It's Banned Books Week, and the American Library Association suggests we get out there and read some banned/challenged books. I for one have read quite a few of the most-often challenged books, including these: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and Deenie by Judy Blume, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, The Pigman by Paul Zindel, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, The Dead Zone and Carrie by Stephen King, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, Ordinary People by Judith Guest, Song of Solomon and Beloved by Toni Morrison, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. How 'bout you?
I had a friend in grad school that had a goal of reading all 100 most banned books - she had read quite a few of the list already, but she was working her way down the list. The NY Public Library has an exhibit this week about banned books, it looks interesting - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/books/26book.html?pagewanted=all
Posted by: kathy | September 28, 2005 at 11:47 AM
It's hard to believe that with all the real problems this world faces, some people are going to use their time, money, and energy to fight over whether a book is available at the library. If you don't want to read a particular book, or you don't want your kids to read it, fine. But leave it for someone else, please.
Thanks for the link,
Posted by: Karen | September 28, 2005 at 12:02 PM
I've read many of those books too; our younger daughter(high school sophomore) read Of Mice and Men for her summer reading assignment and wrote a paper on it. I don't understand banning books--never have. It is too reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
Posted by: Margaret | September 28, 2005 at 11:28 PM
from the list of what you have read I have read 13 books.
Posted by: Mquest | September 30, 2005 at 09:05 AM
I have also read 25 out of the 100 books on the list
Posted by: Mquest | September 30, 2005 at 09:27 AM
I wonder why A Light in the Attic was banned?
Posted by: bearette24 | September 30, 2005 at 12:49 PM
Oh, you're going to love this: It "encourages children to be mischievous."
Posted by: Karen | September 30, 2005 at 02:20 PM