2 Books to Wrap Up Banned Books Week...

The Arabic Quilt

The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale

Both written by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semidzhyan

As we wrap up Banned Books Week, I wanted to share two books I was reading about this week. The Arabic Quilt and The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil. The first book I read about was The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale and I thought it was a great book for children to read about to understand about what banned books were. But when I read about why author Aya Khalil actually wrote the book, I was even more interested....

"They banned my debut, so I wrote a picture book about it."

                                                                                               ...Aya Khalil

Aya Khalil was inspired to write the story of The Arabic Quilt based on her own experiences growing up as an immigrant. Her family moved to the United States from Egypt when she was one, and eventually going to elementary school, Aya was the only Muslim in her class. This made for some challenges for Aya and in an essay she wrote for We Need Diverse Books she recounts some of these challenges, including when a classmate tells her to "Go Back to your country". I can't imagine going thru all of that at such a tender age. Fast forward to Aya writing The Arabic Quilt, getting it published, the book enjoying a place in school libraries and book stores. This was her debut book. A book she believed in. It was very popular. The Arabic Quilt was published in February of 2020 and by the Fall of 2021, Aya was told that her book was on a list of banned books in Pennsylvania. 

I googled about The Arabic Quilt to find out why it was banned. All I could find was that it was banned period. So, I decided I would ask Aya Khalil herself. I found her on Facebook and messaged her. Her reply was this...

" The only reason it was banned was because it was on a list of diverse books and the district took off all the books on that list for no reason told."

Can you imagine a school taking all the diverse books off the shelf?! The ban was short lived with the help of student protests, which eventually lead to her writing The Great Banned-Book Bake Sale. She kept the same characters in her new book from her first book, which I think is wonderful! 

"For a period of time, students weren’t able to check out The Arabic Quilt from their libraries, and this picture book could have been the only book with a positive portrayal of an Arab Muslim."    

                                                            Aya Khalil from her essay, " They banned my debut, so I wrote a picture book about it"

The simple quote above shows one example for the need for diversity in books. And what Aya when thru with her children's book, The Arabic Quilt, shows us how important the freedom to choose what books you want to read is. School libraries are sometimes the only place for a child to borrow a book to read. Limiting these books, banning these books, hurts children. 

Reading Aya's experiences in school touched my heart. Reading about these books touched my heart. If you'd like to learn more about Aya Khalil and her experiences, follow these links to her Blog Post in Kidlit in Color  and her essay on We Need Diverse Books. 

Here is a wonderful review of Aya Khalil's book The Arabic Quilt by Ronna Mandel of Good Reads with Ronna.

Read about Aya Khalil's book The Great Baned-Books Bake Sale at Goodreads.

What books did you read or read about during Banned Books Week?

I hope you found the stories behind these childrens's books as interesting as I did. And I hope during Banned Books Week you found something great to read!

Happy reading... Suzanne

      

Banned Book Week is coming Oct. 1st! Win a Banned Book...

Banned Book Week is October 1 - October 7! 

Penguin Random House is having a giveaway to bring awareness to books that are banned in the US! 

Follow THIS LINK to enter to win one of the banned books above! Good luck! 

Banned Books Week... What's it all about Alfie?

 IT'S BANNED BOOKS WEEK... What does that mean exactly? Book sellers, librarians, book bloggers, readers, all of us take a moment this week to think about our ability to read what we want to... it's about censorship, freedom of speech and individuals deciding for the masses what is okay to read and what isn't. Wouldn't you rather decide that for yourself?

When it comes right down to it,
It's really about what our children are reading...

As an adult, banned books hurts us when they are removed from the library. We do not have the opportunity to read something that we may have wanted to. We can ultimately buy the book from a book seller, but what if you can't afford to do that? 

As for children, I can see where some material may be too mature for some. A parent knows their child best- or they should. They could take the opportunity to have a conversation about the book in question too. I'm not here to tell you that your child MUST read The Kite Runner, but if a parent feels that it's okay for THEIR child to read it, then they should be able to. 

Quoting from the University of Connecticut Library library guide on banned books week...

                    Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.

A banning is the removal of those materials.

Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Harry Potter, the Dictionary, even The Holy Bible have been challenged and banned in some circumstances. Here is a list of the top 100 books banned between 2000- 2019. Here is a link to the American Library Associations Top Ten Books Challenged by year.

What do think about Banning Books?

