posted
...read a banned book. Banned books week was last week. Don't forget all those classics that people are trying/have tried/have had banned from libraries and schools. Those on the list include:
1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz 2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite 3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier 5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling 8. Forever by Judy Blume 9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman 12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier 13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 14. The Giver by Lois Lowry 15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris 16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine 17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck 18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker 19. Sex by Madonna 20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
Ok, so not all the books are classics, but several are, and that's just the top 20 of the 100 most challenged books. The list is compiled of the most challenged books between 1990 and 2000. How many of your favorites made the list? 13 of the books on the list are books that I enjoyed reading and/or found to be books that made me think. Up that to 18 if you count each Harry Potter individually. I didn't count books that I hated on the list (though there are several) and many of them are standard reading in schools.
(P.S. On a side note, I am aware that this is the second time that I have used an elipsis in a thread title in the last couple of days. There is no need to point it out.)
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Most of the books that I hated were actually books that I just didn't enjoy. Books that I found boring, not offensive. In fact, I didn't see a book that I found offensive on the list. (Note: I am not saying that I have read every book on the list.)
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posted
I don't understand why several of the books are on the list. For example, I've never read a Steinbeck book that I liked. (Heresy, I know.) I cannot get interested in his writing. In fact, Steinbeck is the ONLY author that I have ever fallen asleep reading. But banning his books? Huh?
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posted
pH - I thought the same thing when I saw 'The Giver' on the list!! It was on one of my younger brother's lists TO READ about 8 years ago... That's probably what's 'funniest' to me...
Posts: 1355 | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
I just really don't see what anyone could find offensive about the Giver. Is it the old man hanging out with the little boy? Is someone's kiddie-perv Spidey-sense overreacting?
quote: Seventy-one percent of the challenges were to material in schools or school libraries.
On that list of 100 titles, I saw quite a few that I would not want to see in a school. People are free to read anything they want to in this country; that doesn't mean there should be no limits on what appears in a high school (or younger) library or curriculum.
On the other hand, I agree that lots of those books are classics and others on the list innocuous at worst.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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...but the euthanasia is presented as a terrible thing. So I still don't understand the offensiveness. Is someone getting offended that one might not support the euthanasia of a twin, or that somehow putting that in a book might make us all run out and kill infants and the elderly?
posted
I never said it made sense. I just think that's the reason. Apparently children are delicate little flowers who should never have to face anything that might be painful or cause moral questions.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Ok - so this is my favorite thing ever. (Sorry, dear you, if you should read this. Hugs. No, not THAT kind of hugs!) So The Catcher in the Rye was assigned reading freshman year of high school, and my friend's mom went through and used white correction tape to cover
Every
Single
Swear word.
HILARIOUS! And I say that with the deepest respect for everyone involved, and I would totally tease her mom about it (gently, as long as she seemed ok with it) if it ever were to come up. But oh my gosh, it was like every third word! And my friend was in high school, land of outrageous profanity in the halls, the bathrooms, the classrooms! So the protection, while well-intentioned, was so not effective.
I kind of want that copy. That must have taken so long.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by andi330: 11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
With all due respect to Leslea Newman, this book may have been big when it first came out, just because it was the first of its kind, but there's better now. Molly's Family is probably the best of that genre now.
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posted
I don't see why I should go out of my way to read a book just because somebody else doesn't like it.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I bought A Game of Thrones off of half.com, and somebody had marked out all of the f-words. I have to say I appreciated it.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I like a lot of those books, but truly love the Scary Stories series. It includes some of my favorite artwork. Yeah, the stories were pretty scary sometimes, but that was the fun part. And Goosebumps? Those were pretty lame as I recall.
Of Mice and Men? Really? One of the most moving novels I've ever read.
Posts: 511 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by pH: MORE SPOILERS FOR THE GIVER.
...but the euthanasia is presented as a terrible thing. So I still don't understand the offensiveness. Is someone getting offended that one might not support the euthanasia of a twin, or that somehow putting that in a book might make us all run out and kill infants and the elderly?
-pH
I think it was probably due to the fairly graphic nature of the incident when he sees his father performing the euthinasia.
I don't personally object to the book at all but I think that I would probably want to make sure my kids were emotionally ready to read something like that. It is pretty intense in its descriptions of several incidents in the story.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I don't understand the "emotional readiness" factor. I mean, I thought that part of the book was terrible, but I don't think it would scar anyone for life. I mean, what are parents' afraid would happen? It would give the child nightmares? Children have nightmares all the time. Adults have nightmares. I just don't understand the worry.
quote:Originally posted by pH: I don't understand the "emotional readiness" factor. I mean, I thought that part of the book was terrible, but I don't think it would scar anyone for life. I mean, what are parents' afraid would happen? It would give the child nightmares? Children have nightmares all the time. Adults have nightmares. I just don't understand the worry.
