This list is just a sample of some of the titles of chapter books commonly found in elementary school libraries which have been challenged or banned along with the reasons why.
While I agree with a that a few of titles are not books I would chose or possibly recommend, I was still very surprised to see that they where so objectionable to some that the were formally challenged and often removed from the shelves. I have yet to pick up a book whose contents warranted anything more than me choosing to stop reading and place it back on the cart.
What ever happened to free choice or using content as'teaching moments'?
I think I may have to re-read some of these. Apparently I missed the 'good bits' that have others up in arms.
Adventures of Captain Underpants series by
Dav Pilkey - Banned or challenged over concern “that it causes unruly behavior
among children, anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence.”
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -
Banned or challenged for “objectionable language and racist terms and content.”
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
- Banned or challenged for “inappropriate language and references to bodily
waste.”
The Adventures of Tin Tin in America by Herge
- Banned or challenged for being “disrespectful to groups that comprise a
diverse society.”
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain -
Banned or challenged for racism and featuring a “questionable character” as its
protagonist.
Aesop's Fables - Banned or challenged for
“sacrilege.”
And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and
Justin Richardson - Banned or challenged for being “sexist and anti-ethnic;
containing homosexuality and anti-family themes; being unsuited to age group;
and for religious viewpoint.”
Arabian Nights, or the Thousand and One Nights
by Anonymous - Banned or challenged for “containing obscene passages which pose
a threat to the country's moral fabric; an extraordinary agglomeration of
filth; promotes non-Muslim faith.”
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy
Blume - Banned or challenged for “discussion of menstruation and breast
development and anti-Christian themes.”
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer - Banned or
challenged for “not promoting good character.”
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| via pwoodford.net |
The Babysitter by R. L. Stine - Banned or
challenged for “foul language and violence.”
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo -
Banned or challenged for “profanity.”
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Banned or
challenged "for its title” [even though the book is about a horse].
Blubber by Judy Blume - Banned or challenged
for “scenes depicting kids being disrespectful to authority figures and because
the antagonist is never punished.”
Born to Rock by Gordon Korman - Banned or
challenged for use of “profanity.”
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson -
Banned or challenged for its “reference to witchcraft and offensive language.”
Call of the Wild by Jack London - Banned or
challenged for being “politically dangerous.”
The Cay by Theodore Taylor - Banned or
challenged for “maligning African Americans” and being “racist.”
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald
Dahl - Banned or challenged for
espousing a “poor philosophy of life.”
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - Banned or
challenged for “unnatural depiction of talking animals.”
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier - Banned
or challenged for sexual content, using offensive language and being unsuited
to age group.
Clifford the Big Red Dog bilingual edition by
Norman Bridwell - Banned or challenged for being “bad for children.”
The Crucible by Arthur
Miller - Banned or challenged because it contains "sick words from the
mouths of demon-possessed people."
Daddy's Roommate by
Michael Willhoite - Banned or challenged for “encouraging homosexuality.”
Diary of Anne Frank by
Anne Frank - Banned or challenged for offensive passages and for being a “real
downer.”
Die Softly: Die Softly by
Christopher Pike - Banned or challenged for “profanity/inappropriate language,
horror and drug use.”
Disney's Beauty and the
Beast by Disney - Banned or challenged for “religious viewpoint, occult
practices and Satanism.”
Disney’s Christmas
Storybook by Elizabeth Spurr - Banned or challenged for “not promoting good
character.”
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Disney's Pocahontas by
Disney - Banned or challenged for being “culturally inaccurate; religious
viewpoint, occult practices and Satanism.”
Dragonslayers by Bruce
Coville - Banned or challenged for “witchcraft and deception.”
Dragonwings by Laurence
Yep - Banned or challenged for “being Anti-Christian and including profanity
and violence and depicting drug and alcohol use in a positive light.”
Draw 50 Monsters, Creeps,
Superheroes, Demons, Dragons, Nerds, Dirts, Ghouls, Giants, Vampires, Zombies
and Other Curiosa by Lee J. Ames -
Banned or challenged for being “satanic.”
Eloise in Paris by Kay
Thompson - Banned or challenged for “sexual illustrations” nude artwork
depicted in a museum setting.
Encyclopedia Brown: The
Boy Detective in the Case of the Missing Time Capsule by David Sobol - Banned or challenged because
“fighting is portrayed as comic; the scene where boy guesses the color of a
girl's underwear is offensive and ignores a person's right to privacy.”
Enormous Crocodile by
Roald Dahl - Banned or challenged because of “the book's sinister nature and
the negative actions of the animals—particularly against children.”
