal to read any number of banned or challenged books between February 20, 2011 and June 30, 2011. Then, send us reviews, opinions, etc.
The American Library Association (ALA) has released the 2009 Top Ten List of Most Frequently Challenged Books, as well as the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books for 2000-2009.
The top 10 titles most challenged titles of 2009 were:
TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series) by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs
And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin RichardsonReasons: Homosexuality
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen ChboskyReasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeReasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
Twilight (series) by Stephenie MeyerReasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
The Catcher in the Rye by JD SalingerReasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi PicoultReasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn MacklerReasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
The Color Purple by Alice WalkerReasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
The Chocolate War by Robert CormierReasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
The new books to the list are Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer and My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
The titles dropped from the list were:
- His Dark Materials Trilogy (Series) by Philip Pullman
- Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
- Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
- Gossip Girl (Series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
- Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper
How has the list compiled? According to the ALA,
For nearly 20 years, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has collected reports on book challenges. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness. In 2009, OIF received 460 reports on efforts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.
Read a book from this list for the Banned Book Challenge which runs until June 1. Register today.
0 Comments on American Library Association's Top Ten for 2009 as of 1/1/1900
Good list to have and all important books. Can you believe To Kill A Mockingbird was pulled from a school library here in Nova Scotia last year?
Just wanted to compliment you on a great site. I have been doing a banned books theme this week on my library employee blog
http://libdrone.blogspot.com
Would you mind if I linked to you?
Alan, I tried to contact you through your AOL but got an error. Anyway, please feel free to create a link. Let me know if you do. I have been printing off blog pages that reference us.