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llbriteyes
04-10-2005, 09:15 AM
A small list of books (and a movie) that were challenged last year in the U.S. due to concerns about their content.

The Devil's Storybook by Natalie Babbitt
The Devil: Opposing Viewpoints (Great Mysteries) by Thomas Schouweiler.
Parents of a 14-year-old boy asked the Washington Township (NJ) school district to remove from school libraries these and other books about the occult, which they blamed for their son's interest in Satanism and self-mutilation. They formed a group with 20 other parents called National Concerned Citizens for Youth to campaign for circulation policy restrictions for teenagers. When the school district voted to keep the books on the shelves, an area resident organized a candlelight vigil in support.


Deenie by Judy Blume
A parent of a Spring Hill (FL) Elementary School student requested Blume's coming-of-age novel be removed from elementary school libraries because it made reference to masturbation. Blume defended her book, saying that what parents may find offensive might not bother kids. The school district decided to retain the book, but require parental permission for students to borrow it.


Eat Me by Linda Jaivin
After a Marion County (FL) library system patron complained that Jaivin's novel about women and their sexuality was obscene, Library Director Julie Seig ignored the recommendation of her staff and pulled it from the shelves. The library board voted her decision down, She kept the book on her desk for several weeks afterwards. After she finally returned it to the stacks, an outraged local resident began reading parts of the book during a Marion County commissioners meeting, declaring that if his grandson ever checked the book out of the library, he would make it a "personal" issue with the staff.


Walter the Farting Dog by Glenn Murray
Former West Salem (WI) School District board member Maynard Carlson asked the board to remove Murray's story of a dog with flatulence problems from his grandson's elementary school because of its excessive use of the word "fart" (24 times). While the board had a meeting to consider his request, Murray said the book ultimately remained in the stacks.


Horses by Juliet Clutton-Brock
A parent of an eight-year-old student at Smith Elementary School in Helena, MT, challenged the presence of Clutton-Brock's book about horses in the school's library because it supported the theory of evolution. Helena's school district recommended the book remain on the shelves, but the parent who raised the challenge has requested the school add a book about creationism to its library collection.


Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Mathabane's autobiography about growing up under apartheid was removed from a Jay County (IN) High School English class reading list because of its passages about child abuse and violence in South Africa. Kaffir Boy was also removed from the Hephzibah High School senior literature reading list after a 12th grader complained to his mother about a sequence where men asked starving boys to exchange sex for food.


The Captain of Her Heart by Anita Stansfield
The author, known as a leader in Mormon fiction, was unable to get her romance novel published because the main character has sex out of wedlock. After she formed her own company to release the book, two Mormon retailers refused to carry it.

1776, a film by Peter Hunt
Fairfax County (VA) School Board banned the movie version of the musical 1776 because of sexual innuendo between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. School social studies coordinator Sara Shoob said, "There's some innuendo and language, and when you're talking about the Declaration of Independence, that does not have to be part of your discussion."


King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
Parents of a seven-year-old requested that the children's book about a prince who falls in love with another prince be removed from the Freeman Elementary School in Wilmington, NC. Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) supported the parents, saying "This is another attack on morality by the extreme left." Also, a mother of two was surprised to find King & King and Judith Vigna's My Two Uncles in a public library in the Mid-Columbia Library District (WA). She has asked that the books be moved to a separate section in the library.


A Child's Life by Phoebe Gloeckner
Stockton, CA, Mayor Gary Podesto called on the city council to make area libraries safer for children after an 11-year-old checked out a book for adults about child abuse. He called it a "how-to book for pedophiles."


Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
The book, whose plot hinges on two Chinese teenagers stealing a suitcase of books banned by the government during the Cultural Revolution, contained a passage about a virgin having sex. The superintendent of the Federal Way (WA) school system pulled the book from school reading lists after the mother of a 15-year-old student complained. The school board has asked schools in the district to submit reading lists for approval, and wrote up a policy explicitly forbidding sexually explicit materials in schools.



Pinkerton, Behave by Steven Kellogg
An Evanston, IL, mother was disturbed by the image of a burglar holding a gun to the head of the mother in Pinkerton, Behave, a book about an unruly dog who saves his family from being robbed. Her request that the Evanston Public Library Board remove it from the stacks was voted down 6-0.


America by E.R. Frank
The school board in Twin Bridges, MT, voted to keep E.R. Frank's novel about an abused child in the high school library. A teacher had challenged the book, saying that it was too graphic, but the committee that recommended the board keep it said, "Abuse cannot be painted with a pretty picture."


The Natural by Bernard Malamud
The mother of a 16-year-old petitioned the Central Valley (WA) School District to take The Natural off the 10th reading list because of its passages about making out, skinny dipping and female breasts. "All books and knowledge are not of the same value," the parent said to the school board. "Some are uplifting and move us to become better individuals. Other knowledge is degrading, filthy and damaging to the character."


Urban Legends by N.E. Genge
A woman whose granddaughter checked Urban Legends out of the public library in Simms, LA, threatened to burn the book because she objected to the chapter called "Crazy Little Thang Called Sex." The library reported that they had a second copy of the book available in the stacks.


One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte
The Ansonia (CT) Public Library removed Lipsyte's coming of age novel from the shelves of the middle school reading section after the mother of a 10-year-old found in the book a description of a masturbation fantasy. In addition, local school officials removed the book from the summer reading list.


Alice the Brave by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Saying "This kind of book scares me," the mother of a Mesquite, TX, fifth grader requested Pirrung Elementary to remove Alice the Brave from the library because of its descriptions of sex and the protagonist's obsession with her widowed father's relationship with her teacher.


Deal With It! by Esther Drill, Heather Mcdonald, and Rebecca Odes. The Gilbert (AZ) High School library pulled gURL.com's self-help book for pre-pubescent and teenaged girls because the mother of a 16-year-old student protested. "It's basically pornography and it's just awful," the parent told the Arizona Republic.


Ricochet River by Robin Cody
Two parents of Clackamas (OR) High School students requested the school remove Cody's coming of age novel from its reading lists because of its profane language and passages about teenagers having sex. One mother also found it to be degrading towards women.


Helping Your Child Learn History from the US Department of Education. Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president, protested the publication of this educational pamphlet because it referred to the National Standards of History, which she opposes. In response to her complaint, the Education Department destroyed over 300,000 copies of the publication.



Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Parks
A couple who asked the Centennial Elementary School of Fargo, ND, to remove Mick Harte Was Here from the library plan to appeal to the Fargo School District a review committee's decision to keep the book on the shelves. They had objected to the use of the words "damn" and "suck," as well as references to birth control pills and eating disorders.


