This, as I got it from poking around LiveJournals of people I only know by proxy, is the American Library Association's 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 list. This is a meme. (Late, but hey, it's still Banned Books week.) But it's about books. So the shame-o-meter is kind of balanced on this one. Bolded are the ones I've read.
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 (I think)
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 (well, some of them--they were slightly after my time; I read a lot of his Fear Street stuff, though)
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 (first one only)
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (and the three after it)
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (sort of. I've read bits of it several times in bookstores. Does this count?)
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan (always wanted to, though. I read several others of hers.)
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (loved this. I still have it. It's signed.)
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (I've been told never to because I wouldn't enjoy it)
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer (inextricably linked to Bridge to Terabithia in my mind, because we read them back-to-back in school)
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Y'know, there are a lot of classic kid's books I haven't read. I'll just have to wait until I've got kids, I guess.
5 comments:
You must read The Witches before you have kids. It's a wonderful book. I have no idea why it's on the list, though. I don't understand why the notion of fictional witchcraft is more objectionable than, say, a Big Friendly Giant. Or Oompa-Loompas. Or boiled Mars Bars. Or poaching pheasants with sleeping powder, for crying out loud.
Dude, of all the books on that list I could recommend to you for reading (I'm impressed by how many even I have read), I must point out that the Lord of the Flies is excellent. I can't speak to whether or not you'll like it, but it is a well-written allegory!
Thanks for sharing that list! Brings back memories!
The reasons for book bannings are usually absolutely Stupid. Many times the banners haven't even read the books, preferring to go by title alone or hearsay or reasons that leave the majority of folks dropping jaws and uttering, "Huh?"
Two titles that come to my mind immediately (not on your list because they were pubbed before 1990) are The Diary of Anne Frank (because, for one thing, she and her family disobeyed orders--doesn't seem to matter *whose* orders they disobeyed. In 1983 four members of the Alabama State Text Committee "called for its removal because it was a 'real downer." Duh.
The other title, Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt, also published in '83, received that year's Newbery medal, but that didn't stop the banners. They felt that Dicey's grandmother was not a good role model.
I'm not sure if you ever saw my 1991 picture book, Troll Games, but guess what? In several schools where I gave presentations, I was asked, nicely but firmly, not to read or talk about my book. Why? Well, several of the parents claimed "trolls are of the devil," and in all cases, threatened to "cause a lot of trouble" if they heard I'd even shown the picture on the jacket. Not all was lost, though. As a result of all that, I ended up on several panels discussing censorship, making over a hundred bucks as a result.
Speaking of "making," there's one classic case of book banning that never fails to get a laugh. Sorry, I don't know when this happened, but sometime back, several angry mothers, who evidently saw a book title on a list of books recommended for girls, demanded that it be thrown off the school library shelves. The title? "Making it With Mademoiselle." This was a book of dress patterns.
Every September, we used to have a reading of selections from banned books at Puss 'n' Books in Redmond (WA). The mayor always showed up and read. I really miss those readings. The bookstore, one of the fast disappearing independent booksellers, went out of business 5 or 6 years ago. :( But that's another story!
Mary W.
oooo... "Dicey's Song"... I remember those stories... those were great! And I remember Puss N' Books too. :)
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