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this list And people who want to ban these books should be ashamed of themselves!!
Frequently Challenged Books
Each year, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the
top ten most frequently challenged books. To ensure that we include all
challenges, we wait until the very end of the year to compile the information.
You can expect each year's list to appear in February of the following year at
the latest.
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in
recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there
are as many as four or five which go unreported.
The most frequently challenged
books of 2007
The following books were the most frequently challenged in 2007:
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 420 challenges
last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a
library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or
appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for
Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported,
and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist
of the following titles:
1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons:
Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited
to Age Group
2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit,
Offensive Language, Violence
3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and
Offensive Language
4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious
Viewpoint
5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons:
Racism
6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually
Explicit, Offensive Language,
7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive
Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually
Explicit
9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education,
Sexually Explicit
10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons:
Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
Off the list this year, are two books by author Toni Morrison. "The Bluest
Eye" and "Beloved," both challenged for sexual content and offensive
language.
The most frequently challenged
authors of 2007
1) Robert Cormier
2) Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3) Mark
Twain
4) Toni Morrison
5) Philip Pullman
6) Kevin Henkes
7) Lois
Lowry
8) Chris Crutcher
9) Lauren Myracle
10) Joann Sfar
How is the list of most challenged
books tabulated?
The American Library Association (ALA) collects information from two sources:
newspapers and reports submitted by individuals, some of whom use the Challenge
Database Form. All challenges are compiled into a database. Reports of
challenges culled from newspapers across the country are compiled in the
bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom (published by the ALA, $40 per
year); those reports are then compiled in the Banned Books Week Resource Guide.
Challenges reported to the ALA by individuals are kept confidential. In these
cases, ALA will release only the title of the book being challenged, the state
and the type of institution (school, public library). The name of the
institution and its town will not be disclosed.