It's always interesting to me to see what books are currently being challenged. I think in the last few years the list has changed because books have become more diverse. But even so, the reasons for the challenges or banning are always the same and fighting censorship is ultimate goal. 

Happy reading (A Banned Book this week!)... Suzanne

 

It's Banned Books Week!

The Sunday Salon and Banned Books Week!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon and The Sunday Post (a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer)! Every Sunday we set aside a little time to chat books, and this week is no different, with the theme being Banned Books! So, grab a cup of joe, find a comfy chair and let's talk books!

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 25−October 1, 2016

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Yes, it's the 21st century and still we have book burners and censorship. I think that the point here is that parents should be involved in what their children read and help them understand what they are reading, guide them in choosing appropriate material for their curious minds. BUT, let's not infringe on the reading rights of another child, whose parent may not wish to ban a certain book. Most banning and censorship takes place in the most accessible (and free) place to check out a book - a library! Let's not make reading a privilege. What do YOU think?!


"This year's Banned Books Week is celebrating diversity. While diversity is seldom given as a reason for a challenge, it seems, in fact, to be an underlying and unspoken factor. These challenged works are often about people and issues which include LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities—people or issues that, perhaps, challengers would prefer not to consider."


Here are the top 10 banned or challenged YA books for 2014-2015:

 1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
 2. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon Books/Knopf Doubleday)
 3. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston)
 4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (Bloomsbury Publishing)
 5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (MTV Books/Simon & Schuster)
 6. Drama, by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix/Scholastic)
 7. Chinese Handcuffs, by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
 8. The Giver, by Lois Lowry (HMH Books for Young Readers)
 9. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros (Vintage/Knopf Doubleday)
10. Looking for Alaska, by John Green (Dutton Books/Penguin Random House)

It seems that Banned Books Week has been taking on a theme, instead of just promoting the reading of all banned books. Last year was YA (Young Adult) Fiction, and I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (read my review), In 2014, the theme was comic books, and I read The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey (read my review), which I loved. In 2013, I read a classic, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, incredible writing and totally not what I was expecting. And I spent a week with Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger in 2009.

So, for this years banned books theme diversity, I am going to be reading a book challenged because it was deemed "sexually explicit". It's a graphic novel that has gotten starred reviews, wonderful praise and has been nominated for 2 awards. What book would that be??? It's on the top 10 banned books list above... and I'm going to reveal it TOMORROW!  Please come back tomorrow to find out! In the meantime...

What Banned Book Are You Going to Read?!?

Don't be Afraid of... The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, A Review

"Look up in the sky... It's a bird... It's a plane... It's a egg-salad sandwich." NO! It's just Captain Underpants on one of his amazing adventures courtesy of the mind of Dav Pilkey!

I read the first book in The Adventures of Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey for Banned Book Week. Yes, Captain Underpants has been challenged and Banned, even more so than Fifty Shades of Grey. Why? Well, probably for the same reasons young boys love reading this series. It's silly and fun, sprinkled with pranks by two young boys, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, and "the bad guy" is the adult, who actually becomes Captain Underpants with the help of a 3-D Hypno-Ring. Wow, did I just fit all that in one sentence?!

First off, why has this book geared towards 9 - 12 year olds been challenged? Offensive language? Well, the principal is called "that old guy" and "mean", but that's about the gist of it. And he is the bad guy after all. Violent? Well, the boys do defeat a couple of bad guy robots, with the appropriate warning before reading the chapter: "Warning: The following chapter contains graphic scenes showing two boys beating the tar out of a couple of robots.!" Lighten up book burners, this is just plain silly and a lot of fun. Not to mention that the two boys, one is black and one is white, show a positive inter-racial friendship.

What about the story? George and Harold are fourth graders who are kings of the practical joke. They sprinkle pepper in cheerleader pom-poms, pour bubble bath in the marching bands instruments, and they love switching the letters around on the Jerome Horwitz Elementary School sign to say silly things. They also are the creators of a comic book called The Adventures of Captain Underpants that they share with all their friends. Why Captain Underpants? Well don't most superheroes look like they're in their underpants?! Principal Krupp hated the boys for all their pranks and silliness, but could never catch them in the act... until one day... With the evidence in hand, Mr. Krupp blackmails the boys to be his slaves (I don't want to ruin the story and tell you what they did and how they were caught), and to be the best students in school. Growing tired of all that, the boys devise a plan to get the evidence back. It involves th 3-D Hypno-Ring, which inadvertently turns mean old Mr. Krupp into, yup you guessed it, the real Captain Underpants! That's where the adventure starts and has bad guys, robots, a machine to end the world and fake dog doo doo. There's even "flip book" pages to create live action pages. All just a bunch of fun.

