Banned Books: Protecting Our Society or Infringing on Freedom of Speech?
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HERE'S WHAT I THINK
Banned Books: Protecting Our Society or Infringing on Freedom of Speech?
Challenging or banning books is a practice as old as the history of writing books. Throughout time, governments, religious organizations, and other groups ban books determined as controversial or against societal norms. In the beginning, burning books was an effective means of destroying the controversial material because of limited printing. With larger publishing capability and the Internet's vast reach, burning books is a little less effective, but it is still done.
Challenging or banning books is not limited to a particular country or time period -- there are banned books in every country today. Every year in the U.S., hundreds of books are challenged to be removed from classrooms and libraries.
The debate is whether this is a good practice, not whether the practice exists. Pro banners cite authors' works are too immoral, deviant, and could cause aberrant behavior. Anti banners cite books should be protected for the authors' freedom of speech.
Is banning books a good idea for society? In my opinion, I don't think so. While I believe in the power of words and the need for social rules, I do not think banning books helps control society. I think banning books infringes on an author's freedom of speech and prevents people from experiencing new ideas.
Image courtesy of American Library Association - Banned Books Week
ALA List of Banned or Challenged Books
100 Banned Books: How Many Have You Read?
The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) records the most challenged or banned over the years. The OIF has only been recording this data since 1990, so frequently banned authors or books prior to that date aren't included. Most of these books are considered "classic literary" in today's world, and actually 42 of the books are on the Radcliffe Publishing Course list of the century's top 100 novels.
Can you IMAGINE your life if censoring these books had been effective? For a moment, imagine these books banned forever -- and banned from every classroom, library, and home in every country across the globe.
Posters have commented that some of these books are "challenged" at the school level from being required reading or included in the school libraries. Find out why: Reasons for Frequently Challenged Books.
How many of these challenged or banned books have you read?
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
21. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
22. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
23. Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
31. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
32. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
34. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
35. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
37. The World According to Garp by John Irving
38. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
39. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
40. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
41. Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
42. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
43. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
44. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
45. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
46. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
47. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
51. My Antonia by Willa Cather
52. Howards End by E. M. Forster
53. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
54. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
55. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
56. Jazz by Toni Morrison
57. Sophie's Choice by William Styron
58. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
59. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
60. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
61. A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor
62. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
63. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
64. Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
65. Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
66. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
68. Light in August by William Faulkner
69. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
70. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
71. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
72. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
73. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
76. Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
77. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
78. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
79. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
80. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
81. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
82. White Noise by Don DeLillo
83. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
84. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
85. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
86. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
87. The Bostonians by Henry James
88. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
89. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
90. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
91. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
92. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
93. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
94. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
95. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
96. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
97. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
98. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster
99. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
100. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
September 30, 2012 - October 6, 2012
Countdown to ALA Banned Books Week
Banned Book Week
September 30, 2012 - October 6, 2012
Thanks to librarians, teachers, and communities of concerned citizens, many books are not banned. One of the missions of Banned Books Week is to spread awareness of the dangers of limiting freedom of speech, while celebrating the power of words.
To learn more, please visit the ALA's site and information on Banned Books Week.
- ALA | Banned Books Week
- Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted.
Hot News on Toni Morrison
Author of the Banned Book, Beloved
This news is updated once a day, so check back for updated stories!
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More News on Banned Books
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- EFE Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet A caravan of writers and activists will cross several states to "smuggle" books into Arizona by Hispanic authors that had been "banned" in Tucson public schools as part of a move against Mexican-American ...
YOUR TURN!
Banned Books: Protecting Our Society or Infringing on Freedom of Speech?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, you're right!
SRitchieable says:
I'M AGAINST BANNING BOOKS. I was once in a school which subscribed to the 'ban books' mentality; the principal/etc came up with an 'approved' book list. All it had on it were a few (pedestrian) books about 'science experiments to do at home' and (horse novel) "Black Beauty"! Who decided "Black Beauty" was 'safe to read'? But you weren't allowed to ask questions like that at that school, one didn't even know who had created the 'safe booklist' so one could ask them about their methodology. I live in a family that loves books, I love books and I say books should be freely available. The most 'censorship' I want is a simple 'rating box' (like they have on movies) for some of the more extreme material - just so you know what to expect when you pick it up.
