Are You With the Banned?

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 as a response to a surge in challenges to books in libraries, schools, and stores. It brings together librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers in support of the freedom to read. Each year, the Office for Intellectual Freedom puts together a list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of the year, based on stories from the media and challenges which have been reported, and you can also check out lists of the most frequently challenged books and challenged classics on the American Library Association's website; they also have infographics which show challenges by reason, initiator, and and institution over the course of a decade. Readers are encouraged to get involved, via the Rebel Reader Twitter Tournament, Stand For the Banned Read-Out, and more.

There were 323 challenges reported in 2016 to the American Library Association [ALA]. A challenge is "an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group," according to the ALA, rather than an actual removal of the item, which is banning. The top ten for this year included graphic novels, children's fiction, picture books, young adult books, and one book of short stories written for adults. Not all the books were new - there were challenges on books published from 2005-2015 - and the challenges were varied. "May lead a student to 'sexual experimentation'," "challenged because of criminal sexual allegations against the author," "because of language, sex education, and offensive viewpoints," "includes LGBT characters, drug use, and profanity,"and for "being 'disgusting and all around offensive.'"

What you might not realize is that any book might be challenged. Less likely, perhaps, to make the top ten most challenged list are books of poetry and work by poets. The following list is taken from "Poetry's Place in the History of Banned Books," by Poets.org.

Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) by Charles Baudelaire: Banned in 1857 for eroticism, and, according to the judges, poems that “necessarily lead to the excitement of the senses.”

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Banned for alleged promotion of drug use and portrayal of anthropomorphized animals.

Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer: Banned for its criticism of the medieval church, as well as its obscene language and sexual content.

Amores (Loves) & Ars amatoria (Art of Love) by Ovid: Banned, challenged, and burned for sexual content.

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein: Banned for encouraging bad behavior and addressing topics some deemed inappropriate for children.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman: Famously “banned in Boston” in 1882 for sexual content.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare: In 2011, deemed inappropriate for Arizona schools, as the law prohibited courses that “promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Links

Banned Books Week

Banned and Challenged Books [American Library Association]

Banned Books Week on Facebook

Banned Books Week on YouTube

Banned Books Week 2017 to Celebrate Everybody's Freedom to Read [American Booksellers Association]

Banned Books Week infographic [ACLU]

Simon & Schuster Celebrates Banned Books Week

Banned Comics [Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]

Banned Books Week: Youth Books and Diversity

Banned Books Week is upon us, and this year's theme is young adult fiction. Before I delve into this topic, I'd like to share the difference between challenged books and banned books, which is explained on the American Library Association's website for banned books: "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."

I thought I'd take a deeper look at challenged young adult books, since many people are finding that challenged young adult books are correlated to diverse young adult books. Malinda Lo, author of Adaptation, Ash, Huntress, and Inheritance, wrote a post for Diversity in YA where she talks about the research she did and statistics she compiled in regard to challenged young adult books and diversity.

There is much to be said about what Malinda Lo has found. I had never considered that books that are challenged are the books that include diversity, and while this isn't always true, it's certainly something to think about. Mostly, I'm thinking about it in terms of how does it make me feel to know that books that are rich in diversity, such as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, are also frequently challenged? Given my interest in seeing more diversity in youth literature, it upsets me to see those books challenged, but then, it upsets me to see any book challenged, regardless of the presence of diversity or the reason for the challenge.

Diversity is so important because, as many authors, librarians, and readers have pointed out, people need to see themselves represented in books. It's also important because studies have shown that reading fiction can lead to an increase in empathy. If that's the case, then having diversity in youth fiction is good, as it'll increase the empathy youth have for others, and of course, for the adults who read youth fiction, it can increase our empathy, as well.

Here's another reason why diverse books are good: Yes, young adult fiction can touch on topics that might be uncomfortable. Youth literature in general can do that. But it's important that they do, not only because it lets people see themselves reflected in books and because it can increase empathy, but also because they can inspire families to start conversations about those topics.