I've read a lot of positive reviews on this one, and seems safe to say, it's a winner. Do we want to encourage young boys to be pranksters? No. Do we want them to disrespect our Principals? No. We want young boys to read, and that's what The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is all about- reading! The Captain Underpants books are chapter books with great illustrations, and each book is a separate adventure.

No kids here, but I enjoyed this chapter book all the same. I might even read a few more of them, there are 9 more Captain Underpants adventures to enjoy after all!

The Sunday Salon and Banned Books Week

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! It's been a crazy week here in Connecticut, but I couldn't let the week go without saying hello and that I READ BANNED BOOKS!…

Every year the American Library Association, along with authors, bloggers, readers, book sellers and anyone who shares a love for reading, celebrate Banned Books Week. I love banned books week! I discover all sorts of interesting books AND I also learn about fear. Most banned books are banned out of fear… that book will promote sex or violence or turn my teenager/child/baby into a serial killer, drug addict, alcoholic. I get it. I understand that not every book is appropriate for every child (Is Fifty Shades of Grey really appropriate for kids? NO!) but this is where parents should be involved in their child's reading. Discuss what a book is about, TALK to your child, but don't take the privilege of reading a particular book away from everyone because you don't want your child to see it. Of course some parents are not involved with their child's reading, so they have to rely on librarians, teachers and other parents to be a guide. And speaking out either way is a right. BUT, leave the fear behind.

Barbara Jones, who directs the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom say, "People focus on a word, or a handful of words, and often lift them out of the context of the books." But this year the number of banned or challenged books is lower than usual. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Jones said, "We'd like to think it's because people finally understand that pulling a book from their shelves isn't going to solve the problem they're worried about it."

This year Banned Books Week (Sept 21 - 27th) focused on graphic novels. Spiderman and Batman have gotten challenged, but also Maus, the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust. Here's a list of the most challenged graphic novels from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website.

What am I reading for Banned Books Week? The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. It's a 10 part series (I'm reading the first book) that follows the adventure's (and pranks!) of two ten-year-old boys, who create a superhero called Captain Underpants. It's banned because of offensive language (they call their teacher "that old guy" and "mean"), nudity (Captain Underpants is, well, in his underpants), and for promoting the disobeying of authority (thus the pranks). I'll fill you in on all the bad of this book in a review and hope that it does not encourage me to fly around in my underpants (we are what we read after all, right?!)... although that may amuse a few people.

Banned Books Week, what do you think?

Happy Banned Book Reading... Suzanne

Banned Books Week Continues with... Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is a Banned Book!

A beloved children's story, about a little girl Fern, who lives on a farm and falls in love with a runt. And how that runt grows up to be a bashful pig named Wilbur befriended by a spider named Charlotte. A story about friendship & sacrifice, and the cycles of life. A story I loved as a child and last year celebrated it's 60th anniversary!

Charlotte's Web has sold more than 45 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. And in 2006, was challenged because some parents in Kansas thought that talking animals were blasphemous and unnatural. Challenged also because the passages about the spider dying were "inappropriate subject matter for a children's book." (I still cried when I reread that this week!)

A wonderful writer of children's books including Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White lived on a farm, where the inspiration came for Charlotte's Web. Here is what he had to say about writing the book...

"As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published."

Amazing that in the 21st century, Charlotte's Web would be a target for censorship. What do you think?

The Sunday Salon and The Official Start of Banned Books Week!

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! This is the day during the week where we get together and talk books! So grab a cup of joe, find a comfy chair and relax! What bookish things have you been doing this week?

The Big news this week is that it is Banned Book Week! Be a part of the movement to save freedom of speech and read a banned book! There are all sorts of events thru-out the United States, including...

* Read-Outs, which are where people read "out loud", parts of their favorite banned books. Check out the state by state list at Bannedbooksweek.org  to see what's going on near you.

* Banned Books Week Twitter Party 2013! "For the first time this year, Twitter parties will help promote the message of Banned Books Week. A party will be held on Monday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon, Eastern Time, and Wednesday; a second party is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25, from noon to 2 p.m., Eastern.  Supporters are urged to tweet using the hashtag #bannedbooksweek. And additional tags: #bannedbookparty, #heroes, @OIF, @KidsRight2Read, @freadom, @FTRF."

