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ALA's most frequently challenged books of 2007 - a list by espy
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About this list:
Banned Books week runs from September 27-Oct 4. I've added this list of the top 10 frequently challenged books of 2007 as compiled by the ALA. Read a banned book today!
Qualifications:
I read banned books!
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And Tango Makes Three
First to recommend
2 people recommended this item
Description
In 2007, "And Tango Makes Three" takes its place as the number one most frequently challenged book for the second year in a row. Based on the true story of a pair of male penguins who were given an egg of their own to raise it outrages parents offended by its positive portrayal of homosexual parenting.
Updated Sep 6, 2008
The Chocolate War
First to recommend
Description
If you graduated from high school between 1974 and now there's a good chance you were assigned this book to read- unless it was banned in your district. Found offensive for it's profanity, sexual situations, and for it's brutal examination of power and relationship between bullies and victims, the book has been under constant assault for over 30 years. In 2007 it took the number two spot on the list of most frequently challenged books.
Updated Sep 6, 2008
Olive's Ocean
First to recommend
Description
Earning a surprise (to me, at least) place at number three is Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. Haunted by the loss of a girl she barely knew, 12-year-old Martha heads to Cape Cod where she confronts the confusions and disasters of puberty. Challenged for explicit language and sexual situations this Newberry Honor winner features a distressing first romance in which a boy leads her on only so he can kiss her on camera and a brief reference to the parents having sex. Henke's best known for his picture books ("Chrysanthemum," "Wemberly Worried," "Kitten's First Full Moon") so adults may have been surprised to find him writing about characters that weren't cartoons.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
2 people recommended this item
Description
"The Golden Compass" earned renewed furry in 2007 due to the release of the film and it's censorship of the books strong secularist message. It got the number four spot last year and was the sole book challenged on purely religious grounds.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
The adventures of Huckleberry Finn - free e book
First to recommend
Description
When I read that ol' Huck had earned a spot at number four on the ALA's list of most frequently challenged books for 2007 I could only think that Twain would be pleased. The criticism: that Twain, while anti-slavery, still reflects the prejudice of the times in his characterization of Jim and his use of the word "nigger". The book was banned immediately upon it's printing in 1884 for being 'crude.' This link is to the first UK printing- digitized from the collection of the Bodleian.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
The Color Purple
6 people recommended this item
Description
LaShaunda wrote a fabulous recommendation of this book, and I couldn't agree more. The "Color Purple" earned the number 6 spot on the Most Frequently Banned Books of 2007 for it's references to homosexuality, rape and offensive language.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
Ttyl (Internet Girls)
First to recommend
Description
Written completely in IM messages between three teen girls, this book manages to construct a detailed, funny and compelling narrative of their lives. This YA bestseller shocked many parents into challenging it's place in the library or on required reading lists because of it's sexually explicit content, offensive language and content inappropriate for the age group.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
2 people recommended this item
Description
Angelou's great autobiography is one of the most frequently challenged books on the 20th Century. Angelou states that "Parents, schools and related organizations have argued that the book encourages deviant behavior because of its references to lesbianism, premarital sex, cohabitation, pornography and violence".[60] Often the best books are the most frequently banned.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex & Sexual Health
First to recommend
Description
Challenged and frequently banned (#9 on 2007's top 10 challenged books) for its factual information on all aspects of sexual health, its explicit pictures, and for telling children such things as its "perfectly normal to masturbate." Depending on your values, this is either the best sex ed. book for kids or the worst. Ages 9-12.
Updated Sep 7, 2008
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
9 people recommended this item
Description
Synopsis
Standing on the fringes of life...
offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.
;;My absolute favorite book of all time. Without a doubt.
Updated Mar 14, 2008
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