This week (September 26-October 3) is Banned Books Week an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. If you think book banning is a thing of the past, that people don't do that anymore - check out this link
http://bannedbooksweek.org/Mapofbookcensorship.html to see a map of book bans and challenges in the United States (contiguous 48 only) from 2007-2009. And these were the ones that made the news, who knows how many didn't.
If you would like to learn more about Banned Books Week or other censorship and First Amendment rights issues check out these web sites -
The American Library Association's web page on Banned Books Week
The Index on Censorship
The National Coalition Against Censorship
The Online Books Page Presents Banned Books Online
Think you'd have to look hard for a banned book? Nope, not at all, check out the top 10 most frequently challenged book list for 2008
http://bannedbooksweek.org/Mapofbookcensorship.html to see a map of book bans and challenges in the United States (contiguous 48 only) from 2007-2009. And these were the ones that made the news, who knows how many didn't.
If you would like to learn more about Banned Books Week or other censorship and First Amendment rights issues check out these web sites -
The American Library Association's web page on Banned Books Week
The Index on Censorship
The National Coalition Against Censorship
The Online Books Page Presents Banned Books Online
Think you'd have to look hard for a banned book? Nope, not at all, check out the top 10 most frequently challenged book list for 2008
- And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass)
- TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
- Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
- Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
- 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
Of course, you may say - these are modern books, classics never get banned! Think again!
Here are the top ten banned and challenged classics.
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
And remember - this is just the top 10 of one year and the top 10 classics, sadly there are a lot more where these came from. So celebrate Banned Books Week by exercising your First Amendment rights and read a Banned Book!!
Here are the top ten banned and challenged classics.
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
And remember - this is just the top 10 of one year and the top 10 classics, sadly there are a lot more where these came from. So celebrate Banned Books Week by exercising your First Amendment rights and read a Banned Book!!
1 comment:
YES! One of my favorite books is totally Stephen Chbosky's "Perks...", I didn't realize it was so frequently banned, making it all the more deliciously, deviantly good!
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