Diamond Dogs by Alan Watts
The Speight Middle School library in Wilson, NC, pulled Watt's novel about a high school football player who kills another student in a drunk driving accident. The parents of an 11-year-old student complained about the book's passages describing sex between the main character and his girlfriend.


America (The Book) by Jon Stewart and The Daily Show
Wal-Mart cancelled its order of the civics textbook parody from the popular news satire because it "didn't meet their criteria" on sexually explicit material, according to the book's publisher. In a section on the Supreme Court, America features a photo doctored to look like the justices of the Supreme Court are naked. Wal-Mart continues to sell the book online, saying that internet users are different than in-store shoppers. Daily Show executive producer Ben Karlin responded, "We were hoping to be banned by a lot of mom-and-pop bookstores, but they keep selling the book."

schsa
04-10-2005, 01:08 PM
Geesh, and let's not let our kids see any movie that has adults kissing or two married people having sex, but if you want to shoot people and blow them up, go for it. I have never understood book banning. If you don't want your child to read it, then don't let your child read it but don't stop me from encouraging my child from reading and reading and reading. Books take you to places that you cannot go on your own. You many not always be thrilled about some of the contents but if the story is good, the story is good.

And BTW I have read and seen 1776 and what are they talking about when they say that Jefferson and Adams had some sort of homosexual undertone to their conversation are really reaching for it.

And your teenagers can have sex but they can't read about it. So why have sex education? Why have biology? Heck, why not go back to segregation of the sexes and why don't all women wear veils so that no one will get the wrong idea.

Sometimes people are so backwards. If you don't want your kid to read something, then don't let your kid read it.

JKATHERINE
04-10-2005, 01:49 PM
I, too, have never understood book banning. It has got to be one of the lamest things I've ever heard about in my life and usually comes about when close-minded people (who, half the time haven't even read the entire piece of literature) have a little too much time on their hands.... :rolleyes:

Two words: VERY SAD. :(

Victorious
04-10-2005, 01:59 PM
If you don't want your kid to read something, then don't let your kid read it.


While I agree with you, I think this statement is easier said then done. I would have to read every book my child[ren] read before they could read to make sure it's age appropriate. I couldn't possibly do that. I don't think that banning books is the way to go but I do think a permission slips is a good idea.

oh and I don't think a public library should remove any books but I do think that the media specialist for an elementary school should pick out books that are better suited for elementary aged students. As for highschoolers some of these "kids" could probably teach me a thing or two.

llbriteyes
04-10-2005, 04:57 PM
Agreed on all counts.

Jolie Rouge
11-22-2006, 01:28 PM
Gay penguin book shakes up Ill. school
By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 17, 6:47 AM ET

SHILOH, Ill. - A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents who worry about the book's availability to children — and the reluctance of school administrators to restrict access to it.

The concerns are the latest involving "And Tango Makes Three," the illustrated children's book based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo that adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own.

Complaining about the book's homosexual undertones, some parents of Shiloh Elementary School students believe the book — available to be checked out of the school's library in this 11,000-resident town 20 miles east of St. Louis — tackles topics their children aren't ready to handle.

Their request: Move the book to the library's regular shelves and restrict it to a section for mature issues, perhaps even requiring parental permission before a child can check it out.

For now, "And Tango Makes Three" will stay put, said school district Superintendent Jennifer Filyaw, though a panel she appointed suggested the book be moved and require parental permission to be checked out. The district's attorney said moving it might be construed as censorship.

Filyaw considers the book "adorable" and age appropriate, written for children ages 4 to 8. "My feeling is that a library is to serve an entire population," she said. "It means you represent different families in a society — different religions, different beliefs."

Lilly Del Pinto thought the book looked charming when her 5-year-old daughter brought it home in September. Del Pinto said she was halfway through reading it to her daughter "when the zookeeper said the two penguins must be in love."

"That's when I ended the story," she said.


Del Pinto said her daughter's teacher told her she was unfamiliar with the book, and the school's librarian directed the mother to Filyaw.

"I wasn't armed with pitchforks or anything. I innocently was seeking answers," Del Pinto said, agreeing with Filyaw's belief that pulling the book from the shelves could constitute censorship.

The book has created similar flaps elsewhere. Earlier this year, two parents voiced concerns about the book with librarians at the Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branch in the northwest Missouri town of Savannah.

Barbara Read, Rolling Hills' director, has said she consulted with staff members at the Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City zoos and the University of Oklahoma's zoology department, who told her adoptions aren't unusual in the world of penguins.

She said the book was then moved to the nonfiction section because it was based on actual events. In that section, she said, there was less of a chance that the book would "blindside" someone.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/ap_on_...ins_book_flap_7

Jolie Rouge
12-07-2006, 09:02 PM
P. S., these books are sick!
Queens parents riled over raunchy sixth-grade lit
BY RACHEL SCHEIER and CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sixth-graders at a Queens school were getting quite an education - in homosexuality, French kissing and cursing - thanks to three books widely available in classroom libraries.

But after numerous complaints from parents at Public School 150 in Sunnyside, the books - a profanity-laced poetry book, short stories about homosexuality and a novel called "First French Kiss" - were pulled from the shelves last week.

Several parents learned of the racy books after overhearing their kids snickering about the sexual themes.

The poem "I Hate School" in a book called "You Hear Me?" includes the rhyme, "F--- this s---, up the a--. I don't think I'll ever pass."

Another poem compares eating an orange to having sex, while several passages repeatedly use vulgar slang for genitalia. And the book "Am I Blue?" is an anthology of stories about gay teenagers that parents found too adult-themed for 11- and 12-year-olds.

Parent Gladys Martinez wrote a letter to her son's teacher after hearing him talk about "First French Kiss," which chronicles a teen's bumbling first makeout session in a closet. "I mean, he shouldn't be sheltered from the world, but if he's going to learn that stuff, it shouldn't be at school," Martinez said.

Parent and leadership team member Michael Novak said the books, which are labeled "young adult" by the New York Public Library, are "material that is totally inappropriate for sixth-graders."

Principal Carmen Parache said she had not reviewed the books until she received complaints but said they were "definitely inappropriate." She said classroom materials would be more carefully screened in the future. "As soon as I saw them, I pulled them and they are no longer in the school," she said. "This is something that shouldn't have happened and it will not happen again."

