Banned Book Week ran from October 1-7 this year. If you are unfamiliar with Banned Book Week, it is an annual event highlighting the value of free and open access to information via books. This year’s theme was “Let Freedom Read,” playing on the infamous song and first amendment right to free press. Although the event is supported by several organizations dedicated to free expression, this week is often a sad one.
Book censorship is a heavily debated topic in America these days. According to the American Library Association, book bans, completed and attempted, are at a record high. In the first 8 months of the year alone, there have been 695 challenges to library materials. The ALA considers a challenge to be a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” Reasonings behind said bans or challenges vary widely. Often, the content is deemed violent, sexually explicit, racist, or unsuitable for age groups. There are also several books that receive a challenge due to offensive language, religious viewpoints, or LGBTQIA+ content. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and to consume whatever media suits their interests. Out of respect for that, I will not be giving my personal views in this article. I encourage you to conduct your own research and arrive at your own. Instead, I will be walking us through a list of some of the most banned books in the country. Have you read any of them; do you look at them through a new lens?
Elementary/Children’s Books
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian
- This Day in June by Gayle Pittman
- Kittycorn by Shannon Hale
- The Lorax by Dr. Suess
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’engle
Middle Grade
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret By Judy Blume
- The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- The Fault in our Stars by John Green
High School and Beyond
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Mass
- Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood