Banned Books

Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) hosts Banned Books Week, to bring attention to censorship and some of the amazing books that are often its victim.

We know I like lists by now, right? I like lists. Below is a list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 1990-2000.

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 (Read in high school, loved)
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (should read)
   
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (should read)
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (Read it, durr.)
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (I hate this book.)
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman (Isn’t it interesting that the one about gay men is #2 but lesbians doesn’t quite make the top 10?)
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Read it in high school, LOVED it.)
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry (Let me guess–it’s too much like communism, right? Get over it.)
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris (Heaven forbid we tell children about their bodies.)
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine (These should be banned just for poor quality, nevermind the content.)
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck (I hated this book. In 7th grade. MUST we always give depressing literature to middle schoolers?)
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna (“Erotic, erotic, put your hands all over my body…”)
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 (We used to have the whole series but I never finished them; I lost interest after the twins in the desert. The Biblical references meant nothing to me.)
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 (?! I LOVED THE WITCHES!!)
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 (Another of my favorite books!)
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 (Girls, especially, should never learn anything about what their SINFUL bodies are for!)
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Read it in 9th grade.)
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (The movie was… whom’ I kidding, neither compelled me, even with young Robe Lowe.)
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 (I heard weird shit about this in 7th grade.)
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 (WOT!? How–!? Shel Silverstein is the master poet for kids!!)
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (This beats 1984? Seriously? Probably for the prolific sex-happy-drug connections.)
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (*hackcough* Yeah, no kidding… I’ve only read the opening chapter because it made me laugh too much.)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole (You’re not allowed to ask, didn’t you hear?)
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (…you’re kidding me, right? Is this a Freudian thing they’re complaining about? Or did the giant bugs give them nightmares? Or maybe it’s the universal theme in children’s literature of YOUR PARENTS ARE STUPID.)
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy (This title is almost redundant!)
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 (For some reason, I liked these books.)
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (I got a copy for Christmas! ^_^)
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (I HATE THIS BOOK. That said, everyone should read it once.)
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday (Hellooooo…)
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya (In my high school, we studied the ‘magic realism’ in this book so we could talk about other cultures. Apparently, in other schools, they scream about witchcraft.)
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 (Now that… that was an interesting book. Because the kid was JERKASS. 7th grade scores again!)
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 (Hurry, Tom, Huck is winning!)
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 (…I’m going to need to see the forms to believe this.)
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

I have read about 18 of these books.

This year, pick a book from the list and blog about it.