Each year the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives hundreds of reports on book challenges, which are formal written requests to remove a book from a library or classroom because of an objection to the book's content. There were 346 recorded attempts to remove materials from libraries in 2010, and more than 11,000 attempts recorded since OIF began compiling information on book challenges in 1990.
The ALA will celebrate the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, Sept. 24 - Oct. 1, 2011, as thousands participate in a Virtual Read-Out and read aloud from their favorite challenged or banned book.
Below is a list of 10 popular children's classics and the reasons why attempts were made to remove them from circulation:
All information pulled from "Banned Books: Challenging our Freedom to Read, 2010 edition, by Robert P. Doyle. ISBN 0-8389-8279-4, a publication of the American Library Association.
Mike
The thing is, the Bible is a book full of mythical stories written and inspired by very errant humans, not a deity. These same humans were no better Kurt Vonnegut or Jackie Collins, except that Vonnegut and Collins are better writers.
Mike:
Jan
A decrepit old coot who left his right hand in Korea many years ago. I graduated
from UConn, GI Bill, & worked for Pratt & Whitney in the UK (Swindon) for 10
years There is plenty more & if by chance you suffer from insomnia some day I will
finish this boring story. :-) Thank you for the fan but it's really not necessary.
My posts have been awful lately. I blame it on Rush Limbaugh. :)
Have a terrific weekend. Faved.
Cheers,
Mike
You get fanned right back & faved too. Take care.
Fanned & faved
Mike.
Amazon is a wonderful thing, and the used bookstore in town is a boon. Also, it's amazing what great literary works you can find at yard sales sometimes!
Those American states ought to know that.
If you bring your children up not knowing that there are bad things in the world, you are preparing them for shocks in the future from which they may never recover.
These stories are a painless way of preparing them for adulthood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIBqd1kxoQk
Almost nobody is actually in favor of banning books, and the ones who are are almost never successful. They have basically no political power. It's just a form of easy grace to congratulate yourself on how much more enlightened and open-minded you are than a book-banner.
There are many communities across the country where the book banners have got their way. And not just with books for children. Many librarians have been forced by the so called town fathers and mothers to pull books from their shelves.
Seriously, though. Have you considered the fact that people today have easier access to more books than anyone else in history? Just twenty years ago, I never would have imagined how many books I'd be able to get my hands on. When I was growing up, we had one bookstore in town. It was a little Waldenbooks in a sort of strip mall, with, like, five aisles of mass market paperbacks. And neither our school nor public libraries were really anything to write home about. Now, you can name the most obscure book you can think of, and I can have it on my doorstep in less than a week (much less time than I'd have to wait for a book at the library, if someone else checked it out).
But here you are complaining because some library somewhere doesn't carry every book everybody wants. Do you think it's possible that you're scraping the bottom of the "righteous outrage" barrel here? Maybe just a little bit?
What about *gasp* doing your job as a parent and discussing these issues with your kids while they read the book? Nah, these so called “parents†would rather avoid these situations and shelter their children from anything that might challenge their parents’ black and white worldview. I truly feel sorry for these children.