ALA 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books

[Dominique]

Props to zelda for this because I stole it straight off her blog (hope you don't mind )
It's banned books week from September 29–October 6, how many controversial books from this list have you read?
Most Challenged Between 1990 and 2000
www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

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

[Dominique]

7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

[Isa]

Very weird... also, you'd think The Da Vinci Code would be on the list, and Kate Chopin's The Awakening... Do they explain why these books are considered controversial? Many of them seem pretty harmless to me... In any case, I've read (and I'm not the worst for it!):

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
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
55. Cujo by Stephen King
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
77. Carrie by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

[Dominique]

I think The Awakening isn't on it because it's just books that were challenged to the ALA during the 90-00 timeslot, although that doesn't explain the Da Vinci code. I'm trying to find a good overall banned list now.

edit: it is surprising though that some controversial books are still being challenged and others aren't. I would have definately expected Lolita to be on there.

[Isa]

lol, I was doing the same thing! I found one on Wikipedia that is sort of interesting: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_books

[Isa]

Here's another more complete one: title.forbiddenlibrary.com/

It's crazy to see why some of those books got banned. I like the little non-objective comments...

[Dominique]

That looks like a good one, off it I've read-
Bible (not all of though obviously)
Black Beauty
Catcher in the Rye
Lolita
Nineteen Eighty-Four

It's good how the list says the reasons and where it was banned.

[Lu]

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
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

admin said:

Here's another more complete one: title.forbiddenlibrary.com/

It's crazy to see why some of those books got banned. I like the little non-objective comments...

I like that list with comments, it's interesting...
I think I didn't get the so called "sexually offensive" passages in Anne Frank's diary...but maybe I forgot about them... and, what about the reason for Alice Adventure in Wonderland? is it really true??
I read 13 from that list.

[Michelle]

I was just about to post another thread in the book forum when I saw this one. I love banned books week. My favorites are:

Harry Potter (of course)
Catcher in the Rye
The Giver
To Kill a Mockingbird
Slaughter-House Five
Lord of the Flies

Each year at my school, the American Constitutional Society celebrates banned books week by hosting a lunch where our professors read their favorite banned books week to us. It's a very fun event. This year, we got the most banned book of 2006, And Tango Makes Three, read to us like we were little kids. And we got excerpt of lots of other books.

To all non-Americans: I know that this is a big deal in the US. Are books banned in other countries like they are here?

[Lu]

Banned books week sounds fun
I can imagine it's a big deal!
I have never heard of a banned book until I started visiting some websites about Harry Potter, so in 2001, and I have to admit I was a little shocked...I had only heard of censorship of animated cartoon (especially from Japan) before. I don't think there are any banned books here, I'd like to add proudly that there's a perfect freedom of speech but I do not think it'd be exactly true (that's another problem I guess...).

[Carma]

A few weeks ago media started talking about banned books because some politician said everybody should be able to read adolph Hitlers 'Mein kampf'. I think the state owns the copyright of that book (here in Holland), and they aren't going to publish the book, so it's not really banned, but in a way it is... to make it less confusing..

[Kristie]

I understand what you mean, Carma. I really don't like censorship at all. I wrote a paper on it, how it's wrong!, and my teacher really liked it. I don't think it's a good idea because it lets people get to be really naive and that's bad.

Anyways, from the ALA list, I've read

3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

[katiaisme]

6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
43.The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
77. Carrie by Stephen King

[Hanna]

From the Forbidden Library I've read
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
- the Bible
- the Call of the Wild
- The Catcher in the Rye
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- A Doll's House
- Gone with the Wind
- Gulliver's Travels
- the Koran
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Little House in the Big Woods
- Little House on the Praerie
- To Kill a Mockingbird
there are a lot of books I really don't get how they managed to find offensive though...

[zeldafitzgerald]

Hehe of course I don't mind Dom!

Here are the ones I've read from the ALA list:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
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
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

I can't believe Where's Waldo was banned!