Posted January 27, 2012
manlalakbay says:
Why they have to ban books? In the first place, most of us are living in a democratic country so we have rights to express our thoughts and opinions in a polite way. Besides, if they do that, it is automatically depriving our rights. Anyway, I wonder why "The Lord of the Rings" is included in Banned books as well the this one that made me laugh, (Winnie the Pooh). Great lens! :)
Posted January 25, 2012
abbiewolff says:
Banning books is equivalent to banning free speech. I can understand why people would prefer to protect their children from reading hate speech, like a book published in support of the KKK or Nazi opinions, how to make a bomb, why someone is a rapist (in support of rape), etc.... Yet, I still believe that banning or burning books is a moral judgment that squashes free speech. Yes, I abhor hateful acts, homophobia, racism, and the like, things which infest and infect our societies and hurt people, but... it's not right to tell people what they can and cannot say or think or believe. Period.
Posted January 24, 2012
collettehrock says:
What is the mind like of the people that ban books? What makes them a leading authority on what we need to read? I have seen books banned that have made me wonder what is going on in the mind of the censor.
Posted January 19, 2012
skiesgreen says:
Closing minds through prejudicial officialdom is a trip back to the Dark Ages. Banning books is abuse of our intelligence and should not be tolerated.
Posted January 19, 2012
LoveEmbroidery says:
That's incredible! I read most of those books when I was in school. They were considered classics, literature. Instead of banning them, they should be used as opportunities to teach how to read a book critically.
Posted January 18, 2012
Steve_Kaye says:
The practice of banning books is counter to the fundamental concept of having a society based on personal freedom. In almost all cases the people who ban books are the ones we need to be afraid of.
Posted January 18, 2012
MaxReily says:
Attempts at book banning spring from ignorance,fear, prejudice or a combination of the three. I may not agree with what someone else's choice of reading material but that doesn't give me the right to say no one should be able to read it. If you're afraid your kids will read something you don't approve, monitor what they read. You can decide what your kids should read--you can't decide what MINE should read. It's everyone's choice. Some people see a new idea, some see subversion. Some see a love story--others see pornography. It's simple: If you're an adult--the choice is yours. If you have children, by all means, oversee your children's choices. But don't try to make the choice for everyone.
Posted January 18, 2012
VTsquared says:
As far as protecting "society" by restricting what books are permitted in school libraries, it's ultimately the parents' job to monitor what their children read and make that decision for their own families. Banning books altogether is a violation of free speech.
Posted January 18, 2012
TheCureForYouthMinistry says:
This is all about what is relevant and who decides that. Someone says, " Ban that book!" Who's said? By what standard? It's really an all or nothing proposition isn't it? What we allow in libraries is different than what we allow in your homes. Parents, watch your kids and we will not need to ban anything.
Posted January 18, 2012
baby-strollers says:
This is a great lens. Freedom is important at all costs - right up until you impinge on the freedoms of someone else. Otherwise, banning is out!
Posted January 18, 2012
jenms says:
I've read a good chunk of the books on the list and have always despised the practice of "challenging" books for removal - let alone banning them. I support freedom of speech.
Posted January 18, 2012
IanMayfield says:
It's true that most moves to ban books nowadays - in the West, at least - happen at the school level, but that's no excuse.
If a parent doesn't want their child reading a particular book, that's their business, and - if it's a curriculum text - something they should take up with the teacher or school board with a view to assigning their delicate little muppet something less controversial as an alternative.
Insisting that NO child should be able to read the book is busybodying at best and an abdication of parental responsibility at worst.
Posted January 18, 2012
RawBill says:
Books should never be banned. Same goes for information on the internet. I believe in freedom of speech and having the freedom to choose ourselves what is best for us and our children. We should have a right to choose based on all information presented, not just the information that the powers to be want us to see.
Posted January 18, 2012
ChrissLJ says:
Infringing. Most books are challenged because they don't fit with an individual's idea of right and wrong. For example, many books with LGBT characters have been challenged by religious groups because it goes against their religious beliefs. I don't believe any outside group should tell me what is or is not moral for me to read.
Posted January 18, 2012
Alethia says:
I don't like even the idea of banning books. If we feel that a book requires some discretion, maybe we should start thinking about implementing some sort of disclaimer at the front of such books. Or as we do for movies, rate them. Especially in America where we cherish the 1st amendment so much, it is completely and utterly wrong that we cannot read some books. I do disagree that some of the books on the list aren't really banned, though. Most of the books on the list I had read, were actually read because of school requirement. I am glad that at least my school was able to overlook some the derogatory terms and usages in the books (they are afterall written in a particular time period) and were able to commend the book for its literary value.
