- Looking for Alaska, by John Green Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
- Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”). - I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group. - Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”). - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”). - The Holy Bible
Reasons: Religious viewpoint. - Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”). - Habibi, by Craig Thompson
Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. - Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence. - Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).
It's getting close to that time of year again . Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read .I think it's important to not take these books off the library shelf because we don't agree with the views expressed in them. As a former preschool teacher and current parent, I feel that we should be able to let the books remain and just disagree without the censorship per se. I personally don't want me kids to exist in a bubble and not have the crtical thinking skills to disagree. By censoring books you are depriving them of the opportunity to do just that.
As a writer I cherish freedom of speech as my first amendment right as a American citizen so I don't think censorship is the answer. Next week I will post the criteria that usually gets a book challenged. Until then enjoy your week!