* Virtual Read-Out on YouTube... The American Library Association (ALA.org) asked for submissions of readers reading from their favorite banned book that they had uploaded to YouTube. So search YouTube for tags such as "Virtual Read-Out" or "Banned Books" to see what people are reading virtually. The only requirement that the ALA asked was that the readings were no more than 5 minutes.

There's also a great Banned Books Week Blog Hop hosted by Mary at BookHounds and Kathy at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. Follow the links to enter for some great banned book giveaways!

My Banned Books Week choice is Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Stop by monday to learn more about this book and follow my progress. I thought I might get in a rereading of Charlotte's Web by E.B.White if I have time.

What else happened this week? I read about Nelson DeMille's new book, The Quest. I was very excited about the premise, but discovered that it was a "version" of a book he wrote 40 years ago. Read what I have to say about that in I Can't Wait for that New Novel... Or Is It New? Share what you think about reissues. And here's my take on Banned Books with my opening post about Banned Books Week Sept. 22 - 28th.

What are you planning for Banned Books Week? Share what you're reading and what you think about censorship!

Happy reading... Suzanne

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov... Makings for a Controversial & Intense Reading Group Discussion

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul, Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

The opening line of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is poetry off the tongue. The book is filled with lyrical prose, humor and deep sadness. But the subject matter is what overshadows what has been called one of the greatest love stories of our time. As evident in my reading groups discussion of the book this week, there was a deep hatred for this book, based on the subject matter. Humbert Humbert, the protagonist of Lolita, simple stated is a pedophile. Lolita, controversial, shocking and famous, gives us an inside look at the inner workings of a man who is obsessed with little girls. Girls on the verge of puberty. Humbert Humbert , a middle aged english professor and scholar, with what seems to be a modest but limitless income, finds himself in fictional Ramsdale, renting a room from single mom, Charlotte Haze, whose 12 year-old daughter, Lo, in Humberts mind, seems to be the reincarnation of Humberts childhood sweetheart, Annabel Lee, who died before he could realize his full love for her.

It was the same child- the same frail, honey-hued shoulders, the same silky supple bare back, the same chestnut head of hair. A polka-dotted black kerchief tied around her chest hid from my aging ape eyes, but not from the gaze of young memory, the juvenile breasts I had fondled one immortal day.

For Humbert it is love at first sight, when he sees 12 year-old Lo, whose real name is Dolores. That is "love" is his mind. Because that is all we allowed to know, what Humbert Humbert pens in his "memoir" Lolita. This "confessional" style of writing, by a man who could admittedly be mad, allows Nabokov to play with the reader with allusions to other works of literature, Edgar Allan Poe being a favorite, double entendres, and anagrams. But what makes this book a literary classic is lost when the reader can't get beyond the heinous immoral raping of a young girl. Most of the sex is only alluded to, but there is no doubt what is happening.

The story starts with a forward by fictional Dr. John Jay, Jr. who lays before you some of the horror you are about to read. Nabokov lets the reader know that contrary to however Humbert Humbert portrays himself or makes excuses for his behavior, Humbert is a horrible person. But, and maybe this is Nabokov tooting his own horn, the writing of his "confession" is "magical"...

No doubt, he is horrible, his is abject, he is a shining example of moral leprosy, a mixture of ferocity and jocularity that betrays supreme misery perhaps, but is not conducive to attractiveness... A desperate honesty that throbs through his confession does not absolve him from sins of a diabolical cunning. He is abnormal. He is not a gentleman. But how magically his singing violin can conjure up a tendresse, a compassion for Lolita that makes us entranced with the book while abhorring its author!

Humberts obsession with Lolita, the object of his desire, leads to murder, a 2 year road trip, paranoia, ultimately escape and revenge - a story that goes beyond what is always in the back of your mind as you read Lolita. In the end, even though Lolita finally does escape her tormentor, she never is able to get back what was lost to her - a normal childhood. Can you enjoy the prose and humor of Lolita, when you know of Lo's daily torment? Is Nabokov's proof of the accomplishment of his writing made by the point that the reader is stirred to such intense feelings?

Even though my reading group varied in the intensity of their feelings for this book, Lolita made for an interesting and thought provoking discussion. Since Mr. Nabokov tells the reader point blank in the epilogue that there is no "purpose" to his book other than "getting rid of the book", I wonder if the real purpose might be that in causing so much controversy by writing Lolita, that he wanted to make us better readers by shaking up our sensibilities.

Banned Books Week... What Kind of Reader are YOU?

