Books People Ban

I think it is always interesting to know what books people choose to ban.  The titles give me a little insight into them and their philosophy.  However, I also look at some of them and say "Whyyyyy?????"

Banned Books Week runs from September to October 2. Here are some of the titles banned in the past--you can tell which ones are current by the dates given, although several have been censored throughout many years. This is from a feature article in the AARP Bulletin.

Too Political (thought by some to be):

Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852
A Farewell to Arms, 1929
The Grapes of Wrath 1939 (our book club read this one as our classic this year)
Doctor Zhivago, 1957
Animal Farm, 1945

Too Much Sex:

Madame Bovary, 1856
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, 1891 (easily one of the most boring books I ever tried to read)
Peyton Place, 1956 (And it was badly written too)
Forever, 1975 (Hidden behind many student books at Cooper High School where I was librarian)
The Prince of Tides, 1986 ( a favorite of many baby-boomers)

Irreligious:

On the Origin of Species, 1859
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, 1954   (Whyyy??)
Bless Me, Ultima, 1972  (Now on every college reading list I know)
Harry Potter series, 1997-2009   (Whyyyyy????)

Socially Offensive:  (This category stimies me?  What is it really?)

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1791
The Scarlet Letter, 1850  (One of my all-time favorite books to teach)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Another all-time teachable book)
As I Lay Dying, 1930 (Another book I could never finish--I believe most people who read Faulkner have fallen love with his Southern persona more than with his books.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, 1947 (Why????)
The Catcher in the Rye, 1951 (The first book I got in trouble with as a librarian)
Fahrenheit 451, 1953 (A very important book that should be taught in every high school)
To Kill A Mockingbird, 1960 (Whyyy???)
James and the Giant Peach, 1961 (I just don't like Rouald Dahl)
The Color Purple, 1982
Cujo, 1981 ( I don't like Stephen King, either)

Of course not listed in the article and the most often censored book of all time is the Bible. Do you want a copy of it in your school library?

Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L'Engle's most honored children's book (won the Newbery Award) was also her most censored. Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times before being published.



It ranks #12 on the the list of the "50 most banned Books." The book went through several rounds of publishers before Farrar, Giroux ageed to publish it. It has sold over 6 million copies, and is now one of the most popular of the older Newberys. Censorship came because of the inclusion of witches--Remember Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which? It was in her own words "a different book" than most written for children in that it was science fiction which featured evil as a big disembodied brain called "It." But it also had sprititual themes which adult censors failed to recognize.

A great mind is stilled and with God.