Posted January 18, 2012
BunnyFabulous says:
In general, I'm against the banning of books. However, there are levels of age-appropriateness for certain books. There are books with themes that probably aren't the wisest to have in an elementary school library.
Posted January 18, 2012
MyTimeAlone says:
Another instance of an individual or group beleiving they have the one and only right to decide what is good for everyone else. Nice job. I don't know why some commentors have stated things like, "for the most part" ... you either want to ban them or you do not. There is no fence sitting. You censor or not.
Posted January 18, 2012
No way, Monkeybrain!
MobileAppMan says:
Banning books is akin to putting a blindfold on your eyes and earplugs in your ears. These put you to sleep as banning books puts freedom to sleep. The choices for answers below aren't so helpful, by the way. Which one says that I am AGAINST banning books?
Posted January 27, 2012
CherryTriggerCola says:
I read many of these challenged books in high school as part of our curriculum and I feel it has shaped me into being a better. person. I actually read To Kill a Mockingbird in 4th grade as my own choice and to get a head start on the high school reading list. It is a book that has definitely shaped my life for the good rather than the bad. I agree that books that teach us how to kill others or do illegal things should banned but fiction work that deals with true struggles of life should not be. Any book in that challenged or banned list can be dispassionately discussed. It is the teacher or school's fault who decides to use that book for their own agenda like trying to brainwash us into certain beliefs. Banning or unbanning/not banning books is just a power struggle. If any of you paid attention in History or had a good enough teacher at some point in your school life, you learn that history is written by the winners and losers are silenced or it is hard to get information from their perspective.
Posted January 26, 2012
Don_McCyclist says:
Overall, I support the idea of people being able to share ideas and images freely and responsibly. However, I do believe there are areas where the issue isn't so easy to determine. Do we always trust teachers' judgment as to appropriate classroom texts? How do we respond if a teacher chooses texts that most would consider harmful particularly to juvenile pupils? Are all attempts by school boards and administrators to prevent inappropriate texts from being used by teachers who report to them the same as attempts to make the books totally disappear?
I would generally prefer to trust the judgment of teachers, but, having made some choices former students of mine thought not suited, I have some idea of the kind of pressures people with still greater responsibility may face to exclude texts many consider offensive from being taught in their institutions.
Thanks for the thought-provoking visit to a fascinating ethical issue on Squidoo!
Posted January 25, 2012
BuddyBink says:
You would think, at least in this country, the sacred right to freedom of speech would be protected. Unless, of course, one is trying to do harm. If there is no harm then it is an infringement.
Posted January 18, 2012
ajgodinho says:
I really don't support banning books, but again just like we do not support speech or action that is racist, prejudicial, etc., we need to draw the line. I know it's easier said than done, though!
Posted January 18, 2012
Frankster says:
I do have a problem with banning books, however, I do not feel the same about books that are: how to kill, how to make a bomb; how to hold a dog fight or cock fight, etc. should be able to be published. These are felonies if you do the deed so telling or showing people how to do them should be banned.
Posted January 18, 2012
oxfordian says:
I agree with MaxReily when she says "Attempts at book banning spring from ignorance,fear, prejudice or a combination of the three" ... except I'd add arrogance to the list. But I think "banned" is too strong a word for what is going on today. All these books can be bought and sold anywhere. These "banning" attempts are done these days only by elementary/middle schools and, as you say, by some religious authorities, but they are made feeble by the fact that, as you also mentioned, there are no laws to back them up and, of course, by the power of the internet. Laws preventing the publishing or selling of a book, that's what I would call "banning."
Posted January 18, 2012
leahjsongs says:
I think that legal adults, those who legislate, enforce and judge the law, should have free access, ut that it is irresponsible for adults to put literature that is too mature, graphic, or violent into the hands of our schoolchildren. I support the ban through the school years, or at least a rating system (like movies) for books in school and public libraries. Teachers are not allowed to show just any movie in their classroom-- a PG-13 film shown to 4th graders would cause firings and a lawsuit. Books should be treated the same way.
Posted January 18, 2012
goldenecho says:
PS: The last time a book was actually banned in the US was in the 60s. The ALA yearly list just reflects challenges to books being offered in libraries (mainly elementary, middle school, and high school libraries)...but these books can still be bought and sold legally at any bookstore. One exception is childrens books with play value (like bath books) published before 1985 that have not been through the expensive testing required by the CPSIA...these can not be sold except as "collectors items." I'm not exactly against that, but I am thankful that the restriction has been limited to only books with play value. When the CPSIA was first passed ALL children's books published before 1985 were likewise restricted, even though there had never been a documented case of a child being harmed because of lead content in the inks used to print regular books. A recent amendment to the bill excluded regular children's books from the restriction, but not before millions of Childrens books were thrown in dumpsters by public libraries and thrift stores. Many of these books were out of print.
