rssTop 10 Banned Books in America
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm
- 35 Comments
The topic of book banning entered the national conversation since the public started hearing about Sarah Palin’s inquiry into censoring books at the Wasilla, Alaska, public library when she was mayor. (Check out the Mat-Su Frontiersman’s 1996 coverage of the controversy, dug up from the archives in Wasilla by TWI’s Laura McGann.)
At the time, Palin didn’t specify which books she wanted removed from the shelves.
ABC reports that at the same time Palin was involved in the library controversy, her church was pushing to do away with a book about a teenager addicted to drugs, “Go Ask Alice,” and preacher Howard Bess’ “Pastor, I Am Gay.”
Wasilla church-goers’ efforts to ban gay literature is much like campaigns in other communities across country. Sexuality, it seems, is regarded as one of the most controversial book topics in the United States.
TWI decided to find out just what books are the most challenged in the nation. So here’s the American Library Assn.’s list of the books subject to the most requests for removal from libraries or curricula in 2007, the latest year data is available.
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35 Comments
Comment posted September 11, 2008 @ 10:40 am
Actually, “And Tango Makes Three” is about chinstrap penguins, not puffins. I've read it to my children so many times I can probably recite it from memory! It is also a true story, which apparently rubs some people the wrong way.
Comment posted January 25, 2009 @ 6:00 am
Thanks for sharing the list. Are these books still banned..
Comment posted January 25, 2009 @ 6:00 am
Thanks for sharing the list. Are these books still banned.
Comment posted January 31, 2009 @ 11:24 am
nice article! nice site. you're in my rss feed now ;-)
keep it up
Comment posted March 24, 2009 @ 12:24 pm
It all depends on the school on whether they're banned, because you can find most of these in book stores, so it's not like they're banned all together (like the Exorcist book in Ireland – they're not allowed to have it at all there because of the religious stuff.) My school hasn't ever had any of these on the curriculum, but I’ve seen other lists with books that are still being read in high school English classes at my school, but others on different lists have been removed from the curriculum. I have personally only read TTYL on this list (and I’ve seen the Golden Compass movie), but the reasons they provide here for TTYL are all true about the book, but it’s a teen book, so it’s not like it’s a bad book for teens, it’s kind-of like our lives online.
Comment posted March 24, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
It all depends on the school on whether they're banned, because you can find most of these in book stores, so it's not like they're banned all together (like the Exorcist book in Ireland – they're not allowed to have it at all there because of the religious stuff.) My school hasn't ever had any of these on the curriculum, but I’ve seen other lists with books that are still being read in high school English classes at my school, but others on different lists have been removed from the curriculum. I have personally only read TTYL on this list (and I’ve seen the Golden Compass movie), but the reasons they provide here for TTYL are all true about the book, but it’s a teen book, so it’s not like it’s a bad book for teens, it’s kind-of like our lives online.
Comment posted March 23, 2010 @ 3:22 am
You mean some homosexual penguins actually raised an orphan penguin?
Comment posted June 28, 2010 @ 4:04 am
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Comment posted September 22, 2010 @ 3:41 pm
Actually, “And Tango Makes Three” is about chinstrap penguins, not puffins. I've read it to my children so many times I can probably recite it from memory! It is also a true story, which apparently rubs some people the wrong way.
Comment posted September 26, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
Their only banned in some places. We read Huck Fin for school. And the Perks of Being a Wallflower was on a list of books that we could pick from to do a report on.
And I don't think those are in order…
There are some ridiculous books that have been banned… There are a ton of fantastic books on the decade's most banned books list… People that ban books should probably read them first… just a suggestion
Comment posted February 17, 2011 @ 7:09 pm
I’ve always said the best thing concerned parents can do is talk to their children and encourage discussion, rather than trying to censor things. Censorship sends the wrong message.
Pingback posted March 15, 2011 @ 9:37 am
[...] Top 10 Banned Books in America | The Washington IndependentWasilla church-goers’ efforts to ban gay literature is much like campaigns in other communities across country. Sexuality, it seems, is regarded as one of the most controversial book topics in the United States. [...]
Comment posted April 4, 2011 @ 11:03 am
You have a great sense of writing I must confess.
Comment posted April 4, 2011 @ 11:03 am
You have a great sense of writing I must confess.
Comment posted August 3, 2011 @ 5:04 pm
No. The penguins were not homosexual. That was a sham story perpetuated by a left-wing media outlet with an agenda to promote. They did take care of the baby, but there was absolutly no evidence they were homosexual. In fact, there is no empirical evidence that any animals practice homosexuality. Many males of a species, being social creatures, may cohabitate due to lack of suitable females, but this is not the same as being homosexual.
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