Saturday, September 29, 2007

Celebrate the Freedom to Read Sept. 29 - Oct. 6

Today is the start of Banned Books Week, sponsored by the ALA and the Office for Intellectual Freedom. There is so much information on those 2 sites about books, reading, freedom to choose and censorship....I don't even know where to begin this post!! So, I'm just going to give you the links and let you explore for yourself!! YOU get the freedom to choose! If I get going on book banning, I might not make it to my daughter's soccer game!

I will leave you with a list of the 10 most Banned Books of last year: (this list is provided by the ALA)

"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;

"The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

7 comments:

darkorpheus said...

Hear, hear. I am vehemently against censorship and banning of books -- I was raised by parents who allowed me to read what I wanted.

And I'm offended that people are still trying to ban Toni Morrison. And "The Chocolate War"?

valentina said...

Isn't it crazy how sex and homosexuality are still a taboo?

Anonymous said...

"The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" is just a brilliant title!!! :)

now thats a way to make me want to read a book!

darkorpheus said...

I'm with JP on titles big and round. ;p

Jill said...

I seem to remember The Chocolate War causing a lot of controversy because its ending was considered too depressing to be suited to the young audience (Old Yeller, not a problem, the Yearling - touching, moving, etc. - who can figure these people out??)

I'd say thanks for the reading list - only I've read them all but two! Who knew I was so subversive?

ErinPaperbackstash said...

That posters adorable, some people are too creative. :)

The Bookworm said...

why bann a Tony Morrison book? she is fabulous. I read 'Sula' twice.

I also read 'Alice' a while ago.

I dont agree with banning books either.