The Face on the Milk
Carton by Caroline Cooney - Banned or challenged for “child abduction and
mentioning the Hare Krishna.”
Freaky Friday by Mary
Rodgers - Banned or challenged for “references to drinking, smoking and
violence and its use of the words, 'Oh, God'.”
Giant by Robert Munsch -
Banned or challenged for “religious implications.”
The Giver by Lois Lowry -
Banned or challenged for “violent and sexual themes not appropriate to age
group.”
The Giving Tree by Shel
Silverstein - Banned or challenged for being “sexist.” And anti-forestry.
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| via www.rainydayramblings.com |
The Golden Compass by
Philip Pullman - Banned or challenged for “religious viewpoint; demon possession;
and Satanic practices.”
The Golem’s Eye by
Jonathan Stroud - Banned or challenged for “dealing with the occult.”
Goosebumps series by R.L.
Stine - Banned or challenged for its “satanic symbolism, spells, chants, and
references to demonic possession.”
The Great Gilly Hopkins by
Katherine Paterson - Banned or challenged for using “curse
words and taking the
Lord’s name in vain.”
Harriet the Spy by Louise
Fitzhugh - Banned or challenged for teaching children “to lie, spy, back-talk
and curse."
Harry Goes to Day Camp by
James Ziefert - Banned or challenged for inclusion of the camp song “One
Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall.”
Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets and the series by J.K. Rowling - Banned or challenged for its
“focus on wizardry and magic; and fear that it would lead children to hatred
and rebellion.”
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen --
Banned or challenged for being “inappropriate to target audience” and its
“sexual content, violence and horror.”
Heather Has Two Mommies by
Leslea Newman - Banned or challenged for “lesbianism.”
The Hobbit by J.R.R.
Tolkien - Banned or challenged for “mysticism and paganism.”
How to Eat Fried Worms by
Thomas Rockwell - Banned or challenged for “eating worms being gross and easily
imitated.”
I Have to Go by Robert
Munsch - Banned or challenged for use of the word “pee.”
Indian in the Cupboard by
Lynne Reid Banks - Banned or challenged for “objectionable language and
stereotypes.”
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak -
Banned or challenged because "the little boy did not have any clothes on
and it pictured his private area."
I Spy Funhouse by Jean
Marzollo & Walter Wick - Banned or challenged because of its "scary
clowns."
Julie of the Wolves by
Jean Craighead George - Banned or challenged for “inappropriateness for
elementary school children due to a scene depicting graphic marital rape.”
Junie B. Jones series by
Barbara Park - Banned or challenged for “negative content; slang and offensive
statements; profanity and language.”
Light in the Attic by Shel
Silverstein - Banned or challenged for encouraging “children to break dishes so
they won't have to dry them."
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Banned or challenged because “it promotes racial
epithets and is fueling the fire of racism.”
Little Women by Louisa May
Alcott - Banned or challenged for "severe punishment of a feminist
character."
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss -
Banned or challenged for “negatively portraying the lumber industry.”
Lord of the Flies by
William Golding - Banned or challenged
for being "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more
than an animal."
The Lord of the Rings by
J.R.R. Tolkien - Banned or challenged for “mysticism, fantastical characters
and evil forces; satanic.”
Lotto's Easter Surprise by
Astrid Lindgren - Banned or challenged because “the book disillusions children
about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.”
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff - Banned or challenged for
“containing a definition for the term 'oral sex'.”
Moby Dick by Herman
Melville - Banned or challenged for “challenging values within the community.”
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More Scary Stories to Tell
in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz & Stephen Gammell - Banned or challenged
because stories “would cause children to fear the dark, have nightmares and
give them an unrealistic view of death; are unacceptably violent for children;
and show the dark side of religion through the occult, the devil and Satanism.”
Murmel, Murmel, Murmel by
Robert Munsch - Banned or challenged for “human reproduction.”
Mystery at Lake Placid by
Roy MacGregor - Banned or challenged for “crude language and comparison of hockey
face-off circles to ‘boobs’.”
My Teacher Glows in the
Dark by Bruce Coville - Banned or challenged for "use of the words fart
and armpit.”
My Teacher is an Alien by
Bruce Coville - Banned or challenged for “having a main character who solves
her own problems.”
Nappy Hair by Carolivia
Herron - Banned or challenged as “racially insensitive.”
Naughty Cafeteria Ladies
from Outer Space and the Subsequent Assault of Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie
Nerds by Dav Pilkey -Banned or challenged for “insensitivity.”
