Beth's comments (member since Oct 26, 2008)

Beth's comments from the Banned Books group.

Check out this video by YA author Maureen Johnson - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8aLRBhNU... in regards to challenge in Florida for Gossip Girls & Maureen's book Bermudez Triangle. There is also a challenge for Chris Crutcher's book, Whale Talk - for details check here: http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/blo...

ALA just came out with their list of the most frequently challenged books for 2008. I thought others on this list might be interested.

"The ALA's Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1. "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. "His Dark Materials Trilogy" (Series), Philip Pullman
Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

3. "TTYL"; "TTFN"; "L8R, G8R" (Series), Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

4. "Scary Stories" (Series), Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

5. "Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence

6. "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group

7. "Gossip Girl" (Series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

8. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group

9. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

10. "Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

Six titles were dropped from the list, including: "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier (challenged for sexually explicit content, offensive language and violence); "Olive's Ocean," by Kevin Henkes (for sexually explicit content and offensive language); "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain (for racism); "The Color Purple," by Alice Walker (for homosexuality, sexually explicit content and offensive language); "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou (for sexually explicit content); and "It's Perfectly Normal," by Robie Harris (for sexually explicit content).

For more information on book challenges and censorship, please visit the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom's Banned Books Week Web site at www.ala.org/bbooks."

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/n...

I have a "I read banned books" pin from ALA that I like to wear this time of the year. I got it last year and didn't get much response (except from my brother-in-law, not a good family time!) but this year I had 2 different teenagers commit on the pin and both were amazed that book banning happened in the USA! I was "happy" to tell them that it did happen because the more people who are aware of the situation, the better! Maybe they will see a display at the library or a bookstore and pick one up to read.