"You Hear Me?" was suggested for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders by the Columbia University Teachers College's Reading and Writing Project because it is the only anthology with poems written by minority teenagers, said Lucy Calkins, its founding director. "It's a tricky balance to walk so we are putting books in their hands that they'll want to read," said Calkins, who had not seen the language in the book.

Ava Myint, 11, said she heard some boys in her class laughing and talking about the books. "Maybe they're okay for some kids, but some of the boys are really immature, so maybe they shouldn't be allowed to read them," she said.

Originally published on December 7, 2006

New York Daily News - Home - P. S., these books are sick! (http://www.nydailynews.com//front/story/477999p-402027c.html)



"You Hear Me?" was suggested for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders by the Columbia University Teachers College's Reading and Writing Project because it is the only anthology with poems written by minority teenagers, said Lucy Calkins, its founding director.

So the quality of the writing doesn't matter if it reached a quota ?

How about hosting a contest for writings by minority teenages with a cash prize and publication in a new book instead of settling for trash ?

Jolie Rouge
11-07-2007, 02:33 PM
WVa parents target Pat Conroy books
By JOHN RABY, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 7, 12:39 PM ET

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Graphic depictions of violence, suicide and sexual assault in two Pat Conroy books are at the heart of a First Amendment debate, pitting offended parents against high school students who object to being told what they can't read.

Even Conroy has interjected himself into the debate. In an e-mail to a student, Conroy slams those who would ban his works as "idiots."

A student group is vowing to sue the Kanawha County Board of Education if the removal of "Beach Music" and "The Prince of Tides" from two Nitro High School classes is made permanent and expanded countywide.

In a move that appeased neither side, the board decided Monday to explore using advisory labels on books that show content for violence, language, sexual content or adult situations.

The book challenge is one of hundreds reported to the American Library Association every year on requests to have materials removed from schools or libraries, including the popular Harry Potter series, which some Christians believe promotes witchcraft.

Steve Shamblin, who teaches honors and Advanced Placement courses at Nitro High, said the graphic depictions in Conroy's books are found in newspapers every day. He also noted that several literary groups have deemed the books as age-appropriate for high school upperclassmen. "As long as we stay in a 1950s utopian mind-set, we're not going to get past the 20th century," he said.

Parents Ken and Leona Tyree found certain scenes in "The Prince of Tides" "obscene and offensive." Leona Tyree said she was unable to finish the book. Their son has since left Shamblin's Advanced Placement literature class.

Another parent, Karen Frazier, complained about violence in "Beach Music," and told school board members last month she wants guidelines for books used in public schools. "If a teacher was on a computer and sending this filth to underage students, they'd probably be arrested," Frazier said at last month's meeting.

Neither Frazier nor the Tyrees have listed phone numbers.

Makenzie Hatfield, who teamed with fellow students to form a coalition against censorship, said her group is prepared to go to court if the school board sides with the parents. "This is a college class," said Hatfield, a senior at Kanawha County's George Washington High. "We chose to take this class. The school didn't tell us to. We chose."

Conroy did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press, but defended his books in an e-mail to Hatfield. Because the two books were temporarily banned "every kid in that county will read them, every single one of them. Because book banners are invariably idiots," Conroy wrote in the letter published Oct. 24 in The Charleston Gazette. "They don't know how the world works — but writers and English teachers do."

Conroy referred to the books as "two of my darlings, which I would place before the altar of God and say, 'Lord, this is how I found the world you made.'"

He said his late father fought in three wars and turned violent on his wife and seven children; his youngest brother committed suicide; a female relative was raped; eight classmates at the Citadel were killed in Vietnam, and his best friend died last summer in a car accident. "The world of literature has everything in it, and it refuses to leave anything out," he wrote. "I've been in ten thousand cities and have introduced myself to a hundred thousand strangers in my exuberant reading career, all because I listened to my fabulous English teachers and soaked up every single thing those magnificent men and women had to give."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_re_us/book_battle;_ylt=AkmmZ_wnzCNg6COsMMp_O2oXIr0F


Sounds like I will be making a trip to the library

janelle
11-07-2007, 04:17 PM
Well la de da. Don't parents have any say so when it comes to raising their kids anymore? It would be different if they were abusing them but saying I don't want that book to be read by my kids isn't a criminal offense.

The kids can read any book they want when they turn 18. Go get every book that has ever been banned and read them all.

Parents have no say anymore about raising their kids in some circles. Follow the money. Authors want to sell books and get them on library shelves. Some do not care about age appropriate. And what is age appropriate to one parent isn't to another.

Jolie Rouge
11-07-2007, 04:43 PM
Parents Ken and Leona Tyree found certain scenes in "The Prince of Tides" "obscene and offensive." Leona Tyree said she was unable to finish the book. Their son has since left Shamblin's Advanced Placement literature class.

I think this parent took the right tack - she removed HER child from the class. I don't think it is her right to tell me what books MY child should or should not read by requesting that they be "banned". As you say, what is age appropriate to one parent isn't to another.

ilovecats
11-07-2007, 07:36 PM
I think this parent took the right tack - she removed HER child from the class. I don't think it is her right to tell me what books MY child should or should not read by requesting that they be "banned". As you say, what is age appropriate to one parent isn't to another.

I agree.I think in high school you are old enough to read any book you want.

janelle
11-07-2007, 11:14 PM
A lot of those books are in elementary school.

tigger4
11-08-2007, 08:08 AM
Yes, a lot of those are in elementary schools. But, really what is wrong with the books? One person actually complained about the word fart. Do you know how many times a second grade boy says the word fart in one day?

And as far as the people who complain about the Two Kings books, etc. God forbid their children learn there are people in the world who are different than them. How narrow minded can you be?

Who has the right to say what a person can or cannot read? I realize parents don't want their kids to read sexually explicit things and that is one thing. But, the students in the West VA article are seniors in high school taking and Advanced Placement course. They are old enough to read these books. They can hear worse on the news.

ahippiechic
11-08-2007, 08:18 AM
I do think books should be age (or maybe devlopmentally) appropriate. I wouldn't want my 6 yr old to be reading erotica. BUT just because I don't want my child exposed to something, doesn't mean I should keep it from everyone.

My child is a very advanced reader, so she does read things that aren't strictly 1st grade. But if it's something I think is controversial, then we read it together and discuss it.