-pH
Spoilers,
The Giver also deals with adolecent sexuality the main character starts dreaming of "bathing" a girl he is friendly with, and his parents realize he has "The Urges" I believe and start giving him medication for it which he stops taking down the road. That combined with the graphic euthenasia section probably makes alot of parents squeemish.
I read The Giver in my private school in 5th grade I believe. It was a good book, and I enjoyed it, I personally would let MY kids read it.
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posted
I don't know... I read Catcher In the Rye in a Jesuit high school as part of the curriculum. How long has it been banned?
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Yeah, I guess it just seems strange to me because my parents never reviewed anything that I read. Pretty much, if I wanted books, I could have them. I loved the Giver and the Hound of the Baskervilles and the Scarlet Letter, all of which I'd read before middle school.
I've mentioned this before, but it still makes me giggle a little: my boyfriend read the Exorcist in third grade and tried to give a book report on it. There was much spazzing from the teacher.
Edit: Nighthawk, I also read Catcher in the Rye for school. And Brave New World, and a bunch of other books that are probably banned.
quote:I don't see why I should go out of my way to read a book just because somebody else doesn't like it.
Some people seem to be under the impression that these books were somehow censored, and that deliberately a book from the list constitues some kind of protest against that "censorship".
Posts: 1794 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by pH: I don't understand the "emotional readiness" factor. I mean, I thought that part of the book was terrible, but I don't think it would scar anyone for life. I mean, what are parents' afraid would happen? It would give the child nightmares? Children have nightmares all the time. Adults have nightmares. I just don't understand the worry.
-pH
Knowing my daughter (turning 8 next week), I believe that if she were to read that part of the story she would be emotionally affected by it in a negative way. I think it would really upset her to read it and I don't think she is ready to deal with the emotions it would cause her to feel.
I don't know that I would ever tell her she couldn't read it but I would warn her that there are some very difficult parts of the book that might upset her and I would make sure she new that she could (and should) discuss it with me if anything upset her.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote:Originally posted by pH: Why the crap is the Giver on that list?
-pH
Why the crap are *most* of those books on that list?
Frankly, I'm shocked that Lolita has rolled off the 100 Most Challenged list.
I saw only one book I count among my all-time favorites: Lord of the Flies. But I've seen lists with Ender's Game on it, as well as countless other books that I loved.
Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: I bought A Game of Thrones off of half.com, and somebody had marked out all of the f-words. I have to say I appreciated it.
Yeah, the language in ASOIAF can get pretty ripe.
Did you know when you bought it that it was "edited?" Or was it a surprise? Just curious. Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote: I don't see why I should go out of my way to read a book just because somebody else doesn't like it.
I think the books on those list are usually of high caliber, they just deal with themes that somebody didn't like. If the book is crappy, it never gets on the radar to be banned. I usually find banned book lists to be pretty good suggested reading.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Eaquae Legit: Apparently children are delicate little flowers who should never have to face anything that might be painful or cause moral questions.
Isn't that kind of the point of The Giver? Children (and adults) must experience some pain and be faced with tough questions to really experience life, learn to to think for themselves, and become better people.
Posts: 65 | Registered: Oct 2006
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quote: HILARIOUS! And I say that with the deepest respect for everyone involved, and I would totally tease her mom about it (gently, as long as she seemed ok with it) if it ever were to come up.
When I firt got engaged, a friend of my fiancee from BYU bought us Paul Reiser's Couplehood. They went through and stapled black paper over the parts that involved sex "until we were married."
*we took it off early!
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
How did I miss this thread!?!?! I have a poster of this list in my classroom and I have highlighted all the ones we have in our school library. Some of my kids consider that their personal reading list.
See [url= http://ttp://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/pdfs/The_Giver_pt4.pdf#search='why%20is%20the%20giver%20banned']here[/url] for more comments on The Giver.
Andi, have you read The Pearl. It is not only my favorite Steinbeck book, it is one of my faves period. I am NOT a big fan of Steinbeck after being forced to read, and then watch, The Grape of Wrath! Ugh! Of Mice and Men wasn't that great either.
I remember reading that Bridge to Teribithia uses the Lord's name in vain too often.
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