It's Banned Books Week and inquiring minds want to know - what kind of reader are you? Not sure? Take the ACLU's Banned Book Quiz to find out...

Below is a list of 20 of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. Check the box next to every book you've read to find out if you're a rebellious reader.

c Any book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

c I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

c The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

c The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

c To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

c James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

c Native Son by Richard Wright

c Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

c The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

c The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

c A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

c The Pigman by Paul Zindel

c Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

c The Dead Zone by Stephen King

c A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

c Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

c Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford

c Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

c Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

c Lord of the Flies by William Golding

What Kind of Reader Are You?

How many books did you check off above?

18 - 20: Totally Banned Bookworm

14 - 17: I'll Take Mine in a Plain Brown Wrapper

9 - 13: Brave New Reader

5 - 8: A Little Forbidden Reading Never Hurt Anybody

1 - 4: My Teacher Made Me Read It

0: Literary Lightweight

Memoir Monday, Banned Books Week and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annex" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

Why was it banned? From the American Library Association... Challenged at the Culpeper County, Va. public school (2010) by a parent requesting that her daughter not be required to read the book aloud. Initially, it was reported that officials have decided to stop assigning a version of Anne Frank’s diary,one of the most enduring symbols of the atrocities of the Nazi regime, due to the complaint that the book includes sexual material and homosexual themes. The director of instruction announced the edition, published on the fi ftieth anniversary of Frank’s death in a concentration camp, will not be used in the future despite the fact the school system did not follow its own policy for handling complaints. The remarks set off a hailstorm of criticism online and brought international attention to the 7,600-student school system in rural Virginia. The superintendent said, however, that the book will remain a part of the English classes, although it may be taught at a different grade level.

You can learn more about Anne Frank at the Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam. While you're there you can read about the final fate of the chestnut tree that Anne Frank wrote about in her diary, and take a virtual tour of the hiding place where Anne and her family lived.

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready! AND it's a bargain at $5.69 right now!

The Sunday Salon and Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same!

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! AND Banned Books Week! That's right, it's that time of year again to celebrate YOUR freedom to read! This years theme is Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same! And this week at Chick with Books we're going to highlight books that were banned or challenged.

Held during the last week of September, this year that means Sept. 25th - Oct. 2nd, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

It's important to note that the American Library Association does welcome parents who care about what their child is reading, and their involvement in overseeing what they deem appropriate or inappropriate. But not wanting YOUR child or teen to read something and trying to BAN any particular book from other children or teens (or adults!) is where the first amendment comes into play. Think for Yourself! And Let ME make MY own choices! This is particularly important when it comes to public libraries, which is sometimes the only resource people have to reading books! How do you feel about the banning of books?! Here are the top 10 challenged books of 2009 as reported to the OIF, or the Office of Intellectual Freedom...

Out of 460 challenges ...

1. “TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series)", by Lauren Myracle

Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

Reasons: Homosexuality

3. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee

Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. “Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult

Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things,” by Carolyn Mackler

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. “The Color Purple,” Alice Walker

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier

Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

I can't imagine not being able to read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee! What a great book! In my opinion, the book challenges racism, not encourages it. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult was a favorite among my reading group bringing up the issues of a person's right to choose, not advocating suicide. Charlotte's Web, Little Red Riding Hood, In the Night Kitchen all challenged?! Check out the ALA's list of top 100 Banned/Challenged Books of the decade! And then tell me what books you were surprised to see on the list!

Last year I highlighted 2 of my all time favorite "banned books", The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, met Holden Caulfield as I read Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, featured I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for Memoir Monday, and featured a often times forgotten author and her book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Where will this year take us? This week we'll meet a young girl from the Holocaust, see why someone felt a 1963 Newbery Medal Winner should be banned, and why a Snowy book that won the PEN/Faulkner award and was named 1995 book of the year by the American Booksellers Association was challenged, barred from the curriculum, but finally returned to the school library.

This year my Banned Book reading challenge read will be The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Written like a diary, I'll be thrown back into high school and trying to survive those years all over again. What are YOU reading for Banned Book Week?! Need some Banned Book Suggestions? Here are some suggestions...

A Time To Kill by John Grisham... John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice — at last it’s available in a Doubleday hardcover edition. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence…as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town…Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young man. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle — and takes justice into his own outraged hands. For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life…and then his own…

This Book was challenged but retained in a Fargo, ND high school advanced English class "despite the novels graphic rape and murder scenes." Although I've never read this particular John Grisham novel, there was a time where I couldn't get enough of his courtroom thrillers. I've never been disappointed when picking up a John Grisham novel because his writing has always been consistently good. Have you read this one yet?

