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The cause and effect is largely the other way around. They are more frequently challenged because they are more frequently used by schools and included in recommended or required reading lists. So parents who take issue are more likely to feel compelled to act, and also are more likely to have themselves read the books (or at least been exposed to them). Less popular books may more easily fly under the radar.
At my then-local school we had some parents challenge "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" on the basis that it was "promoting witchcraft"! (I assume based purely on the title...this was also before the movie came out.)
Oh and the bible is only dangerous if you take that book as fact and not fiction as it actually is.
There may be many stories in the Bible based on fact, to clarify this you need context. Things happened that people did not understand and their knowledge of the world was limited. Also those stories have been passed on for many centuries through different interpretations and translations. For example the story of Sodom and Gomorrah could of been the result of a meteor. As another example Noah's ark may have some truth especially about the flood, but it would be a local flood.
I've read all but Tom Sawyer as part of a school assignment (to this day, I've not read Tom Sawyer, mainly from lack of interest, though I've gone back and read Brave New World a few times; fantastic book that everyone should read). Thankfully, book banning is honestly not that common. Of course, when it does happen, we should throw a fit though. Banning books, particularly in a space for education, is always wrong.
Also, to the people saying only X group (rather it's liberals or Christians or whatever), you're parents should be ashamed of how stupid you truly are. All kinds of groups have and continue to ban books throughout the world. It's not ideologically specific. To my knowledge, few books have been banned on this subject, so you're just choosing not to be informed.
I've read all but Tom Sawyer as part of a school assignment (to this day, I've not read Tom Sawyer, mainly from lack of interest, though I've gone back and read Brave New World a few times; fantastic book that everyone should read). Thankfully, book banning is honestly not that common. Of course, when it does happen, we should throw a fit though. Banning books, particularly in a space for education, is always wrong.
Also, to the people saying only X group (rather it's liberals or Christians or whatever), you're parents should be ashamed of how stupid you truly are. All kinds of groups have and continue to ban books throughout the world. It's not ideologically specific. To my knowledge, few books have been banned on this subject, so you're just choosing not to be informed.
Skip Tom Sawyer, go straight to Huckleberry Finn. Arguably the greatest American novel ever written.
Harry Potter - Witchcraft!!!!!
Anything written by or about Blacks - They can't write or read!!!!
Anything exploring social issues - Should be swept under the rug and ignored!!!!
Along with a littany of banned words, some of which may be used to write a book, pictures of firearms...one high school mascot named the 'pioneers' had his musket taken away on all logos, shirts with American flags, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches culturally offensive...not because of allergies.
Books are but one avenue for the power grab by liberals.
Can't remember for sure which state, but either Oregon or Washington, won't allow a teacher to mention that some people don't believe in climate change.
I read The Glass Castle just because it was banned from a certain school library. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Thanks to the library for banning it, otherwise I would have never heard about it.
When I was in high school I had hoped that there would be Playboy or Hustler magazines in the school library. But no; damn those bans. I had to wait for German Class to get my fill of topless women in the ads in Der Spiegel. My German teacher tried to cut them all out, but she missed some.
Was reading a recent article on " to kill a mockingbird " and then looked up the most protested and banned books in schools.
It is absolutely amazing the titles of the top100 books that are banned in school. Many of them were required in high school English classes. Fahrenheit 451, Tom sawyer, brave new world, of mice and men, catcher in the rye, the list goes on. Cannot imagine what books are read and discussed if all these titles are not only not discussed but banned in schools. Unbelievable.
These books are not banned. Booksellers are free to sell them. People are free to purchase. Students are free to bring them to school and to read them in study hall and to organize clubs where those books are read.
These are books that, in some cases, are not carried by the library. But then, libraries only carry a small fraction of books that are published. Every library has to make a decision as to what is worthy for that library's community. Do we not agree that it is reasonable for a public middle school to decide that Hugh Heffner's biography might not be as beneficial as one of George Washington.
So let's not see the word 'ban' and act like it means what it mean in places like Nazi Germany or the USSR, or what it still means in places today like Saudi Arabia or China, where people were/are imprisoned for merely possessing the 'wrong' book.
All of that said, I think it is generally a bad idea for a book to be removed -- ie, the library staff decided to acquire that book, then decided to take it out of circulation -- because someone complained. So I do think there is a distinction between deciding against carrying a book in the first place and caving to public pressure not to remove it from the shelves.
Anyway, let's look at some of these books...
Quote:
1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16. Forever, by Judy Blume
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20. King and King, by Linda de Haan
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25. Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
I think the general ideological perspective from which most of these books are disliked is clear.
By the way, for those who aren't aware of it, until the United States Supreme Court incorporated the First Amendment, states were free to ban books. You know, 'state's rights'. And it wasn't until the early 1960s that challenges to bans on books like Tropic of Cancer and Lady Chatterly's Lover swept aside de facto bans by the federal government and states.
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Originally Posted by Misanthrope83
Never read the ones mentioned but do have copy of catcher in the rye on my bookshelf. Tried but got tired of Fahrenheit 451 and ditched it. To Kill a Mockingbird is nothing but white guilt propaganda I have zero interest in reading. Animal Farm should be required reading in schools.One of my favorite books.
I am white and I felt no guilt when I read To Kill A Mockingbird. But then, I don't sympathize with racists - I'm sure people who see racism in their own behavior can't handle discussions of racism like that put forth by Harper Lee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox Terrier
Liberals don't ban books. Conservatives do.
Oh, liberals do challenge some books, let's be honest there. However, it is certainly true that most objections come from the right. This is no surprise. Social conservatism rests on opposing new ideas and thus perceives thoughts which are traditional as dangerous and needing to be suppressed.
It's no coincidence, after all, that the books on that list are much more likely to be found in a public school than in a private religious school.
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