banned books
This week in children's lit, we are reading controversial books. This is the list of most banned books in the past ten years. The ones that I've read are in bold.
1. Scary Stories (series) - Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate - Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier
5. The ( Read more... )
1. Scary Stories (series) - Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate - Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier
5. The ( Read more... )
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
Had to read it for hs English, but I've read it like 5x since then. It's a classic! and Twain's use of the n-word is reflective of the period and demonstrates how people felt about slaves, so it's justified in that sense.
7. Harry Potter (series) - J.K. Rowling
Supposedly it teaches non-Christian values like witchcraft, which is odd bc there are so many books out there about the Christian message in Harry Potter (Potter as a Christ figure? How odd).
?8. Forever - Judy Blume
Don't remember if I've read this, but I went through a Judy Blume stage in elementary school.
13. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Had to read it for hs English. Didn't love it.
16. Goosebumps (series) - R.L. Stine
I read one of the books recently in Spanish to brush up on my reading skills with a low-level book. I never got into this series as a kid.
20. Earth's Children (series) - Jean M. Auel
Fucking fantastic books. I can see why they're banned though, as after the first book, there are numerous sex scenes that could be taken out of any romance novel.
22. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
Haha my 3rd grade English teacher read this to us.
27. The Witches - Roald Dahl
Um... is it banned bc of witchcraft again? Non-Christian values? Because the witches in this are the bad guys.
29. Anastasia Krupnik (series) - Loise Lowry
I do not remember references to underage drinking in this. But this series ROCKED. Did you ever read the one from Sam's perspective (the little brother)?
31. Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane
Funny this is on there. I read this in college for my Memoirs of Africa class, saved it, have read it again a couple times, and just today recommended it to my students. Weird. Fantastic book. I've read most of Mathabane's work, this is his first and best. I could see it giving nightmares though.
37. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
This is an okay book. It was an option for my hs English class, but it got voted down, so I decided to read it for myself. It's one of those future societies where everybody has a pre-set role- a bit cliche.
41. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Another that I had to read for English class. We even discussed how it was banned in different places.
47. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
OH this book rocks. Man there are some good books on here.
51. A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein
OK. I've read a lot for school. We read Silverstein in second grade in our poetry unit. I don't remember if this is the book we did or the one I read on my own. I've read this book in Hebrew, too, oddly enough. Silverstein is awesome.
52. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Had to read this for hs English, as well. Not a fan.
56. James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
I think we read this for class, too, in like elementary school.
62. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
I checked this out from my synagogue's library, lol. There are a lot of Judy Blume books on this list.
70. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Had to read it for hs English. One of the only people in my class who loved it.
75. Bless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo A. Anaya
Had to read it for hs English. Stupid as hell.
77. Carrie - Stephen King
Read this after watching the movie. Not a case where the book is better than the movie.
83. The Dead Zone - Stephen King
My dad brought this on vacation with us to Scotland when I was like 12. I got bored one day in our flat and started reading it, then continued on the plane, and back at home. It was pretty scary, I guess, but not exactly classic literature.
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Had to read it for middle school English. Not nearly as good as Huckleberry Finn!
That's it that I remember. Some of the titles I vaguely recall, and if they're children's books, we probably heard them during Library Time in elementary school. Was Where's Waldo the children's book where you find Waldo? If so, I guess I've read that, too... although I wouldn't call it "reading." I also remember a book called "Crazy Lady" that was a picture book. Now I want to read "Heather Has Two Mommies"...
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