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May 11, 2008 by Travis Jonker

I’m With the Banned

May 11, 2008 by Travis Jonker   1 comments

The American Library Association recently released its list of the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2007. There are some old standbys on the list like “The Chocolate War”, but there are also some younger bucks making waves. “And Tango Makes Three” holds onto the top spot for the second straight year, and the controversy surrounding “The Golden Compass” movie resulted in more challenges to its print version.

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Click here to read the whole article at the ALA website.

1. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell

Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3. “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language

4. “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman

Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain

Reasons: Racism

6. “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker

Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7. “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou

Reasons: Sexually Explicit

9. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris

Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

(Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom and ALA for the link)

Filed under: Link Du Jour

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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  1. ALA Most Freqently Challenged Books 2008 « 100 Scope Notes says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:03 am

    […] go away anytime soon, expect to see this one near the top for a while. His Dark Materials shot up last year’s list largely due to the release of the film version of The Golden Compass, which caused a stir in some […]

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