To me, this is a lot like the Barbie friend who was pregnant. Some people wanted the dolls taken off the shelves. It's fine if you think they were immoral and by all means, don't buy your child one. BUT don't keep everyone else who wants one from having it. To me, that is just people trying to be controlling, not just concerned about their own child's welfare.

ilovecats
11-08-2007, 08:36 PM
I do think books should be age (or maybe devlopmentally) appropriate. I wouldn't want my 6 yr old to be reading erotica. BUT just because I don't want my child exposed to something, doesn't mean I should keep it from everyone.

My child is a very advanced reader, so she does read things that aren't strictly 1st grade. But if it's something I think is controversial, then we read it together and discuss it.

To me, this is a lot like the Barbie friend who was pregnant. Some people wanted the dolls taken off the shelves. It's fine if you think they were immoral and by all means, don't buy your child one. BUT don't keep everyone else who wants one from having it. To me, that is just people trying to be controlling, not just concerned about their own child's welfare.

:yeah

hblueeyes
11-09-2007, 08:21 PM
Book Banning is the start of a very slippery slope and I for one am agaiinst banning any book. If a book is offensive to you, stop reading it or do not buy it or check it out from the library. Some of the books listed are teacher award winners and the farting dog book is a great book. Why was Captain Underpants not on the list?

I know in the state of Illinois the quickest way to get elected to the state houe or Washington is to complain about a book and stir things up.

Me

Bahet
11-09-2007, 11:14 PM
A lot of those books are in elementary school.
My kids are in a public school with kindergartners - 8th graders. There needs to be a wide variety of books available. If you want your kid to wait until he/she is 18 then fine, make them wait. If I don't see any reason why my 10yo shouldn't be allowed to read Harry Potter then don't try to stop him having access to it in the library.


One person actually complained about the word fart. Do you know how many times a second grade boy says the word fart in one day?
156. :twitch

tigger4
11-10-2007, 07:12 AM
My kids are in a public school with kindergartners - 8th graders. There needs to be a wide variety of books available. If you want your kid to wait until he/she is 18 then fine, make them wait. If I don't see any reason why my 10yo shouldn't be allowed to read Harry Potter then don't try to stop him having access to it in the library.


156. :twitch



Easily. :rofl:

I can remember being a senior in high school and the boys read Of Mice and of Men and us girls read some other novel because the boys book had the word damn in it. I went to an uptight high school.

I found it so funny because in 5th grade I read To Kill A Mockingbird at my old school.

Jolie Rouge
05-08-2008, 01:10 PM
Penguin tale tops list of `challenged' books
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
Tue May 6, 3:42 PM ET

NEW YORK - A children's story about a family of penguins with two fathers once again tops the list of library books the public objects to the most.

"And Tango Makes Three" released in 2005 and co-written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, was the most "challenged" book in public schools and libraries for the second straight year, according to the American Library Association. "The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable. The people complaining, of course, don't agree with that," Judith Krug, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The ALA defines a "challenge" as a "formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness."

Other books on the ALA's top 10 list include Maya Angelou's memoir "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" in which the author writes of being raped as a young girl; Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" long attacked for alleged racism; and Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" an anti-religious work in which a former nun says: "The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake."

Pullman's novel, released in 1996, received new attention last year because of the film version starring Nicole Kidman.

Overall, the number of reported library challenges dropped from 546 in 2006 to 420 last year, well below the mid-1990s, when complaints topped 750. For every challenge listed, about four to five go unreported, the library association estimates. "The atmosphere is a little better than it used to be," Krug says. "I think some of the pressure has been taken off of books by the Internet, because so much is happening on the Internet."

According to the ALA, at least 65 challenges last year led to a book being pulled.

In Louisville, Ky., a high school principal told 150 English students to drop "Beloved" Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about an ex-slave who has murdered her baby daughter. At least two parents had complained that "Beloved" includes depictions of violence, racism and sex.

In Burlingame, Calif., Mark Mathabane's "Kaffir Boy" a memoir about growing up poor and black in apartheid-era South Africa, was banned from an intermediate school after a parent complained about a two-paragraph scene in which men pay boys for sex.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080506/ap_en_ot/challenged_books;_ylt=AnDwtBv2UwnkJZlwXJEQimCs0NUE

On the Net: http://www.ala.org

Jolie Rouge
04-14-2010, 08:43 PM
Twilight' series on list of challenged books
By Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer Wed Apr 14, 6:22 am ET

NEW YORK – Stephenie Meyer, the hottest author for young people since J.K. Rowling, has a new link to the creator of "Harry Potter": a place high on the list of books most complained about by parents and educators.

Meyer's multimillion-selling "Twilight" series was ranked No. 5 on the annual report of "challenged books" released Wednesday by the American Library Association. Meyer's stories of vampires and teen romance have been criticized for sexual content; a library association official also thinks that the "Twilight" series reflects general unease about supernatural stories.

"Vampire novels have been a target for years and the `Twilight' books are so immensely popular that a lot of the concerns people have had about vampires are focused on her books," says Barbara Jones, director of the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Christian groups for years have protested the themes of wizardry in Rowling's books, which don't appear on the current top 10.

Topping the 2009 chart was Lauren Myracle's "IM" series, novels told through instant messages that have been criticized for nudity, language and drug references. Last year's No. 1 book, "And Tango Makes Three," by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, is now No. 2, cited again for its story about two male penguins adopting a baby. Third was Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," for which the many reasons include drugs, suicide, homosexuality and being antifamily.

Also cited were such perennials as J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (sexual content, language), Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (language, racism), Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" (sexual content, language) and Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War" (nudity, language, sexual content).

The ALA recorded 460 challenges in 2009, a drop from 513 the year before, and 81 books actually being removed. The ALA defines a challenge as a "formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness."

For every challenge tallied, about four or five end up unreported, according to the ALA.

http://www.ala.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_en_ot/us_challenged_books;_ylt=Aib6f3NQq6mSlWUpnFnS1tOs0 NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFpYXN0bTJkBHBvcwMzOARzZWMDYWNjb3Jka W9uX21vc3RfcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDdHdpbGlnaHRzZXJp

I have read the whole series .... as have my 14 & 12 YO It opened up a dialog ... like why did I want to smack Bella, and Why I am Team Jacob ? My son declared himself as being on Team Alice ....

Breezin
04-15-2010, 04:30 AM
I think it was last year at the fall middle school book fair (grades 6-8) we sold the twilight books and 1 parent, was outraged, first went to the principal to have it pulled, then to the PTA, then to the school board.

The books were readily available in the school library and that was OK to this parent, but in her words we were SELLING the children pornography (here's a clue lady don't give your kid money to buy the book)

freeby4me
04-15-2010, 04:38 AM
I think it was last year at the fall middle school book fair (grades 6-8) we sold the twilight books and 1 parent, was outraged, first went to the principal to have it pulled, then to the PTA, then to the school board.

