Banned Books week at the Library this Tuesday !
There are many different reasons an institution will ban a book. The magic in a fantasy novel can be construed as anti-religious, or the language in a novel can be considered too mature for younger audiences. No matter the reason, banned books intrigue audiences and tempt readers as soon as they are restricted. Some of the top banned books throughout the last century include:
- Ulysses, by James Joyce (1922)
- Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (1932)
- Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (1937)
- Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (1951)
- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (1960)
- Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
- The Chocolate War, by Justin Richardson (1974)
- Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (1977)
- The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman (1995)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
- Looking for Alaska, by John Green (2005)
- Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher (2007)
- The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (2008)
Before a book can be banned, it first is challenged. A book challenge occurs when someone attempts to remove or restrict a piece of literature based on various objections. The book doesn’t become banned until it is removed from a curriculum or library. This means that free access to the book is no longer available in the designated institution, or in more extreme cases, prohibited by law; however, while books are challenged regularly, only about 10% of all challenged books are actually Banned.
The First Amendment makes it difficult to ban a book in the United States. Some books are repeat offenders, such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky or Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, but other books such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland have become more accepted with time.
A Few Banned Books :
I read the first 6 when I was young. The Giver is a great book. My grandson and I took turns reading it out loud. Of coarse Animal Farm, Huck Finn, Catch 22 and Beloved were also read. I think they go over board with banning books.
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Me too. My son read lots of them in school as required in English . Read what you want is freedom we all should have.
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I remember a teacher reading my class Bridge to Terabithia. One of my favorite school memories.
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I know ! Our library is filled with these classics. My we all be free to read what we want.
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This is always such an interesting subject and I’m always surprised by how little the list changes over the years.
As adults, I think we should be able to decide what we want to read. I agree that censorship has a place in schools as some subjects are inappropriate for young eyes and minds.
I’ve read many of the classics recommended for teen reading in the UK plus The Adventures of (TAO) Tom Sawyer and TAO Huck Finn. Of Mice and Men was included in the UK school curriculum until a few years ago; it’s a shame it was removed but the government decided British fiction was preferable. I find this to be an Insular and ignorant attitude when so many great works have come from outside of the island we live upon.
I understand why ‘The Kite Runner’ would be challenged or banned, but it’s one of my favourite books. It’s a beautiful but bittersweet story and shares important messages, as does ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ from the same author.
All of the other books listed are still on my TBR, along with many other 20th century classics too. I ask friends and family to buy me one of them for Christmas each year and read whichever I receive first in January before my reading year really gets going – this year it was ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ 🙂
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Thanks for the comment. I am a volunteer at our local library and was fun to see how many of these was already in the library collection. So they are getting read still. My son actually read lots of them in school and enjoyed them. I am a firm believer in reading what you want but not everyone feels that way . Keep reading and Enjoy.
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