Posted January 18, 2012
John_Michael says:
I've read most of the books on the list ... it's given me insights beyond what I can get from others
Posted January 18, 2012
GiselleToner says:
Although freedom of speech is much publicized and often over-hyped concept in our culture, there are books out there that promote hatred, religious intolerance and racism to name a few. How can we expose our coming generations to such works. I dislike censorship as much as the next person but one person's freedom should not cause pain to a lot of others. A very good example can be of Anti-Jewish or Anti-Muslim literature that promote hatred.
Posted January 18, 2012
goldenecho says:
Many of the books on the banned and challenged list of the ALA are not really "banned" but just restricted to adult venues. Some of the parents challenging these books are not even asking that books be taken out of school libraries, but just that their children not be required to read them. And a book not being REQUIRED is not exactly limiting freedom of speech.
In other countries you can be killed or jailed just for having certain books the government disapproves of. When parents here in the US request that their children not be exposed to explicit or violent reading content until they are older...well, that's hardly comparable.
Posted January 18, 2012
Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries says:
School Superintendents May Remove Explicit Books Immediately; Waterland by Graham Swift Removed from Salem High School, Canton, MI
http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2011/12/school-superintendents-may-remove.html
Posted December 26, 2011
HELP ME PROVE MY POINT
If you agree, add links (proof!) that help me make my case
Add a link that makes my case.
Google Books: Celebrate Your Freedom to Read
Catch-22. A Farewell to Arms. Of Mice and Men. Hai more...1 point
First Amendment Center: Libraries & First Amendment in Speech
By Claire Mullally
"Local school boards may not more...0 points
ALA | Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose more...0 points
"And Tango Makes Three": The Most Banned Book In 2008 « Logical Complex Infinitive
The book has won several literary and library awar more...0 points
The 11 Most Surprising Banned Books (PHOTOS, POLL)
Even though it's not banned books week, the issue more...0 points
Banned Books Week 2010
Banned Books Week 2010, Amnesty International dire more...0 points
Freedom Is The First Amendment
The First Amendment to the Constitution goes into more...0 points
List of books banned by governments - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are no books currently being banned in the U more...0 points
Shakespeare's The Tempest banned in Arizona schools an law bans 'ethnic studies' | Mail Online
The Tuscon Unifed School District has announced th more...0 points
Read Banned Books
Buy Classic Books on Amazon
Tell The World - Banned Books Spread Knowledge
Show others that banned books have had a profound and positive aspect on our society - say it on a tee, magnet, tote, or cap.
Banned Books Women's T-Shirt
Everything I Needed to Know About Life
I Learned From Banned Books
Price: 
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I Read Banned Books
The Bible
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
.... (click the link for more listed books on this tote)
Price:
DISPROVE MY POINT (fine, be that way)
Disagree? Put your money where your mouth is and show us why.
Post links that point out why you think I'm wrong.
Sarah Palin, aspiring book banner? | Jacket Copy | Los Angeles Times
Time magazine, in its reporting on John McCain's v more...1 point
Protesters in Dallas Texas target Marcus Blake
Groups held signs and passed out flyers to people more...0 points
Schools chief bans book on penguins - The Boston Globe
The Charlotte schools superintendent and his top l more...0 points
The Common Room: Banned Books Week
She makes the case that the books on the ALA list more...0 points
RELATED NEWS: FODDER FOR ARGUING MORE
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- Caravan Will Take "Banned Books" to Arizona
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- Kalima publishes “Banned Books”
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- Scholastic Parent & Child ® Magazine Unveils Their List of "100 Greatest Books ...
- 15, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Parent & Child® magazine today released its "100 Greatest Books for Kids" issue celebrating literary excellence. Earning the coveted top spot is the 1952 best-selling children's novel Charlotte's Web by acclaimed ...
What's On Your Bookshelf? What Banned Books are Your Favorites?
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whodiesinthenewharrypotterbook
Jan 30, 2012 @ 5:19 am | delete
- When I saw you lens title, I thought about Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. I do not see it in the list. Is it so banned that it is banned even from the banned books list?
Just asking...
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SRitchieable
Jan 27, 2012 @ 8:38 pm | delete
- WIND IN THE WILLOWS! I love "Wind in the Willows" (see a short discussion on my lens http://www.squidoo.com/reading-classics-and-enjoying-it) - there is absolutely nothing in there that could (or should) be BANNED. Who decided "Wind in the Willows" should be banned or restricted? Did they ever read "Wind in the Willows"?
