Banned Books

As I am sure that most of you are aware, I work at a library! Because this week is Banned Book Week, my lovely co-worker Allison has made a fantastic display for the library. I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about Banned Book Week and share some pictures from the display.

Banned Book Week started in the 1980s and is usually held during the last week of September. It started to spark conversation and discussions about banned books, why books are banned in the first place, and how to combat this.

Here is the top ten list of most challenged books from 2018 (the 2019 list has not been released yet). This list is from the American Library Association website and it also has the lists for years prior if you would like to take a look at those as well.

Top Ten Most Challenged Books

1. George by Alex Gino
   Reasons: banned, challenged, and relocated because it was believed to encourage children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones, and for mentioning “dirty magazines,” describing male anatomy, “creating confusion,” and including a transgender character
2. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller
   Reasons: banned and challenged for including LGBTQIA+ content, and for political and religious viewpoints
3. Captain Underpants series written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: series was challenged because it was perceived as encouraging disruptive behavior, while Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot was challenged for including a same-sex couple
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
   Reasons: banned and challenged because it was deemed “anti-cop,” and for profanity, drug use, and sexual references
5. Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
   Reasons: banned and challenged for including LGBTQIA+ characters and themes
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
   Reasons: banned, challenged, and restricted for addressing teen suicide
7. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
   Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and certain illustrations
8. Skippyjon Jones series written and illustrated by Judy Schachner
   Reason: challenged for depicting stereotypes of Mexican culture
9. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: banned and challenged for sexual references, profanity, violence, gambling, and underage drinking, and for its religious viewpoint
10. This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman, illustrated by Kristyna Litten
    Reason: challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content
11. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
    Reason: challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content

Have you read any of these books? I have read four of them: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Drama by Raina Telgemeier, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, and This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki. I loved all of these books and I try to encourage people to read them all. Drama and This One Summer are both very popular at our library and I recommend them as much as I can. I think that books should make people think and get out of their comfort zones every once in awhile. How else do you learn about anything? What do you all think of banned books? I feel like a book should not be banned just because there is something in it that someone somewhere doesn’t agree with. But I’m very interested to hear what you all think about Banned Books. I’ve also included some pictures from our display so that you all can check it out!

That is it for this post! I would love to hear from you guys in the comments!

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