Banned Books Week: 10 banned books you might not expect

[Kadie]

Banned Books Week: 10 banned books you might not expect

Pam Gaulin – Fri Sep 24, 2:30 pm ET

The pen is mightier than the sword and, apparently, it can also be more offensive. Many of us have read the most commonly banned and challenged classics, including "The Great Gatsby," "The Catcher in the Rye," "1984" and "Catch-22." Some of the other titles on the list of banned and challenged books may surprise you.

snip...

"Fahrenheit 451"

Could a book about censorship really be banned? Absolutely. Enter "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. The book has been banned by the Mississippi School District (1999). It's also No. 69 on the American Library Association's list of top banned/challenged books from 2000 to 2009.

Harry Potter series

One of the most surprising banned books sits at the No. 1 spot on the ALA list. It's not even a book. It's the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series is to teens what "Star Wars" was to an entire generation of now-40-somethings. The series has been challenged for occultism, Satanism, violence, being anti-family and having religious viewpoint. The series is No. 1 on the ALA's most challenged book list for 2000 to 2009.

"The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" is not just another classic on the list. The book was originally banned in California due to obscenity, but the catalyst behind the banning was based more in embarrassment: The people in the region did not like how their area and the workers' situation was portrayed in the novel.

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Most parents of kids under 5 have seen Eric Carle's art accompanying the book by Bill Martin. The Texas Board of Education banned the book, in January 2010, because it thought the book was written by the same Bill Martin who penned the nonchildren's book "Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20100924/en_ac/6827290_10_surprisingly_banned_books

[KittyWampus]

1. "The Texas Board of Education"--- okay, say no more.

[hendo]

4. Kind of a contradiction, eh? nt

[rpannier]

2. The Texas Board of Education is packed with morons nt

[izquierdista]

5. They must mean board literally

As in Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd

To think, what fine table legs they would have made.

[msongs]

3. bibles = incest, adultery, murder, genocide, witchcraft, sorcery yet....NOT banned nt

[Wheezy]

6. Thanks for drawing attention to this, Kadie!

It's a topic dear to me. There's a whole lotta crazy going on out there lately.

[Kadie]

11. You are welcome Wheezy!

:hi:

[Odin2005]

7. That is a whole lot of STUPID!

[Richard D]

8. Where are these books banned?

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see it.

[Moosepoop]

13. The bannings or attempts at them take place in individual communities.

Some are targeted at public schools, some at public libraries. The article in the OP shows where the banning/attempts happened for some some of the books, but not all of them.

More info here (American Library Association): http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/index.cfm

[lpbk2713]

9. Grapes of Wrath would be expected IMO.

The message drawn from the book by the RW leaning censors would be ...

New Deal = Good

GOP = Bad


The big and powerful growers exploited the non-union laborers.
Life in the govt run transient camp was well run and harmonious.

[Lyric]

10. For my son's 13th birthday, he's getting a complete set of the Top 100 banned books.

I'll probably have to buy most of them secondhand, but yeah...we're giving him 100 "dangerous" books for his 13th birthday. He doesn't know it yet, of course. I've been planning this one for years. I *want* him to read things that make me squirm as a parent. I want him to challenge me and ask questions that I'd rather avoid. His growth is more important than my comfort.

[SidDithers]

12. K&R...

Sid