Courtesy o' the Llamas:
the one hundred most frequently challenged books 1990-2000.
The boldly highlighted selections are books I've actually read. Of
course, I can't but help to comment on a few of these selections. This
entire list disgusts me. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Why would anyone want to ban this book? Because the "N" word is featured prominently. Talk about revisionist history
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck I hate Steinbeck, but what's so offensive about this book? Don't get it.
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume Now, I don't even remember what this one was about. I had to go and look it up.
Ah, now I remember. I fail to see how a novel about one of the most
important choices a young woman faces in her lifetime---who to lose her
virginity to---is something that should be banned. Probably the whole chastity-belt-until-marriage crowd is behind this one.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Why?
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Dieby Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna As if you could "read" such a book. There isn't
much to read. Mr. H., being the rabid Madonna fan that he is, has a
copy and I've perused it. I know there was some copy in it, but for the
life of me, I don't think anyone, let alone myself, read it. It's kind
of hard to take your eyes away from the pictures of Madonna standing
buck naked in the middle of a Beverly Hills street, hitching. I'm
pretty sure that's precisely what she wanted, too, so why ban the thing? Just don't bother reading it, as it's yet another self-serving PR stunt.
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle WTF?
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume Why would this book be banned? Because it's so honest
about the way girls work? I think not. I think this should be required
reading. It's about bullying, plain and simple, and the message is that
everyone, including the victim, is complicit in letting it go on.
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood It's never going to happen, people. It's fiction. Get over it.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Again, why?
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume Scoliosis isn't a topic kids---particularly
young girls---should read about? As a girl who was once sent off to the
orthopedist because the school nurse thought she had scoliosis, thank
goodness I'd already read this book. It made the situation much less
scary than it would have been if I hadn't known what scoliosis was. It
was still scary, but at least I had a bit of knowledge about what was
going on. It turned out that one of my shoulder blades is placed higher
than the other. It's completely normal, but it lead the very nice, but
brand spankin' new nurse to think my spine was curving, and sent her
into a panic. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Again...why?
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Why? Because it's rumored that Shel was on drugs when he wrote all those wonderful poems? Fer cryin' out loud!
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl This one makes me mad! I loved this book.
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume It's about
a new girl in the neighborhood praying (she has some issues with
religion as well) she isn't the last of her new friends to get her
period. It was outdated when I read it (it talked about belts,
people---and I'm not talking about belts that match your Manolos), but
nonetheless was a good primer. I didn't get the whole "I can't be
last!" mentality. None of the girls I hung out with---myself
included---wanted our periods. We were all dreading it, so that part
didn't ring true to us. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. Sigh.
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding Again, why? Because a pack of little boys are shipwrecked and they revert to tribal instincts?
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume insensible, violent death is something kids never come in contact with?
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain See what I said about Huck Finn. Grrr.
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett Why? What's so controversial
about this book?
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
It shouldn't be so damn amazing to me that so many of these books have
sexuality as a theme. Yet it is. It's obvious that there are many
people out there who would really like young people---young women in
particular---to remain in the dark about what's going on with their
bodies when they hit puberty. Which is just wrong. What are people so
damn afraid of? That young girls might actually have a clue when it comes to maturing?
While there were many Judy Blume novels on the list, I noticed that all of them dealt with the problems young girls face. This
wasn't on there. This novel, I must admit, was my first introduction to
the curious male phenomena known as "nocturnal emissions." Why wasn't
it on the list? Hmmm? It should be if knowing anything about sexuality
is a bad thing. Or is it like I suspect and it's because it's about a
young boy coming of age? Oh, yes. They have to know what's going on because they have to instruct their wives on their wedding night... Good Gravy, people! Can't you see that your blatant sexist attitudes are showing?
I've got a little lecture for those who would ban books:
GET. OVER. IT. If it's in a public library, well, the chances
that it would be considered porn are slim. If you don't like it, well,
ahem, don't read it. Furthermore, if you don't want your kids reading
it, well, ahem again, make sure you know what they're checking out of
the biblioteca. Don't jump on the morality bandwagon and work to ban a
damn book because something offends you. Simply realize it's not for
you or yours, but that it might be for someone else. Stop limiting
others' choices because you get your knickers in a twist more easily
than other people. Grrrrr. Book banning makes me angry.