To celebrate diversity in young adult fiction, and also to celebrate those diverse books that have been challenged, here's a list of some of my favorite YA novels that have been challenged, with the aspect of diversity they include in parentheses. (Note: While many people talk about diversity in terms of ethnicity, LGBTQ themes, mental illness, and disability, I also talk about it in terms of socioeconomic status, which I've included in my list.)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (ethnicity)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (mental illness)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (sexual orientation)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (socioeconomic status)
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (sexual orientation)

How will you be celebrating Banned Books Week this year?

Banned Books Week

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association.

Celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week, September 21-27! Banned Books Week is an annual event, taking place the last week of September, with the goal of "highlight[ing] the value of free and open access to information" [ALA]. This year's focus is banned or challenged comics and graphic novels, in light of recent challenges on the genre - perhaps most famously, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.

From bannedbooksweek.org:

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 307 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2013, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2013 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
2. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

Links

Banned Books Week

American Library Association: About Banned and Challenged Books

Banned Books That Shaped America

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: Banned Comics

Banned Books Week!

Each year libraries, booksellers, publishers, teachers and readers across the country celebrate our freedom to read whatever we want with Banned Books Week. Now in its 29t^h year, Banned Books Week is a chance for us to reflect on how important it is to have access to a wide range of perspectives and opinions in the books we read, even if that includes things we personally don't like or agree with.

Take a look at the American Library Association's list of banned and/or challenged classics to see some of the history of book challenges in the US and elsewhere, and then check out one of the most commonly challenged books of 2010 and see what you think:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson;
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie;
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley;
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins;
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins;
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend;
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones;
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich;
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie;
10. 
    Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
    
    
    For even more banned books, visit the library! Several of our branches have "Banned Book" displays to help you find something someone (but not us!) doesn't want you to read!
    
    
    
    
    
    

Banned Books Week

This year Banned Books Week is September 25th-October 2nd. Here are some of ALA's activity ideas for the week-what you can do to fight censorship, keep books available in your libraries, and promote the freedom to read!

Stay informed. If you read or hear about a challenge at your school or public library, support your librarian and free and open access to library materials. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom estimates they learn of only 20 to 25 percent of book challenges. Let us know if there is a challenge in your community. Find out what the policy is for reviewing challenged materials at your school or public library. Join the Intellectual Freedom Action News (IFACTION) e-list.

Organize your own Banned Books Week at your school, public library, or favorite bookstore.

Help spread the word about Banned Books Week by downloading the Banned Books web badges on our Free Downloads page and hosting them on your blogs and home pages. You can also create a public service announcement (see our sample PSA script for ideas).

Get involved. Go to school board meetings. Volunteer to help your local school or public library create an event that discusses the freedom to read and helps educate about censorship—maybe a First Amendment film festival, a readout, a panel discussion, an author reading or a poster contest for children illustrating the concept of free speech.

Speak out. Write letters to the editor, your public library director and your local school principal supporting the freedom to read. Talk to your neighbors and friends about why everyone should be allowed to choose for themselves and their families what they read. Encourage your governor, city council and/or mayor to proclaim "Banned Books Week - Celebrating the Freedom to Read" in your state or community. See our sample letter to the editor for ideas.

Exercise your rights! Check out or re-read a favorite banned book. Encourage your book group to read and discuss one of the books. Give one of your favorite books as a gift. Click the following link for a list of books banned or challenged 2009-2010 or visit the ALA's Frequently Challenged Books page.

Join the Freedom to Read Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to the legal and financial defense of intellectual freedom, especially in libraries. You can also support the cause by buying Banned Books Week posters, buttons and T-shirts online.

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

"The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."
--from the ALA website

The American Library Association (ALA)has a lot of great information about Banned Books Week, which is celebrated from September 26-October 3 this year. This includes lists of Frequently Challenged Books by year by author, and by decade. They also feature some easily understood bannedbooksweek.org is another good resource, featuring tips on what you can do and a map of book censorship.

Here's some banned or challenged classics you might consider adding to your reading list:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Color Purple by Alice Walker