The books were readily available in the school library and that was OK to this parent, but in her words we were SELLING the children pornography (here's a clue lady don't give your kid money to buy the book)

lol or educate herself on the book by actually reading it, not just what someone on TV has to say about it.

Breezin
04-15-2010, 04:41 AM
lol or educate herself on the book by actually reading it, not just what someone on TV has to say about it.

yes that too lol -- scary thing -- the parent is a 5th grade teacher.

freeby4me
04-15-2010, 04:43 AM
yes that too lol -- scary thing -- the parent is a 5th grade teacher.

Ok that makes my skin crawl.

Jolie Rouge
04-15-2010, 08:56 AM
...but in her words we were SELLING the children pornography...

Whcih Twilight did she read .... I don't remember anything "pornographic" ... unless our definitions are wildly different.

Breezin
04-15-2010, 10:21 AM
Whcih Twilight did she read .... I don't remember anything "pornographic" ... unless our definitions are wildly different.

I didn't read the books so I'm honestly not sure what part she's referring to, my guess really is that she didn't read them at all, she's going on hearsay -- I will say your definition of pornography and hers are probably wildly different because the word "sexy" in another book was offensive to her.

Jolie Rouge
04-15-2010, 10:32 AM
:lol: Some of the stuff in my 80+ mother-in-laws' "bodice ripper" romances would be more "pornographic" then "Twilight" :lol:

Jolie Rouge
04-11-2011, 05:23 AM
Collins, Alexie make list of challenged books
Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer – Mon Apr 11, 12:00 am ET

NEW YORK – Suzanne Collins didn't expect everyone to approve of "The Hunger Games."

"I've read in passing that people were concerned about the level of violence in the books," Collins said of her dystopian trilogy that's sold more than a million copies. "That's not unreasonable. They are violent. It's a war trilogy."

In what's become a virtual rite of passage for young adult sensations, a Collins novel has made its first appearance on the American Library Association's annual top 10 list of books most criticized in their communities. "The Hunger Games," the title work of Collins' series about young people forced to hunt and kill each other on live television, has been cited for violence and sexual content. In recent years, J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books and Stephenie Meyer's vampire novels also have been on the association's list.

"Hunger Games" ranked No. 5 this year and was joined Monday by Meyer's "Twilight" (No. 10), which debuted on the list last year, and Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," winner in 2007 of the National Book Award for young people's literature. Criticisms of Alexie's novel include language, racism and sexual content.

"It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power," Alexie said. He laughed at the idea his work might be harmful, noting that he receives fan mail every day from readers thanking him for his story of a bright but bullied teen estranged from his fellow Indians on the Spokane Reservation and from the rich white kids at the high school he attends. "And there's nothing in my book that even compares to what kids can find on the Internet," he said.

Alexie acknowledges one disappointment; his book only ranked No. 2, trailing "And Tango Makes Three," a picture story by Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell about two male penguins who hatch a donated egg and raise the baby penguin. It's the fourth time in five years "Tango" has been No. 1, with reasons for criticism including the book's discussion of homosexuality.

The library association reported 348 challenges to books in 2010 and at least 53 outright bans, with other challenges and bans likely undocumented. The ALA defines a challenge as an effort "to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves."

Collins said "The Hunger Games" was recommended for ages 12 and up but said kids sensitive to the material might want to wait longer.

The author's daughter, meanwhile, may have been ready before age 12. She had already started reading Collins' previous series, "The Underland Chronicles," written for a slightly younger audience. "I knew she would already have been through one war series with me and, of course, I'd be on hand if there was anything she needed to discuss," Collins said. "Emotional readiness and previous exposure to a similar type of subject matter — those seem like key elements to me in determining whether a young person can handle a book."

Barbara M. Jones, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, says some books on the list reflect current trends and changes in technology, including "Hunger Games," inspired in part by reality television; Aldous Huxley's classic "Brave New World," (No. 3), which anticipates antidepressants and artificial fertilization; and a work of nonfiction: "Nickel and Dimed" (No. 8), Barbara Ehrenreich's despairing account of trying to get by as a waitress, maid and Walmart worker. "The closer books come to things that are really happening in a lot of lives, the more they become a reminder of what people don't like to think about," Jones said, noting that Ehrenreich's book "really hits hard what it's like to have a low paying job."

"Nickel and Dimed" has been criticized for language, drugs and for its political and religious viewpoints.

Also on the list:

"Crank" Ellen Hopkins (drugs, language, sexual content).

"Lush" Natasha Friend (language, sexual content).

"What My Mother Doesn't Know" Sonya Sones (sexism, sexual content).

"Revolutionary Voices" a collection of gay-themed stories edited by Amy Sonnie (homosexuality, sexual content).

____

Online: American Library Association: http://www.ala.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_en_ot/us_challenged_library_books

Jolie Rouge
08-15-2011, 01:48 PM
School District Bans Sherlock Holmes Novel for Anti-Mormon Themes
By KAI MA | Time.com – 2 hrs 39 mins ago

A Virginia school district has banned a book on the legendary sleuther for how it portrays the Mormon faith.

Last week, the Albemarle County School Board removed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, from its sixth-grade reading list. Several former middle school students opposed the removal of the Victorian-era text, one calling it "the best book I have read so far," but the mystery novel was nonetheless booted.

(LIST: 10 Memorable Depictions of Mormons in Pop Culture)

Back in May, a parent of a Henley Middle School student complained that the story painted a poor, derogatory picture of Mormons. "A Study in Scarlet has been used to introduce students to the mystery genre," Brette Stevenson said, adding, "This is our young students' first inaccurate introduction to an American religion."

Last Thursday, the school board agreed with the complaint and voted for the story's removal. It will, however, remain a part of high-school curriculum.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson made their first appearance in A Study in Scarlet, a short novel published in 1887. The problematic themes revolve around a long flashback set in 1847 Utah. A large group of Mormons, led by Brigham Young himself, are "depicted as raw crackpots, their religion as primitive and vindictive." The group discovers a man and child on the brink of death by dehydration, and offers to help them - so long as they adopt the Mormon faith.

Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, which also features the quirky detective, has been suggested as the replacement text.

http://news.yahoo.com/school-district-bans-sherlock-holmes-novel-anti-mormon-175607039.html?cmp=fb

[i]MORE: Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838_1844945,00.html

Jolie Rouge
09-28-2011, 03:39 PM
Textbook Adoption the New Face of Banning Books
By Brad Sylvester | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Sep 20, 2011

Book-banning used to take place most often at a very local level. Even then it would make headlines if a classic work of literature was banned or removed from a school's curriculum or library. In more recent years, curriculum rules for public schools have been established at the state level, often by elected officials or board members appointed by elected officials. Many of them are reluctant to be associated with book-banning or other broad curriculum changes that might attract the attention of the press and more moderate voters, as what happened with the Kansas State Board of Education in the run-up to the 2006 election.

Instead, many states have instituted a textbook adoption system in which school books must be on a state-controlled and -approved list before any public schools in the state can purchase them. Often, the boards of education of states with larger populations and larger textbook budgets are able to exert financial pressure on textbook publishers to make changes to texts to guarantee approval within those states. While these forced changes don't attract the same kinds of national attention that outright banning does, they amount to de facto book-banning at the line item level, often requiring publishers to rewrite classic works of literature included in anthologies or even rewrite history itself.

To shed some light on this practice, I spoke with Joan DelFattore, a professor of English and of legal studies at the University of Delaware. She is also the author of several books on the subject of book-banning and censorship, including "What Johnny Shouldn't Read: Textbook Censorship in America."

How does the textbook adoption process affect what is taught in schools?

DelFattore: Texas, California and Florida are what they call textbook adoption states. I think about two-thirds of the states are in that category and what it means is that unless the book is on the state-approved list, districts are not allowed to buy it or, in some states, they are simply not allowed to use state funds to buy it which amounts to the same thing. So the publishers have a big stake in having their book on the state-approved list.

Well, Texas, Florida and California tend to be particularly aggressive about this. When text books are written or proposed for use by the schools, the publishers give out advanced copies so the state can say, "We'll put it on our approved list if you change this or that." For a literature anthology, they would insist that they take out lines from a play or lines from a novel as a condition of approving that book for use. It's not book banning technically.

It seems to me that a state like California and a state like Texas might have very different ideas about what is appropriate for a textbook that tend to offset each other.

DelFattore: To give a couple of examples: Texas would come in with "It's not patriotic enough," or "It's disrespectful of authority," or "It promotes evolution," or "It promotes premarital sex," disrespect for parents or that sort of thing. California tended to emphasize things like it's racist, it's sexist, or safety was a big thing where they'd say they didn't want anything in the stories that would have the children doing risky things. There was even, or I guess there still is, a junk food provision in California state law where they didn't want the textbooks to promote junk food. You might think that while that was going on, it would promote balanced textbooks, but what happened is the publishers would take out anything that offended either state, and the result would be extremely watered down.

Over time, the conservative protestors in California found they weren't getting anywhere with the educational establishment, which did tend to be fairly liberal, but the state legislature in California is now very conservative. So they are getting state laws passed in California that require the school officials to do things with the textbooks that are not what the school officials themselves would have wanted to do. They are much more on the conservative side. So now the three states are pretty much aligned.

Does the movement toward electronic textbooks help alleviate that watering down by allowing districts access to different versions of textbooks?

DelFattore: Yes, even before the movement toward electronic textbooks, there was a period when some publishers offered modular textbooks. I think it just kind of came and went because, as you say, the whole electronic thing just swamped it. What they were doing was saying, "Okay, we'll offer three versions of the chapter on the Vietnam war. One chapter says that the U.S. was in the Vietnam war for economic reasons, another version says it was to fight communism, and another version says 'what Vietnam War?' " So you get to pick and choose which version of that you want. You get to pick and choose which version of the Civil War you want, which version of the New Deal you want, and so each state or each district could choose which version they wanted. With the electronic textbooks, you have something similar to that. If they simply put a textbook in electronic form, it's not going to make any difference, but if they offer options, which a number of them are, effectively you're saying to the school boards, "Tell the kids as much of the truth as you feel like telling them."

Some of what is going on in the textbooks is actually demonstrably inaccurate, and yet, it's what people want to hear and so the publishers are offering it. If you talk to the publishers, which I have done quite a bit, they will tell you that they are a for-profit business and that if they were to take the position that it is up to the textbook publishers to tell school districts what to teach, they would be, quite rightly, criticized for that. So they see it as perfectly acceptable to come up with a product that is what they're biggest customers want.

What if a school board wants to remove books already in a school library because they object to the content?

DelFattore: The school district has the right to decide what books it puts in the library, but there was a case called [Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico] several years ago in which the Supreme Court said that once you put the book in the library, you cannot remove it for ideological reasons. What happened in that case, basically, is that the school board wanted to go through the library and remove any books that the school board didn't like. The U.S. Supreme Court said essentially, you can't do that, because, if the book is simply in the library, the student can check it out or not check it out. You can have parental controls. It's not the same thing as teaching it to the whole class at the same time and having everyone discuss it.

Has there been any significant attempt to ban certain books or influence curriculum at the national level?

DelFattore: There really isn't any mechanism by which you could do that. The one thing that has happened at the federal level is that there have been attempts to tie federal funding to certain kinds of curriculum.

The most recent one was during the George W. Bush administration when they made a terribly large pot of money available to the school districts on the condition that the school district was using abstinence only sex education. Basically, the federal government doesn't have the ability to tell school districts "You can't teach this," or "You have to teach that," but they have almost complete control over the purse. They can say if you want this money, you have to agree to this condition -- the same way they do with the highways.

As far as the federal level, I don't know of a specific book they wanted to ban, but they are trying to influence curriculum in those ways. You know the money is fungible, so if the federal government gives the school the money to run a sex education program because it teaches abstinence-only, the school now has its own money that it would have spent on sex ed that it can now spend on whatever it wants.

Jolie Rouge
09-28-2011, 03:39 PM
Textbook Adoption the New Face of Banning Books
By Brad Sylvester | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Sep 20, 2011

Book-banning used to take place most often at a very local level. Even then it would make headlines if a classic work of literature was banned or removed from a school's curriculum or library. In more recent years, curriculum rules for public schools have been established at the state level, often by elected officials or board members appointed by elected officials. Many of them are reluctant to be associated with book-banning or other broad curriculum changes that might attract the attention of the press and more moderate voters, as what happened with the Kansas State Board of Education in the run-up to the 2006 election.

Instead, many states have instituted a textbook adoption system in which school books must be on a state-controlled and -approved list before any public schools in the state can purchase them. Often, the boards of education of states with larger populations and larger textbook budgets are able to exert financial pressure on textbook publishers to make changes to texts to guarantee approval within those states. While these forced changes don't attract the same kinds of national attention that outright banning does, they amount to de facto book-banning at the line item level, often requiring publishers to rewrite classic works of literature included in anthologies or even rewrite history itself.