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx... Brokeback Mountain was originally a short story in Annie Proulx's collection of short stories called Close Range. These stories are "reflections on the lives of a handful of characters striving to define themselves against the unforgiving landscapes of Wyoming." After the success of the movie of the same name, Brokeback Mountain was reprinted as its own stand alone novel. What's interesting in this case of a challenged book is how far the school in question went to protect its freedom to read... St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Tx. (a private school) returned a three million dollar donation rather than submit to the donor's request that the short story be removed from the school's list of optional reading for twelfth graders. This is a wonderful collection of short stories and if you enjoyed the movie and want to read the actual story, and the movie was true to the actual story, I would pick up Close Range to be able to read more than just Brokeback Mountain.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier... One of the best-loved paintings in the world is a mystery. Who is the model and why has she been painted? It is the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts the painter's attention. Though different in upbringing, education and social standing, they have a similar way of looking at things. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings - the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings. In contrast to her work in her master's studio, Griet must carve a place for herself in a chaotic Catholic household run by Vermeer's volatile wife Catharina, his shrewd mother-in-law Maria Thins, and their fiercely loyal maid Tanneke. Six children (and counting) fill out the household, dominated by six-year-old Cornelia, a mischievous girl who sees more than she should. As Griet becomes part of her master's work, their growing intimacy spreads disruption and jealousy within the ordered household and even - as the scandal seeps out - ripples in the world beyond.

This book was banned in Iran in 2006. In a statement, "The new government intends to take positive steps for reviving neglected values and considering religious teachings in the cultural field."

I hope I've stirred your desire to read a banned book! Let me know if you'll be reading anything challenged and banned! And share what you think about banning books!

Number The Stars by Lois Lowry... a Review on a Book Stirring Controversy

Number The Stars by Lois Lowry

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Ten-year-old Annemarie must find the courage to go on a mission to save her best friends life... While the Nazi soldiers are "relocating" the Jews of Denmark.

Lois Lowry, the author of numerous children’s books, recently received a letter from a teacher at the Taurus American College in Taurus Turkey informing her that her book Number the Stars was banned by the government.

“Last week the inspectors from the Turkish Department of Education came to our school and after reading one paragraph of your book, Number the Stars, banned the book at our school.”

Lois Lowry fans were outraged, along with a slew of librarians and teachers. There were calls to contact the National Coalition Against Censorship and the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. Officials at the at the US Consulate in Adana found that the book is still at the library and available on the shelves. After all this came out, the inspectors stated that they questioned whether young children in primary schools should be involved in subjects with strong religious or political connotations.

After reading about this controversy, first in School Library Journal, and then on Lois Lowry's website, my curiosity got the best of me and I bought a copy of Number the Stars to read since I never read it before.

Number the Stars is rooted in the Holocaust and tells the little known true story of the evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark. Lois Lowry is able to instill the fear of the Nazi occupation, the struggles of not only the Jews in Denmark, but of all the Danish people, and the courage of the Danish resistance in a mere 132 pages. It's a story of courage and of friendship as two little girls, one Jewish and one non-Jewish, who don't understand all the hatred are thrown into a war that makes no sense to anyone around them. One of the friends, Annemarie, is determined to save her Jewish friend, Ellen, from the Nazi's. Lois Lowry is a wonderful writer and even though this is written for ages 9 - 12, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story was actually gripping at times, and a good introduction to the tragedy of the Holocaust. Though the reader isn't bombarded with images of Nazi concentration camps and there are only subtle subtle references to the goings on in other countries, the wrongness of the occupation and the unjust persecution of the Jewish people is plainly evident as the story unfolds. Even a simple question subtly drives home a point,

"What harm is a button shop? Mrs. Hirsch is such a nice lady."

The afterward in the book describes the history Number The Stars is actually based on, and the story is fascinating. Nearly 7000 people, almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, were smuggled across the sea to Sweden. Swedish scientists worked on a special powder made up of dried rabbits blood and cocaine which if sniffed by the search dogs would numb the sense of smell and thus prevent detection of people hidden away in the boats.

If you haven't read Number The Stars by Lois Lowry, I would encourage you to read it. It's a wonderfully written story about a sensitive subject, but written from the perspective of a little girl. Sometimes the innocence of a child can teach us amazing lessons...

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready! And it's a bargain at $4.40!