Banned Books Week 2017: September 24th- 30th
Top 15 Banned/ Challenged Books I Have Read
Below I have listed some of my favorite books that I have read that were banned or challenged for many different reasons. Most of these books I read for the first time while in school, whether that be elementary, middle, or high school. I will give a brief explanation of why the book was banned or challenged and also why I like the book.
I am a firm believer that books should not be banned in schools or in some cases, censored.
Key:
Elementary school: 📕
Middle school: 📙
High School: 📗
College or afterward: 📘
These are in no particular order.
📗 15.) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: This book has been banned in schools for its story of a girl who stays silent the whole school year because she was sexually assaulted at a party. Many schools have banned it for being considered, as they say, soft porn. This book is far from anything of the sort. It deals with issues that many teens deal with whether that be sexuality, drugs, or alcohol. Laurie Halse Anderson does not condone this type of behavior and sure does not glamorize what has happened to her main character Melinda. If anything, this book is teaching its readers a lesson on speaking out and letting people know what is going on in their lives.
I remember reading this book when I was in ninth grade. I was the same age as the protagonist Melinda and I could never have imagined something like this happening to me. It is a hard book to read in the fact that we are reading from the perspective of a young girl who has been broken by a horrific experience. The reader learns about speaking up for themselves. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage will inspire her readers.
📗 14.) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky: Perks... has been banned in many schools for the use of sex, homosexuality, "the glorification of drugs and alcohol", suicide, etc. This is another book banned because of many situations that teenagers do deal with.
The author has also spoken out about his book being banned in schools and I feel that his quote explains this so well, "It creates dialogue about issues that young people face," he said "...The classroom legitimizes these issues and by taking it out of the classroom we denote these things to 'dirty little secrets' and they're not dirty little secrets; these are things young people face every day." I find what he says here important to think about. This books and books similar to this are meant to help young people not harm them. He does also state before this that a parent has every right to choose if their child should be able to read a book, but that another parent should be able to choose too.
If you would like to read more about this case here is the article: http://cbldf.org/2015/04/author-responds-to-connecticut-ban-of/
Perks is another book that I read in ninth grade when I was the same age as Charlie the protagonist of the novel. I remember at that age reading this book and being similar to Charlie. I was shy and did not really express my opinions too much. I had a small group of friends that I was close with and I was happy with that. Charlie learns a lot about himself during his freshman year of high school. He learns not only to participate, enjoy life, but also to speak out. Reading a book like this is not going to make students go out and do these things if they are able to learn from mistakes of others. I know I never did any of these things and I read this book young.
📕 13.) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: When I saw that this book has been banned in previous years I was surprised. I could not imagine why this would be on the list and the reason surprised me just as much as it being on the list. One of the reasons it has been banned was because many have said that it promotes a bad philosophy of life and that Charlie has no positive traits just has an absence of negative qualities. This is not the only book of Roald Dahl's that was banned. Matilda and James and the Giant Peach have also made this list.
I have loved the story of Charlie since I was a child. It's a story of this boy, who is living a terrible, awful life. Charlie and his family are not only hungry and poor, they are destitute. This little boy is literally starving to death, but he still is kind and polite to those around him. He's a well-behaved boy that gets a once in a lifetime opportunity when he goes to Wonka's factory. Yes, he doesn't have bad qualities, but that's sort of the point of the book. It might be a little over exaggerated to have a perfect child, but really it's meant to teach children about behaving. It's enjoyable.
📙 12.) The Giver by Lois Lowry: Banned for sexual situations and death. The first reason this book has been banned does not make any sense to me because there are no sexual scenes in this book. The main character has a crush on a girl and that's the extent to that.
This was an important book for me in school and I just really enjoyed reading it. It is considered one of the first dystopian novels and is showing how this perfect world that was created has gone wrong.
📙 11.) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: Banned for disrespect for authority and language that some people have found offensive, especially blasphemous dialogue (it uses Oh Lord and Lord) This is one book that has become a classic over the years and really I can see why. I remember fully enjoying reading it and loving the book. Children can learn a lot from this book.
📕 10.) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: Shel Silverstein is known for his poems and has become a classic over the years. This book was banned because many parents were afraid that it promoted violence and disrespect. Also that it's Satanic.
I have not read this book since elementary school, probably second or third grade. From what I remember of this book, it was funny, humorous, and first got me into poetry. Most likely it was probably one of the first poetry books that I ever read and loved.
