[Reader-list] Censorship: the most challenged books of last year

[Shivam]

[From the literature at yahoogroups.com mailing list, sorry for
crossposting. Shivam]

From: shahara97 at aol.com
Subject: info on Banned Book week September 25-October 2

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If you disagree with censorship please use this gif on your webpages, etc...

for more info visit:  http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/
here is a blurb (and there are other stories all over, please share):

Every year, the ALA prepares a list of the most challenged books for the
previous year, as a guide so everyone, including parents and students,
understand how insidious the practice is and how unfortunate it is
that kids around the country are losing access to books that millions
of other children cherish.

The books, in order of most frequently challenged, are:

The "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for sexual content, using
offensive language, and being unsuited to age group.
The "Harry Potter" series, for its inclusion of wizardry and magic.
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for using offensive language.
"Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A.
Bellesiles, for inaccuracy.
"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers, for racism, sexual content, offensive
language, drugs and violence.
"Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous, for drugs.
"It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris, for homosexuality, nudity, sexual
content and sex education.
"We All Fall Down" by Robert Cormier, for offensive language and sexual
content.
"King and King" by Linda de Haan, for homosexuality.
"Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson, for offensive language and
occult/satanism

Judy Blume - who was recognized last week by the National Book Foundation for
her contributions to American letters - is the second-most censored author of
the past 15 years. Alvin Schwartz, who writes the Scary Stories series, tops
the list. J.K. Rowling is fourth, but she has published fewer books than
either Blume or Schwartz, and her first book was released in the US in
late 1999.

At Nimbus - 2003 last year, Judith Krug, director of the OIF, spoke about
censorship and the Harry Potter books. She noted that "some people believe that
just the act of reading Harry will actually automatically convert readers into
witches[, and that another] major complaint is that the books glorify evil.
When this charge is hurled, I patiently explain that these books are about good
and evil."

Ms. Krug said:
"In addition to witchcraft, we've heard complaints that Harry Potter
encourages disrespect for adults and authority, and that the Dursleys
are mean. In one
case, the complainant alleged that the novels promote drug useâ€"all those
portionsâ€"and we've seen a handful on the grounds that the series promotes
Wicca and, therefore, violates the separation of church and state."

In tandem with Banned Books Week, the ALA has provided a guide for parents on
issues related to kids and reading, and the American Booksellers Foundation
for Free Expression, who joined us at the TLC/FictionAlley screening of Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at an IMAX theater last June, is
highlighting how bookstores fight censorship.

The ALA writes:
"Kids and curiosity go together. Sometimes the books that challenge the minds
of children the most are the books that some people feel are inappropriate
for them. Children are thinkers, and they can only grow if we give them the
opportunity to read all types of literature.

While parents are understandably curious and sometimes concerned about what
our child reads, the ALA recommends that if a parent is uncomfortable with a
book assigned in class, they should request an alternative selection. However,
taking action to remove a book from a school or library limits the access of
all the members of the community, not just those who dislike the work.

As Dr Krug said, "removing the book imposes the will of that one parent, or
group of parents, on all the other parents and children in the community."

You can find a list of the 100 most challenged books here. If you need to
report a challenge to a book, you can visit this page for more information.