The American Library Association tracks requests to ban books. Sure, I think we can all agree that the Kama Sutra would be inappropriate for a grade-school library even though it could be considered a picture book. But what if your local public library removed all copies of Brave New World, The Color Purple, Twilight, the Bible, and the Harry Potter Series?
WOULD YOU SPEAK UP?
The LA Times reported that in 2017 the Accomack County school district in Virginia considered removing copies of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from their libraries because one parent objected to the use of the N-word in these books. Has this parent been in a school lately? Or listened to rap music? The casual use of the N-word among blacks makes me wonder–who is offended?
Just for the record, I am offended by the word. But then, I was alive when the word was used as an insult and not as a greeting or term of endearment. In the historical stories above, the characters who use the N-word are portrayed as severely uneducated or hateful, so why not use these stories to teach children about why we shouldn’t use it now? Shall we let political correctness or the opinion of one person dictate which classics the rest of us should be allowed to read?
Shall ladies return to wearing corsets and covering our ankles if a small segment of society decided to return to the good old Victorian era dictates of decency? Why not let the tail wag the dog and surrender to every segment of society’s whims and sensibilities?
I am speaking up because even though a book might offend me to the core, I don’t expect the world to kneel to my feelings. I’m a grown up. I can survive being offended. I’m likely to grumble about things from time to time, but I don’t force my will on others or throw a tantrum when the world doesn’t comply with my demands.
My favorite book has elements of the supernatural, erotic poetry, war, natural disasters, political intrigue, romance, adventure, and more. But it’s banned or heavily restricted in these countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, China (People’s Republic), Comoros, Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
Apparently, the Bible threatens the culture or governments of these countries.
I can’t recall extremist Christian-led riots, bombings, or other acts of terrorism endangering any governments, but hey, they run their countries their way. Making the Bible forbidden is their loss.
In America, we enjoy the freedom to read whatever we want. If we don’t like a book, we don’t burn it or ban it. We don’t threaten the author and publisher. We just don’t buy it. We use the power of the free market to support the books we enjoy and treasure. We can, of course, post negative reviews or ignore books that offend us. We allow individuals to decide for themselves.
Judge me if you will, but I firmly believe public and private schools need to consider the appropriateness of books in their libraries based on the age of their students. In a time when student suicides are rising, is it smart to offer books that glamorize suicide instead of offering books on how to cope with depression, stress, and trauma? Let’s expand their imagination and breadth of knowledge while they are young without introducing self-destructive ideas. I lost a friend to suicide in fourth grade. We become that with which we fill our minds.
ARE YOU A REBELLIOUS READER?
To celebrate Banned Books Week, I encourage you to look through the list of the top banned or challenged books from 2000 to 2009. The list was compiled by the American Library Association. How many of these books have you read?
What’s your rebel reader score?
1 to 25 books – Streak of rebellion reader
26 to 50 books – Proud rebel reader
51 to 75 books – Rockstar rebel reader
76 to 100 – full-fledged freedom fighter rebel reader
The Top 100 Banned Books:
- Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
- Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
- And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
- Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
- Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
- His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
- ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
- Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
- It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
- Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
- The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
- Forever, by Judy Blume
- The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
- Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
- Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
- King and King, by Linda de Haan
- To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
- Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
- The Giver, by Lois Lowry
- In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
- Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
- Beloved, by Toni Morrison
- My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
- Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
- The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
- We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
- What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
- Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
- Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
- The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
- Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
- Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
- It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
- Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
- Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
- Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
- Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
- The Fighting Ground, by Avi
- Blubber, by Judy Blume
- Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
- Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
- Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby: The First Graphic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the creators of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
- Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
- Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
- The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
- You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
- The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
- Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
- When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
- Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
- Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
- Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
- Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
- The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
- The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
- Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
- The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
- A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
- Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
- Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
- Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
- Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
- Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
- What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
- The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
- Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
- A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
- Crazy: A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
- The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
- The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
- A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
- Black Boy, by Richard Wright
- Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
- Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
- So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
- Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
- Cut, by Patricia McCormick
- Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
- The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
- Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
- A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
- Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
- The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
- Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
- Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
- Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
- Grendel, by John Gardner
- The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
- I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
- Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
- America: A Novel, by E.R. Frank
Now imagine your life without access to any of these books because someone was offended and didn’t think you should be allowed to read them.
I read twenty, some of the titles really astound me and they don’t belong on this list. My daughter would be so upset over the things they carried being on the list. I can still see alexis in Puerto rico explaining to this poet why she loved the book, (at the time she didn’t know she was talking to the poet, she thought the lady was just a clerk) I was so proud of her because some literature reached my teenager and made her passionate enough to share her feelings and love for a book with someone else. The poet gave her a signed copy of her book of poetry and was very impressed with her.
You must be proud of your daughter. What a joy to meet the author and get a signed copy! Sweet.