Otherwise Known as Sheila
the Great by Judy Blume - Banned or challenged for “issues not appropriate to
intended audience.”
The Outsiders by S.E.
Hinton - Banned or challenged because “drug and alcohol use was common” and all
the characters “came from broken homes.”
Paper Bag Princess by
Robert Munsch - Banned or challenged for “anti-family.”
Pinkerton, Behave! by
Steven Kellogg - Banned or challenged because “it's too scary for
kindergarteners.”
Prince Caspian by C.S.
Lewis - Banned or challenged for containing “mysticism and paganism.”
Princess on the Brink by
Meg Cabot - Banned or challenged because “sexual content should require book to
bear a warning label.”
Princess School: Beauty is
a Beast by Jane Mason - Banned or challenged for being “inappropriate.”
Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan
Stroud - Banned or challenged for “dealing with the occult.”
Roll of Thunder, Hear Me
Cry by Mildred Taylor - Banned or challenged for “being inappropriate and
racially biased.”
Ruby Bridges by Tori Ann
Johnson - Banned or challenged for “language used.”
The Ruby in the Smoke by
Philip Pullman - Banned or challenged because “using drugs is portrayed as
beneficial; the main character smokes opium in order to remember the past,
which leads her to solve the mystery; gives idea that drugs have no side
effects.”
Runaway Sleigh Ride by
Astrid Lindgren - Banned or challenged for “childish mischief and antics.”
Scary Stories by Alvin
Schwartz - Banned or challenged because “children shouldn't be scared by
materials they read in school; occult and Satanistic themes; violence; and
insensitivity."
Scary Stories to Tell in
the Dark by Alvin Schwartz - Banned or challenged for “violence and
cannibalism; showing the dark side of religion through the occult, the devil
and Satanism."
Scary Stories 3: More
Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz - Banned or challenged for being“ unacceptably
violent for children."
A Series of Unfortunate Events Series by
Lemony Snicket - Banned or challenged for “child abuse and negative thoughts; suggested
incest; and profanity.”
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| via ishallbeatoad.com |
Seven Diving Ducks by Margaret Friskey -
Banned or challenged because “parent's love in book is conditional and based on
behavior.”
The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein -
Banned or challenged for “gay-positive themes.”
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne
Brashares - Banned or challenged for “gay and lesbian material.”
The Stupids series by Harry Allard - Banned or
challenged for “promoting negative behavior, disobedience and low self-esteem;
and describing families in a derogatory manner which might encourage children
to disobey their parents.”
The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman - Banned
or challenged for “religious overtones and a parent's objection to the author being an atheist.”
Superfudge by Judy Blume - Banned or
challenged for "profane, immoral and offensive" content.
The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer - Banned or
challenged for "occult themes."
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William
Steig - Banned or challenged for “presenting pigs as policemen.”
That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton -
Banned or challenged for "graphic language, subject matter, immoral tone
and lack of literary quality."
There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry
Spinelli - Banned or challenged for “foul language and violence.”
Thomas' Snowsuit by Robert Munsch - Banned or
challenged because it “undermines the authority of all school principals.”
TinTin in America by Herge - Banned or
challenged for being "racist and not being politically neutral.”
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon
Scieszka - Banned or challenged because “it makes the wolf look like a good guy
in a bad way; it's not proper to read to children.”
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - Banned or
challenged for containing "sexually explicit material, religious viewpoint
and being unsuited to age group."
Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker -
Banned or challenged for “use of the word ‘nigger’.”
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Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle
& Glen Murray - Banned or challenged for "using the words fart and
farting 24 times.”
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher
Paul Curtis - Banned or challenged for “language.”
Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar
- Banned or challenged because its “content undermines value systems and
teaches disrespect of people and property.”
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford - Banned or
challenged for “inappropriate artwork including a woman wearing a bikini bottom
with no top.”
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein-
Banned or challenged for “undermining parental, school and religious authority”
and because it "promotes cannibalism."
Where Willie Went by Nicholas Allan - Banned
or challenged because “Willy is a sperm and the book is about sex.”
Who is Frances Rain by Margaret Buffie -
Banned or challenged for use of the words “hell, damn and bastard.”
The Witches by Roald Dahl-
Banned or challenged for its “reference to witchcraft, the occult and
Satanism.”
The Wizard of Oz by L.
Frank Baum- Banned or challenged “for its portrayal of a good witch, and the
notion that courage, intelligence, and
compassion are not god-given traits.”
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle -
Banned or challenged for “New Ageism.”
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