To shed some light on this practice, I spoke with Joan DelFattore, a professor of English and of legal studies at the University of Delaware. She is also the author of several books on the subject of book-banning and censorship, including "What Johnny Shouldn't Read: Textbook Censorship in America."

How does the textbook adoption process affect what is taught in schools?

DelFattore: Texas, California and Florida are what they call textbook adoption states. I think about two-thirds of the states are in that category and what it means is that unless the book is on the state-approved list, districts are not allowed to buy it or, in some states, they are simply not allowed to use state funds to buy it which amounts to the same thing. So the publishers have a big stake in having their book on the state-approved list.

Well, Texas, Florida and California tend to be particularly aggressive about this. When text books are written or proposed for use by the schools, the publishers give out advanced copies so the state can say, "We'll put it on our approved list if you change this or that." For a literature anthology, they would insist that they take out lines from a play or lines from a novel as a condition of approving that book for use. It's not book banning technically.

It seems to me that a state like California and a state like Texas might have very different ideas about what is appropriate for a textbook that tend to offset each other.

DelFattore: To give a couple of examples: Texas would come in with "It's not patriotic enough," or "It's disrespectful of authority," or "It promotes evolution," or "It promotes premarital sex," disrespect for parents or that sort of thing. California tended to emphasize things like it's racist, it's sexist, or safety was a big thing where they'd say they didn't want anything in the stories that would have the children doing risky things. There was even, or I guess there still is, a junk food provision in California state law where they didn't want the textbooks to promote junk food. You might think that while that was going on, it would promote balanced textbooks, but what happened is the publishers would take out anything that offended either state, and the result would be extremely watered down.

Over time, the conservative protestors in California found they weren't getting anywhere with the educational establishment, which did tend to be fairly liberal, but the state legislature in California is now very conservative. So they are getting state laws passed in California that require the school officials to do things with the textbooks that are not what the school officials themselves would have wanted to do. They are much more on the conservative side. So now the three states are pretty much aligned.

Does the movement toward electronic textbooks help alleviate that watering down by allowing districts access to different versions of textbooks?

DelFattore: Yes, even before the movement toward electronic textbooks, there was a period when some publishers offered modular textbooks. I think it just kind of came and went because, as you say, the whole electronic thing just swamped it. What they were doing was saying, "Okay, we'll offer three versions of the chapter on the Vietnam war. One chapter says that the U.S. was in the Vietnam war for economic reasons, another version says it was to fight communism, and another version says 'what Vietnam War?' " So you get to pick and choose which version of that you want. You get to pick and choose which version of the Civil War you want, which version of the New Deal you want, and so each state or each district could choose which version they wanted. With the electronic textbooks, you have something similar to that. If they simply put a textbook in electronic form, it's not going to make any difference, but if they offer options, which a number of them are, effectively you're saying to the school boards, "Tell the kids as much of the truth as you feel like telling them."

Some of what is going on in the textbooks is actually demonstrably inaccurate, and yet, it's what people want to hear and so the publishers are offering it. If you talk to the publishers, which I have done quite a bit, they will tell you that they are a for-profit business and that if they were to take the position that it is up to the textbook publishers to tell school districts what to teach, they would be, quite rightly, criticized for that. So they see it as perfectly acceptable to come up with a product that is what they're biggest customers want.

What if a school board wants to remove books already in a school library because they object to the content?

DelFattore: The school district has the right to decide what books it puts in the library, but there was a case called [Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico] several years ago in which the Supreme Court said that once you put the book in the library, you cannot remove it for ideological reasons. What happened in that case, basically, is that the school board wanted to go through the library and remove any books that the school board didn't like. The U.S. Supreme Court said essentially, you can't do that, because, if the book is simply in the library, the student can check it out or not check it out. You can have parental controls. It's not the same thing as teaching it to the whole class at the same time and having everyone discuss it.

Has there been any significant attempt to ban certain books or influence curriculum at the national level?

DelFattore: There really isn't any mechanism by which you could do that. The one thing that has happened at the federal level is that there have been attempts to tie federal funding to certain kinds of curriculum.

The most recent one was during the George W. Bush administration when they made a terribly large pot of money available to the school districts on the condition that the school district was using abstinence only sex education. Basically, the federal government doesn't have the ability to tell school districts "You can't teach this," or "You have to teach that," but they have almost complete control over the purse. They can say if you want this money, you have to agree to this condition -- the same way they do with the highways.

As far as the federal level, I don't know of a specific book they wanted to ban, but they are trying to influence curriculum in those ways. You know the money is fungible, so if the federal government gives the school the money to run a sex education program because it teaches abstinence-only, the school now has its own money that it would have spent on sex ed that it can now spend on whatever it wants.

Jolie Rouge
09-28-2011, 03:45 PM
Author's conclusion:

It is unlikely to the extreme that we will ever get everyone to agree on exactly what should be taught in schools. Indeed, there are several schools of thought on who should ultimately set curriculum. Some would argue that professional educators are best equipped to design curriculums and decide which books are best-suited for their classrooms. Others say that parents should have absolute control over what their children are exposed to in school. I'm somewhere in the middle. I firmly believe that professional educators as a group are the most qualified to decide what should be taught in our schools. Parents, on the other hand, are responsible for providing children with a foundational belief system that allows them to decide, together with their parents, what the information presented at school means to them. Frequent discussions at home about school lessons, means that parents can interpret whatever curriculum is being taught in the context of the core values of the family.

http://news.yahoo.com/textbook-adoption-face-banning-books-223600744.html

comments


"What they were doing was saying, "Okay, we'll offer three versions of the chapter on the Vietnam war. One chapter says that the U.S. was in the Vietnam war for economic reasons, another version says it was to fight communism, and another version says 'what Vietnam War?' " So you get to pick and choose which version of that you want. You get to pick and choose which version of the Civil War you want, which version of the New Deal you want, and so each state or each district could choose which version they wanted."

Today's assignment: Read 1984. Point out the similarities.

...

When I studied in school it was definitely implied that the textbooks were true. Please check out the book "The lies my teacher told me" by James Loewen. I was amazed at the blatant lies and ommissions in my education. I feel cheated by the political spin that administrators take with education. History is written by the victors, that's true. But we don't have to only write one truth. On top of what my children learned in school, I offered them a wide range of books based on their maturity level at the time. At they got older I removed the censorship completely and answered any of their questions openly.


