Banned Books Week 2010: Which books drew the most fire last year?
In a decade marked by reality TV and free-for-all social networking, the concept of banning books may seem outdated 鈥� even archaic. Sexual explicitness, language that is considered obscene, and homosexuality no longer have the power to shock that they once did. As Banned Books Week 2010 kicks off (Sept. 25鈭扥ct. 2), however, it is clear that for many readers all of the above remain highly objectionable.
Fifty-eight years after its publication, J.D. Salinger鈥檚 鈥�The Catcher in the Rye鈥� still makes the American Library Association鈥檚 list of the . So do classics 鈥�To Kill a Mockingbird,鈥� 鈥�The Color Purple鈥� and 鈥淭he Chocolate War.鈥�
All four novels are considered, among other reasons, 鈥渦nsuited to age group鈥� by challengers. In 2001, a school board member in Summerville, S.C., removed 鈥淭he Catcher in the Rye鈥� because it 鈥渋s a filthy, filthy book.鈥� Last year it was again challenged at a Missoula, Mont., high school. Also in 2009, secondary school classrooms in Brampton, Ontario, removed 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� from their shelves after a parent objected to language used in the novel.
Likewise 鈥渦nsuited鈥� are four young adult reads: No. 1 on the list is Lauren Myracle鈥檚 鈥淚nternet Girls鈥� series (鈥渢tyl,鈥� 鈥渢tfn鈥� and 鈥渓8r, g8r鈥�), followed by 鈥�The Perks of Being A Wallflower鈥� by Stephen Chbosky, the 鈥�Twilight鈥� series by Stephenie Meyer, and 鈥淭he Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things鈥� by Carolyn Mackler.
Challengers deemed Jodi Picoult鈥檚 鈥淢y Sister鈥檚 Keeper鈥� ban-able for a plethora of reasons: sexism, homosexuality, sexual explicitness, offensive language, religious viewpoint, drugs, suicide, violence, and of course, for being unsuited for its age group.
A 32-page picture book 鈥�And Tango Makes Three鈥� by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, about a pair of male penguins in a zoo who nurture an egg together, is second on the list. Though not judged unsuited to its age group (4-to-8 years), the book, which was based on a true story, was challenged for its portrayal of homosexuality.
The ALA compiles the top-challenged list every year to educate the public on censorship. (The 2010 list will not be complete till next year.) They define a challenge as 鈥渁 formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.鈥� The majority of books challenged do not end up being removed from the library or school.
In total, there were 460 challenges reported to the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom in 2009, 410 of them books. The rest are videos, speeches, magazines, and other forms of media. The organization estimates that only 1 out of every 5 or 6 challenges is actually reported, so the actual number of challenges is probably much larger than 460.
Interestingly, more than half of the challenges for the year came from two states: Pennsylvania and Texas. In the two decades the ALA has been keeping track, parents have been responsible for 48 percent of all challenges. The most common reason: sexual explicitness (33 percent), followed by offensive language (26 percent), and material 鈥渦nsuited to age group鈥� (21 percent).
While efforts to ban books are decreasing overall 鈥� between 2004 and 2009 the ALA received 21 percent fewer reports than a decade before 鈥� Banned Books Week highlights that controversies over public access to books and First Amendment rights are alive and well throughout the United States.
Nora Dunne is a Monitor correspondent.
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