BANNED BOOKS WEEK“When in doubt, go to the library”~from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. Rowling

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read.

Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information.

The purpose is to support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

"Reprinted by permission of the American Library Association."

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHALLENGED BOOK AND A BANNED BOOK?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. 

A banning is the removal of those materials. 

WHY ARE BOOKS CHALLENGED?

Books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information.

The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom: the material was considered to be "sexually

explicit" the material contained "offensive language" the material was "unsuited to age group"

CHALLENGES BY REASON

Who Challenges Books?

Throughout history, more and different kinds of people and groups , who, for all sorts of reasons, have attempted—and continue to attempt—to suppress anything that conflicts with or anyone who disagrees with their own beliefs.

CHALLENGES BY INITIATOR

CHALLENGES BY INSTITUTION

CHALLENGES BY YEAR

FREQUENTLY CHALLENGED BOOKS

The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country.

Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five that go unreported.

Who are the most frequently challenged authors?

2011: Lauren Myracle Chris Crutcher Carolyn Mackler Robert Greene Suzanne Collins Sonya Sones Sherman Alexie Aldous Huxley Harper Lee Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Dav Pilkey Cecily von Ziegesar

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. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

#1

ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

#2 The Color of Earth

(series), by Kim Dong HwaReasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

#3 The Hunger Games

trilogy, by Suzanne CollinsReasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

#4 My Mom's Having A

Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad ButlerReasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

#5 The Absolutely True

Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman AlexieReasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

#6 Alice (series), by

Phyllis Reynolds NaylorReasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

#7 Brave New World,

by Aldous HuxleyReasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

#8 What My Mother

Doesn't Know, by Sonya SonesReasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

#9 Gossip Girl (series),

by Cecily Von ZiegesarReasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

#10 To Kill a

Mockingbird, by Harper LeeReasons: offensive language; racism

Take the Banned Books Challenge!

Can you name these books?