"Censorship feeds the dirty mind more than the four-letter word itself." ~Dick Cavett


Be careful of any that deny you information and knowledge, for in their hearts they dream themselves your masters.

Jolie Rouge
09-30-2011, 07:18 PM
Top 10 Challenged Books of 2010
By Pam Gaulin | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 6 hrs ago

Danger! Books ahead! Each year during Banned Books Week, the American Library Association shares its list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2010. Banned Books Week 2011 occurs Sept. 24 to Oct. 1. Few classics make the list, but there are penguins, vampires, a part-time Indian and angst-ridden, sexually-curious teens.

No. 1 "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

Unlike the other books on the list, "And Tango Makes Three" is a picture book, inspired by the true story (based on an incident at Central Park Zoo in Manhattan) of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, successfully incubating an egg. According to the ALA, it has been challenged due to "homosexuality, religious viewpoint" and is considered "unsuited to age group" (preschool to grade 3) "And Tango Makes Three" has remained the number one challenged book since 2006, with the exception of 2009 when Lauren Myracle's "ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r" (series) was the most challenged book.

No. 2 "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

Published in 2007, the book remained relatively under the censorship radar until 2010, debuting at the number two spot of most challenged books. The book is challenged for " offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, violence , and being unsuited to age group (grades seven through 10).

No. 3 "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

This was the only classic to make the 2010 list. Reasons the book was challenged include: "insensitivity, offensive language, racism and being sexually explicit." Huxley was ranked 36th on the most challenged author list from 2000 to 2009, and No. 54 from 1990 to 1999, according to the ALA.

No. 4 "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins

Hopkins' book has been compared to another frequently challenged book, "Go Ask Alice." Published in 2004, 2010 is the first year "Crank" makes the top 10 list, thanks to " drugs, offensive language, and being sexually explicit."

No. 5 The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

When the highly anticipated movie premieres in 2012, this dystopian novel may jump a few notches on the challenged list. The book is challenged for violence, sexual explicitness and is considered unsuited to its intended age group (grades seven and up).

No. 6 "Lush" by Natasha Friend

The main character lives in a dysfunctional family with and alcoholic father. Although it was published in 2006, 2010 is the first year the book makes it to the most challenged list. Reasons include:"drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group (grades 7 and up).

No. 7 "What My Mother Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones

Sones' book has bounced off and on the most challenged list in the last decade, mainly for "sexism, being sexually explicit, unsuited to age group," according to ALA.

No. 8 Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Ehrenreich's book is the only non-fiction book on the list. Reasons for challenges include drugs, offensive language and religious viewpoint. It's also challenged due to its political viewpoint and for being "inaccurate," according to the ALA.

No. 9 "Revolutionary Voices" edited by Amy Sonnie

Rarely does a collection of stories make the top 10 list, but here it is. The book has been challenged for "homosexuality and being sexually explicit."

No. 10 "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Meyer's vampire phenomenon has dropped down in its ranking for 2010, last year there were even "more dangerous" books on the shelves. In 2009 "Twilight" the series ranked at number five. The series is challenged most frequently due to violence and its religious viewpoint.

http://news.yahoo.com/top-10-challenged-books-2010-225300801.html

Jolie Rouge
04-25-2012, 04:17 PM
Dr. Seuss book banned from class for being too 'political'
1 hr ago

http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/8D/B2AC33A2BD4412C53F5E3EDDCF30.jpg



Dr. Seuss' classic "Yertle the Turtle" has long been embraced by kids and parents, but cold-blooded administrators in a Canadian school district have just banned it from the classroom for being too "political." Officials in British Columbia's Prince Rupert School District apparently snapped after a teacher displayed a quote from the book that said, "I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we, too, should have rights." The district states that the teacher, who brought the quote to a management meeting, violated a ban on political messages in schools.

Seuss fans tweeted their outrage. Quipped one, "you think 'Yertle the Turtle' is bad, try reading 'Green Eggs and Ham' backwards!"

http://now.msn.com/living/0425-yertle-turtle-ban.aspx

justme23
04-25-2012, 10:27 PM
Several of the parents tried to get Pillars of the Earth banned in our local school. I had to read it just to get the context of the quotes they were using from it. It was an incredible book and I would have absolutely no problem letting my child (if I had a child) read it.

hblueeyes
04-26-2012, 06:32 AM
Oh, the thinks you can think.

Me

Jolie Rouge
05-08-2012, 12:31 PM
Florida county libraries ban ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
Risque trilogy was pulled from shelves due to its “perceived pornographic nature”
By Lisa Orkin Emmanuel ` NBCMIAMI.com updated 5/8/2012 8:55:56 AM ET

Brevard County has banned the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy from the shelves of its public libraries. "We felt the book didn’t meet the criteria for what we put on our fiction shelf, that being because of the perceived pornographic nature of it," said Don Walker, spokesman for the county government.

Walker said 19 copies from the trilogy were ordered for the 17 libraries in the county. There were people on waiting lists to read the books, but after national book reviews came out, the director of county library system decided that when the copies, which were already checked out, were returned to the public libraries, they would not be put out again. Some of the checked out books have not yet been returned yet.

"We know it's a national phenomenon," he said.

The decision to take the books by E L James off the shelf was made on Thursday, and it has sparked a review of the process by which books are put on library shelves, Walker said. Walker also said one person had complained about the books not being on the shelf, while others had applauded the decision.

An email sent the books' publisher seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47336255

]comments

Never heard of the books ... before now.

...

I find it quaint that a quick search of the Brevard County Public Library online catalog turns up authors like Zane, Anne Rice, Bertrice Small, Laurell K. Hamilton, Joe Hill - all of whom have delved into some pretty kinky subject matter in their books at one time or another. And that's just who comes to mind off the top of my head. No telling what shocking tales I might find on the shelves if I had the chance to walk around! What a boring and useless library system this must be if they really discard or refuse to buy anything that offends their delicate sensibilities!

..

Seriously, I got the trilogy on my Nook Color and look forward to reading them soon. If the books aren't right for you, find something else. I'm sure there are plenty of books available at the library that would offend my delicate sensibilities. I don't read them! Someone else is sure to enjoy them! It's not my business what others read!

..

I may be conservative... but this is censorship.

..

We can read books about how to Kill or dismember humans..but this book is over the top...Words can not be Pornographic. besides who are we protecting, Adults or Kids. Kids will never read this book..Too many words ...