I was absolutely astonished by many of the other books that have been banned (or suggested as bannable) - I've read "Winnie the Pooh" (the original), "Animal Farm," "Fellowship of the Ring (from Lord of the Ring Series), "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (the original - another childhood favourite), "War of the Worlds," and "Charlotte's Webb" (which I didn't particularly like but that's another story). And I studied "The Great Gatsby" at highschool.
As to "Great Gatsby", I think some people might have tried to ban it on the basis of 'immorality' but it is not an immoral book. In fact, it is a beautifully (and thoughtfully) written study about actions having consequences. I see the moral as being "Make sure who you love is worth it" - because when he/she isn't worth it, it's the death of you. NOT IMMORAL, but something everyone should understand.
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CherryTriggerCola
Jan 26, 2012 @ 6:47 pm | delete
- Great lens. banned books are usually a look into the side of society that is meant to never be seen or discovered. I feel only books intended to purposely do harm to others or promotes illegal activity is worthy of being banned. Society is full of contradictions because lies breed lies until they start contradicting each other. So keep writing! I think I am inspired to work on another new lens.
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manlalakbay
Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:33 pm | delete
- I wonder why Lord of the Rings is included in banned books... I had a great laugh after seeing that Winnie the Pooh is included as well! :D
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Don_McCyclist
Jan 25, 2012 @ 2:46 am | delete
- I love James Joyce's Ulysses.
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TheMeadMan
Jan 21, 2012 @ 1:04 am | delete
- many of the books listed are on my bookshelves
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grannysage
Jan 20, 2012 @ 4:51 pm | delete
- What I find sad is that many young people today have never heard of those books. Too busy reading Twilight. I can see some I missed, I better catch up before they get banned again. I'm surprised Huckleberry Finn isn't on the list.
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TheMeadMan
Jan 21, 2012 @ 1:03 am | delete
- As much as I dislike Twilight, and all it stands for, at least they ARE reading. Books like Harry Potter and Twilight are making books cool again in one form, let them read Twilight now in hopes that they'll discover real literature down the road.
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thesuccess
Jan 20, 2012 @ 2:57 pm | delete
- I read somewhere that many years ago the preacher's wife or some respectable member of the community would remove biology books from the local library because there references to reproduction.
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Auntiekatkat
Jan 20, 2012 @ 9:30 am | delete
- i have read 84 of them and you can bet your saweet bippy I shall be reading the other 16!
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alwaysjules
Jan 19, 2012 @ 12:36 pm | delete
- Excellent. And timely. All but 7 of these books are on my shelf at home, and only some of them came from my required reading as an English major. I own most of these because I love ideas, and these books are filled with them. Congratulations on LOTD.
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Auntiekatkat
Jan 20, 2012 @ 9:32 am | delete
- Too true, all 84 of them that I have read are fantastic books, when we squash thoughts we squash everything.
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jimmyworldstar
Jan 19, 2012 @ 11:37 am | delete
- I have To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby, it just baffles me to how people would ban those books. What objectionable content is there?
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collettehrock
Jan 19, 2012 @ 8:40 am | delete
- I also have many of those books not because I am a rebel, they were required reading for subjects that I undertook. I hope I did the right thing above as Noddy and Big Ears is a typical example of censors being absolutely nuts
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Auntiekatkat
Jan 20, 2012 @ 9:34 am | delete
- I have to say I disagree with censorship, but as a kid i was bored to death with Noddy and at the age of five I would definately have banned them. Now fortunately there are better books for kids to read. However, one thing about Enid Blyton she was a stickler for puntuation!
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Where The Wild Things Are Book by Maurice Sendak
Written in 1963, the classic story has been on the challenged books list.
Read Banned Book: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath
Amazon Price: $8.50 (as of 02/16/2012)
A few months after its publication in 1939, this book was ordered to be burned in Missouri for the characters' vulgar language. Kansas City and Oklahoma had also banned the book.
American Heritage Dictionary Made The Banned Books List
Banned in Two Different Years in Different States
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition
Amazon Price: $37.77 (as of 02/16/2012)
The 1969 edition was banned in 1978 by an Eldon, Missouri library because it contained 39 "objectionable" words. Again, in 1987, the Anchorage School Board banned the dictionary for similar reasons and its inclusion of slang definitions for words such as "bed," "knocker," and "balls."