📙 9.) A Separate Peace by John Knowles: One of my favorite books that I ever read in school. I still remember to this day acting out scenes from this book in English class. Now, I will say that I have not read it since, but I still remember it fondly. This will be a book that I pick up sometime soon.
This has been challenged and banned in schools because of the graphic language used.
📕 8.) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Similarly, to another book on this list, this has been banned because of the use of witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons.
I remember loving this book when I was a child. The main protagonist of this book is a girl named Meg, who is such an empowering character. She's a character that I could very much relate to. She's smart and the book deals with the importance of family and working together.
📙 7.) The Pigman by Paul Zindel: Banned for offensive language and sexual themes.
This was actually one of the first books that I fell in love with that I read in school. I read each of the sequels and probably read this one, three or four times in the same year. I do not remember everything about the book and plan on reading it this week for my Banned book.
📗 6.) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien: Banned because of the dark and descriptive depictions of war. This book was written to show how dark and horrible war can be, so obviously, there would be graphic scenes. I read this book in my senior year of high school and it is very descriptive of what Tim O'Brien witnessed while he was in the Vietnam war. This is not a book I would recommend for younger readers that are not mature enough for the read. It was a powerful book that I will never forget.
📗 5.) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: A major reason that this book has been banned is because of the use of the n-word. Now this one really frustrates me. This book was created to learn from and it is being edited and changed in schools to not include hurtful content. Historical fiction books should be used to learn from the past and to grow as people. I'm sorry to say it but we cannot change the fact that many people in America had slaves and this is the way they talked. We cannot erase our history and pretend that it does not exist. This is a book that students should read in schools.
I have had both a love and hate relationship with this book over the years. When I was in tenth grade I could not stand Huck or his narration. Then in my junior year of college, I read the book again and found a new appreciation for it. Not only is this an important book, but it also is a well-written book.
📗 4.) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Similarly to number five, this book has been banned because of language, slurs, and other racial themes, also for pornography because of mentions of rape. This is another amazing book that young people should be learning from and should not be banned. It represents an important part of our history as a country. We should learn from it and not forget it.
📙 3.) The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton: Banned for the use of drugs, violence, and unchristian values
This is a book that I actually got the opportunity to teach last year with three classes of seventh graders. One of the ways that my co-op and I taught the material was to introduce the time period of the 60s to the students. The time period is an important aspect of the story. Ponyboy deals with struggles that today's students might not understand. I have loved this book since I was in eighth grade and I believe it is an important book that should be taught.
📕📙 2.) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: This book has been banned for viewpoints that call it Satanic and occult because of the use of magic. Many have believed that this goes against religious beliefs and is encouraging the use of magic. All I can say to this is that this is fiction.
The Harry Potter series is one of the most important series for my time as a reader. It is the reason that I love reading the way I do. This series has been a major part of my life for almost fifteen years and I don't know what I would do without it. These books represent values that are important to us as people. J. K. Rowling did not decide when she wrote these books to spread values that were not religious. This series shows the value of friendship, family, love, loyalty, etc. We grew up with Harry and learned along with him. These books clearly show that the values that Voldemort holds so dear are not something we should want.
📘 1.) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Banned for language, sexual references, violence, drinking, partying, etc.
So, this book had to make this list for me because it is in my top three favorite books of all time. I love this book. It is again not a glorification of any of the aspects I have mentioned above. If anything, this book shows the problems with living in such a society. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this book as a commentary on the society that he lived in. This is another example of a historical fiction book that is taught in schools to learn from. Teaching this book is not condoning the actions of the characters.
These are not all of the banned books that I have read in my lifetime. There are many more that I have read and enjoyed, these are just my top fifteen. A major thing to think about with these books is that they are fiction and are meant to teach their readers. Yes, parents have the right to tell their children what they can and cannot read, but this should not take away the books from other children. If children are taught the right way to behave these books will not be harmful for them to read. They actually can be very helpful. Also, many of these books have been banned for reasons they should not be banned for. J.K. Rowling is not trying to form a colt of wizards, Mark Twain was representing a specific time period (and guess what, that's the way they talked.), and that's just a couple of examples.
I don't believe that books should be banned. If we take the time to teach students through these books and about these topics, they will learn about life. There are many topics used in these books that make parents, educators, and others feel uncomfortable, but they represent life. It is so much better for these young people to learn about these topics from a book than not at all. Or in some other place but in an unsafe way.
If you want to see a full list of books that have either been banned or challenged, here's a link: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
Have a good week and read some banned books.
In honor of Banned Books week, I will be picking up an old favorite The Pigman by Paul Zindel. It will be the first time in about ten years that I have read this book.
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