Banned Books Meme

[thewayne]

This is the list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged books from 1990-2004 as compiled by the American Library Association, more info at http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm. Another source for banned books is our friends at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_books which has reasons why some books were banned. I was quite surprised by the amount of Roald Dahl that has been challenged.

The difference between challenged and banned books is that a challenge is sort of a formal complaint about a book, objecting to it on some basis. Basically it's the complaint preceding the ban.

SO, here's the meme part: bold the books that you've read. I'm making it a personal goal in 2006 to try and read as many of these as I can, though there are many here that I won't bother with just as a matter of personal taste.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier


So it looks like I've only read six. I'm definitely going to have to improve on that.

Comments

[joecthulhu.livejournal.com]

That's better than me. I wouldn't want to read everything on the list.

For instance; I don't care for Steven King.

Why some of these books are on the list may be as interesting than the books themselves. For instance, I'm fairly sure Judy Blume is on this list because she writes both juvinile and adult fiction, and the adult fiction is fairly graffic, and parents have often been fooled by their kids bringing an adult Blume book into the home to read. I read one as a teanager than doesn't appear on this list, but probably did 20 years ago.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not a King fan either. Or, for example, #s 40 & 61. Russet said that Blume got her through her teenage years, I found that amusing. And here us guys were happy with Erin Gray on TV. :)

[deborak]

I've read 32 of them, either in jr high/high school or during the 6 years I worked at a library (the latter was where I read most of the children's books). With the exception of Harry Potter titles, not a one of them was read in recent memory.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

So are we going to see your list of what you've read? ;)

[deborak]

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
Blubber by Judy Blume
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Cujo by Stephen King
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Carrie by Stephen King
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

How is the Goosebumps series? I was rather surprised to see it on the list.

Russet says they had a Potter burning in Alamogordo a few years ago. I would have loved to have gone to that to argue with some of the burners! I also need to find that web site where the guy tries to make all of the D&D 1st level spells work.... Russ hadn't heard of that and thought the concept was pretty funny.

[cardigirl.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised you hadn't come across more of them, Wayne. In turn, I'm actually a little surprised at the number I had read, or at least looked over. Don't know that I'll count as high as Deb, but I'm stealing this meme so you can check it out there when I post. ;)

Good on you for aiming to read more of them! Just realize that some are banned for the most spurious of reasons (Sendak's Night Kitchen, for example, has the dreaded frontal nudity of a little boy... in the drawings.)

[magic-rat.livejournal.com]

I've only read five on the list: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New World, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I saw the movie for Private Parts but have never bothered to read the book.

I know the list only says "book", but I'm not sure if picture books should really be included. And having said that, Sex is the only picture book that I recognize on the list. I'm surprised that there aren't any from Robert Mapplethorpe (hope I spelled his name correctly).

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

Interesting point. I really liked Maplethorpe's photography, he had a great eye. I've never seen Madonna's Sex, so I don't know how much text is in it. My guess would be that even if Sex was more photo than text, that still it was much more of a mainstream release whereas a Maplethorpe book would be more of an art/coffee table book and wouldn't draw as much attention. Still controversial, but not enough to hit the radar of those who would be likely to challenge it (perhaps).

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was pretty amazed to read why Sendak was banned. Such a strange country that we have, massive violence in media is the norm but flash a nipple for a tenth of a second on TV and be damned.

[slashophile.livejournal.com]

I was surprised to see Where's Waldo, truthfully. Can you tell me? I'm confused. Read a bit though mostly b/c of school.

[slashophile.livejournal.com]

I really liked Maplethorpe's photography

Gorgeous stuff.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

Apparently in Waldo there was a topless mermaid. The drawing didn't show any detailed genitalia, but still there was enough of something for some pea-brain to object to.

[slashophile.livejournal.com]

Now that's just silly. Kids pay no attention to that.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

Silly or not, it got someone's knickers in a bunch. And that's all it takes.