Saw this meme at Phantom Scribbler and had to join in. This is the list of the 100 most banned and challenged books for the period 1990 through 2000. Copy and paste into your own blog, and bold the ones you have read.
How sad it is that these books are among the ones that have had the most powerful influence on me? Sad for the people who want to restrict or ban these books, and sad for the kids who might never get the chance to read them. Not only have I read 25 out of the 100 on this list, but more than half the ones I’ve read I’ve reread more than once.
1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (This was one of my first favourite books. I wanted to be a writer after reading this book.)
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (Actually, I only read half of one book.)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Categories: Books memes
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?
Why these?
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Most of them I can understand why they would want to question. But what was wrong with these books.
p.s. I beat you
Definately some I would ban, but there are plenty there that I have read. The Outsiders?? How do ban that? And the Judy Blume books, Goosebumps and Harry Potter? Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
Anna
Judy Blume??? Who are these people and apparently they were never a preteen girl devouring every word and reading her books over and over (yes the same ones).
I am too embarressed to post that list and bold Dani cause I haven’t read very many…maybe 10?
I didn’t dig too deep for the info but WHY and what are the reasons to ban these books?
UberGeek, from one of the commenters of Phantom Scribbler about A Wrinkle In Time:
“Challenged in the Anniston, Ala. Schools (1990) because the book sends a mixed signal to children about good and evil. The complainant also objected to listing the name of Jesus Christ together with the names of great artists, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders when referring to defenders of Earth against evil. Challenged, but retained by the Catawba County School Board in Newton, N.C. (1996). A parent requested the book be pulled from the school libraries because it allegedly undermines religious beliefs.”
Unbelievable.
Anna, would you really ban a book? I think if you disagree with a book, it’s a great way to open a discussion about what you think is wrong with it. There’s no place for Madonna’s “Sex” on an elementary school shelf, I’ll concede that, but I still wouldn’t ban it. The messaging in Little Black Sambo is questionable and outdated, but you could use it as a tool to teach.
Nancy, I’ll bet your list is similar to mine! We’ve talked about Judy Blume before – she’s a cultural reference for us, a sign post from our adolesence. It makes me angry to hear that people want to ban these books based on a few words or ideas without taking the time to read and understand what the books are saying.
From the ALA site:
1,607 were challenges to “sexually explicit” material
1,427 to material considered to use “offensive language”
1,256 to material considered “unsuited to age group”
842 to material with an “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism,”
737 to material considered to be “violent”
515 to material with a homosexual theme or “promoting homosexuality,”
419 to material “promoting a religious viewpoint”
Other reasons for challenges included “nudity” , “racism” , “sex education” , and “anti-family”.
Wow, are we on the same page or what? I just posted about banned books, too.
And, I agree, you’d have to be insane to ban Judy Blume. REALLY.
There’s a great quote from Judy Blume on the ALA website, btw:
“[I]t’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume
what i’m confused about is the fact that WHERE’s WALDO is on that list? what’s offensive about that? (aside from the obvious lack of actual storyline or plot?)
ugh…it worries me that some of these books that were so pivotal to my youth are being challenged/questionned/banned. just because they are challenging and encourage kids to think…sad.
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