Banned Books Week: September 21-27

It’s Banned Books Week, an annual event bringing together the entire book community to celebrate the freedom to read.

According to the American Library Association 307 separate titles were challenged in the United States last year alone.

To celebrate we’ve put up an exhibit in the reading room featuring some of the most frequently banned or challenged titles of the past year. Be sure to stop by and check it out as we’ll adding more titles as the week continues.

The top ten most frequently challenged books for the previous year as reported by the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom include:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
2. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

For more information check out bannedbooksweek.org and for additional lists of recent and classic titles that have been challenged or banned in communities across the country check out The American Library Association’s Frequently Challenged Books page.