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What is your favorite banned or challenged book?
This is Banned Books Week. It’s the perfect time to acknowledge the books in your life that others have banned, censored, or challenged for removal from bookshelves. For instance, can you imagine ever being prohibited from reading A Wrinkle in Time or Of Mice and Men? Would you mind if Beloved—recently judged the best book of the last 25 years—were banned in your community? Peruse the American Library Association’s list of the most-challenged books of the last decade and you’ll probably be surprised to see many such classics and sentimental favorites listed there—books you’re likely to find in your home bookcase.
Do you have a favorite or two on the list? What was the last challenged book you read? Please speak up about the challenged books that speak to you. Doing so is easy:
- If you’re registered with Cuppa Joad, please log in.
If you haven’t signed up, please register. (It’s free, fast, and we will never spam you.) - Click the View Site link at the top of your screen after logging in, and then click this post’s orange heading.
- Use the comments form at the bottom of this post’s page to write about your favorite banned or challenged books, or to respond to other comments. And click the Submit button once you’ve completed the form.
Cuppa Joad has been celebrating all month long. We hope you’ll participate in Banned Books Week by sharing your comments—and by reading one of the referenced books too, of course!
Earlier this year, I finally got around to “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” which is the (highly challenged) autobiography of the great Maya Angelou. If you’ve ever seen or heard Ms. Angelou speak, you probably know her as an elegant woman, an inspiring writer, and an ambassador of peace. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is the story of Angelou’s youth and adolesence, which includes memories of her sexual abuse, as well as her matter-of-fact portrayal of her awakening sexual urges as a teenager. The abuse, of course, is brutal and traumatizing; its consequences are also shocking. Her up-front approach toward losing her virginity is not the demure approach one would expect from a Southern young lady. But it’s the truth. It’s not graphic or gratuitous, and Angelou certainly isn’t advocating that other young women should follow suit. The scene in question is integral to Angelou’s story, and her decision affects the rest of her story. But I’m sure it’s these scenes that have caused this book to be challenged, which is unfortunate because they only add to the value of Angelou’s memoir–value to readers young and old.
by Sadie's dad, 26 Sep 2006 at 11:11 am
Sleepy Hollow Elementary School’s library is a playground of sin! At 3′6″ I perused (read in depth) nearly 20 challenged books. Judy Blume held my hand, led me through the time when girls are cruel and boys flatten you with tetherballs because they like you. “Margaret” was everyone’s friend–so, by the time we hit puberty, we turned to each other and laughed, “What’s with all the hype? We’ve been through this before.” A hearty thank-you to Judy Blume, whose books Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Blubber, Forever, and Deenie comfort American girls and snub efforts to taboo women’s sexuality.
by russelkm, 26 Sep 2006 at 12:01 pm
I was surprised to discover that The Bluest Eye the debut novel from one of my favorite authors, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, has been banned, challenged, and taken off school library shelves, although it remains on required reading lists in many US classrooms. While on principal I disagree with censorship, I also understand that not all published material has a place in classrooms. I do think, however, that refraining from discussion of important literary works in school rooms limits our young people’s education, in that the act of censorship not only dismisses our student’s ability to critically think, but also hinders their opportunities to further that skill. Great art and literature often mirror modern issues in real people’s lives. If we don’t trust that our youth are able to discuss and analyze fictional accounts of difficult topics and issues, how can we expect them to make intelligent decisions as independent adults? Oscar Wilde once said, “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” The Bluest Eye deals with both the shame of a period in American history, and the shame within a family. If change comes from introspection, analysis of issues, and making a concerted effort to alter one’s path, can we truly expect American society to make strides forward when we discourage our youth from exposure to and discussion of real issues?
by adufresne, 3 Oct 2006 at 11:32 am