Category: book Nook
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with
a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for
Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2006” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
• “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
• “Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
• “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
• “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
• “Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; and
• “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.
I haven't read any of the books on last years, but have read all three books they mention for previous years.
So, what do you think about these books?
Or, what do you think about banning books?
Lots of room for discussion here.
Bob
I'll start out by saying banning books in my mind is one of the most vial things that has ever been suggested or supported. Those who ban books are attempting to control others by limitting information and or ideas. Freedom of the press is one of the basic rights that the US is supposed to be based on (and though I realize that other countries have a different opinion on this, there are still some protections in most countries I think.)
If someone doesn't like a book, or doesn't agree with it they can put the book down and refuse to read it. But no one should have the right to tell you what you can and cannot read. The mind is arguably the core of who you are, and part of that is being able to learn and decide who and what you want to be.
In adition, the limitting of what "the people" should be allowed to read "for their safety" has been the beginning of a slippery slope for many a country, ultimately ending in loss of freedoms. One of the most famous of examples, see Germany leading up to the second world war.
OK, the rant's over. You can come out now. :) That's just one of my major buttons.
Onto the books listed. I've only read one of the ones in the list that was posted for 2006, that being The Bluest Eye. It is a book with some pretty nasty things in it. However, it is a very powerful book, with some messages I think more people should hear and think about. Would I suggest it for anyone that wasn't at least in upper High school, no. But to reitterate, it should not be banned.
do I feel the hand of republican sensors here? I think so.
I have to assume that somebody read all of these books to caregorize them this way? Or, then again, maybe not. In any event, somebody has way too much time on their hands, methinks.
I think that if a school wanted to ban a book from the campus, they should be allowed to. I don't, however, think a book should be banned. I have read Catcher, Finn, and Mice and Men.
When I was a kid I got naughty pleasure from looking up "dirty" words in the dictionary, so, should my parents have insisted that the school ban the dictionary?
Well, they didn't. When they discovered my purien interests they modified my behavior in the woodshed.
Bob
Well, Bob, I see what you're saying. Every book has the potential to be a danger.
wonder if OJ Simpson's book will be on the requested list this year, and surprised H.Potter is not on the list, given it's "anti Christian" content, at least that's what folks in Georgia are saying.
Think I did see the potter books on another banned books list. If I can find it I'll lett you know.
Bob
The more they want to banned those books, the more people would want to read about it. I think they should not banned books, but instead label age appropriateness for those books and content area to which it's focused on. Yeah, they probably want to avoid these topics. Look, those topics keep on repeating on the list homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, and allsorts of topics that they find inappropriate to be read, and yet those books are still in stores and a lot of people still buy it and rent it in their local libraries.
I'm also very much against banning books in general. However, I could understand not wanting children to read sexually explicite or violent material. But I also think that if it's a book that happens to have homosexual characters, or if it's just a matter of language and race (like Huckleberry Fin) that shouldn't be a problem. Sheltering children from words, particularly when they're used in a historical content is insane. That's how it was and that's how people talked back then. I mean, what if I, as a pagan, said that I didn't want my children to read anything about Christianity (not things that would try to convert them, but anything vaguely Christian)? It would be ridiculous.
Hey, I disagree as well. Sheltering is a good point. I was sort of sheltered through life, and still am. I am learning secretly though, so lol! It's really sad. I hate it myself. If you shelter kids like some parents do, hey nobody will learn that you have a unfair and unjust world. No one will realize how people really have babies, and all sorts of things. Besides, who told them to read the thing? They could try and discourage their child from reading it, instead of banning it from the library. Some people might want to read it, and you can't controll that. If they complain, that's there fault. No one told them to read it, and no one said if they don't their throat would be slit.
I too disagree with banning books. I was reading sexually explicit books at 9...And they had a lot of the other stuff mentioned, and I don't think it personally hurt me. I can easily count on the fingers of one hand the individuals I've had sex with; I was never sexually promiscuus...I do use "fowl" or "dirty" language, but I know how to be polite, and am most of the time, but I think that language comes more from my Mom...I talk a lot like her minus the hillbilly slang. LOL...Anyways, my point is that I don't think reading adult books at 9 effected my life that much. I simply enjoyed those books. Mind you, I also think it's the parents' jobs to monitor their children, and what they're doing, and not make they're children the responsibility of the rest of the country...IE, banning books just because they haven't taught they're child in an appropriate manner to be able to handle the content of the books. And, no, I'm not sure if my Mom knew what I was reading, or not.
When I was a child I had a friend a couple of years older than me who used to get books with a teenage theme, just a mild sexual content. However, my mum would usually get hold of them when I was asleep or at school and give it a read herself, so she knew what it was about and what sorts of questions might be going round in my head. Lucky for her though, my sight was getting so bad that I never really made it past the first couple of pages and just relied on my mate to give me a summary of the best bits!
Thanks to Bob for this post, I now have a list of new authors to ask the local library to get for me!
Yeah, I think I read V. C. andrews at eleven or twelve, and I got these really mocking words from adults. I talked about it, because I liked books. I thought some of the characters was cool, I liked Dawn and the sick girl. I think I then read Flowers In The attic at thirteen, and my sister read it at seven. She got hold of the tapes I got. Lol! It was funny. I don't think she understood the thing fully, but nevertheless... I got laughed at and scolded for it, but I had my say. I don't think it's right to say, oh, you shouldn't read it. Reading this type of matterial at such a young age was good, since you realize what's out there. I wish I read some of the other books I enjoy earlier though. E.G. To Kill A Mockingbird, and Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry are only a couple. I never realized how bad racism was in the world, and in truth until I read such matterials. I was partially for it, because of some of my family. Lol! I told those awful jokes, which I never uttered since then.
The Scary Stories series? You mean Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark? If so, that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Those stories were made for kids. I've read The Perks Of Being a Wallflower and The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things, and yes, they do have a lot of sexual content, but it's like someone else said, the more you ban them, the more kids willwant to read them. This is why Fahrenheit 451 was written, because if we keep going at this rate that's exactly what's gonna happen. It'll be a crime to own a book. It's sad. You know what? Just keep those kinds of books out of elementary school libraries then if you don't want young kids to get their hands on them. And these people need to get over themselves, because obviously somebody told them they have some kind of special power now that they can decide what people can and cannot read. This is why the US is slowly becoming more and more communist. It almost makes me not want to have kids because the future is gonna be so depressing for them.
I agree with dez's post, and to the poster who said it was too much time on their nands. I'm too surprised that the HP books wern't on their. Keep the books out of elemtary schools, and that will stop that problem, but to ban them all is going too far. I have red Of Mice And Men, once in eighth grade, and once in eleventh grade. Its a really good book.
and the best way to make sure someone reads something is by banning it!! eep.