Banned Books Week: Sep.24th-Oct.1st

[SFG75]

As most of you may know, Sep.24th-Oct.1st is the ALA's famous program, banned books week. While our librarian in the school is not too fired up about it, I really am. I plan on using the week in my government class to celebrate it, as well as to mix in a report on a given book that has been trageted. Anybody have any experience with BBW? Perhaps we here at TBF could read a banned book together in a thread? Just throwing out some ideas.

 

[Irene Wilde]

I did a banned books summer awhile book. Of course, while I was I reading "Tropic of Cancer" and "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (among others) these are the books that are being banned these days. Apparently, a little healthy sex is one thing, but that devil-worshipping Harry Potter is the new plague!

Good luck with your class.

 

[Kookamoor]

There's a neat display in the downtown bookstore showing banned books throughout the last century, the years they were 'banned', who they were banned by, in what location and the reasons why. Perhaps your librarian could set up something like this in the library with the help of your class? They could research a banned book each to come up with the information and put it on cards to display with the books. This way the librarian can have a display prepared for her, and the kids learn something about the reasons why various books are banned. Then you could choose one of the books to study.

What level are the kids you teach (just general elementary/middle/high school is fine if you want to be vague)?

 

[Wolhay]

There's not a whole lot of books that are banned by the government in western democracies. The few books that are seems to be nationalistic, racist, anti semitic etc. I've read something about that Canada have or at least have had a strict custums where the borders where guarded against "improper" literature in Big Brother manner. Not surprisingly since even the movie 'Romper Stomper' was banned in Canada.

It seems to be more likely to find banned books in socialist states.

'Yocandra in the Paradise of Nada' by Zoe Valdes is supposedly banned in Cuba and seems like an interesting read.

 

[Motokid]

This is too funny to not post. I hope nobody minds...it's directly from the web page that SFG75 gave the link to:

"The Most Frequently Challenged Authors of 2004
| Top | Bottom |

2004 Most Challenged Authors
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of the Alice series
Robert Cormier, author of The Chocolate War and We All Fall Down
Judy Blume, author of Blubber, Forever, and Deenie
Toni Morrison, author of The Bluest Eye, Beloved and Song of Solomon
Chris Lynch, author of Extreme Elvin and Iceman
Barbara Park, author of the Junie P. Jones series
Gary Paulsen, author of Nightjohn and The Beet Fields: Memories of a Sixteenth Summer
Dav Pilkey, author of The Captain Underpants series
Maurice Sendak, author of In the Night Kitchen
Sonya Sones, author of What My Mother Doesn’t Know
The most frequently challenged authors in 2003 were Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, J. K. Rowling, Robert Cormier, Judy Blume, Katherine Paterson, John Steinbeck, Walter Dean Myers, Robie Harris, Stephen King, and Louise Rennison.

The most frequently challenged authors in 2002 were J.K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Robert Cormier, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Stephen King, Lois Duncan, S.E. Hinton, Alvin Schwartz, Maya Angelou, Roald Dahl, and Toni Morrison.

The most frequently challenged authors in 2001 were J. K. Rowling, Robert Cormier, John Steinbeck, Judy Blume, Maya Angelou, Robie Harris, Gary Paulsen, Walter Dean Myers, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and Bette Greene.

The most frequently challenged authors in 2000 were J.K. Rowling, Robert Cormier, Lois Duncan, Piers Anthony, Walter Dean Myers, Phylis Reynolds Naylor, John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Christopher Pike, Caroline Cooney, Alvin Schwartz, Lois Lowry, Harry Allard, Paul Zindel, and Judy Blume.

Please note that the most frequently challenged authors may not appear in the list of most frequently challenged books. For example, if every one of Judy Blume’s books was challenged–but only once–not one of her books would make the top 10 list, but she herself would make the most challenged author list. Five of Judy Blume’s books are on the list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: Forever (8), Blubber (32), Deenie (46), Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (62), and Tiger Eyes (78).


Top Ten Challenged Authors 1990 to 2004
1. Alvin Schwartz

2. Judy Blume

3. Robert Cormier

4. J.K. Rowling

5. Michael Willhoite

6. Katherine Paterson

7. Stephen King

8. Maya Angelou

9. R.L. Stine

10. John Steinbeck"

Much like the old saying that the only bad press is no press.....I now have a reason to investigate what exactly is the problem with some of these books.

 

[nhunter]

Many Christian fundamentalists have problems with the depiction of spirits or of the supernatural. Some people have problems with too-realistic reflections of the way real people speak. There are always some people who have problems with any kind of reference to the sex act. I believe this is indicative of deeper personality problems but that's just my opinion. Then of course there's that race thing that we're all supposed to ignore.

One book that caught my eye was

25 In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak​

This beautiful, surreal, extraordinary book was one of my favorites of all the books I used to read to my infant daughter. And then I remembered, oh yes! the little boy (Max?) has a penis. The first time we read it together my daughter pointed it out and giggled. I can think of a few episodes in her childhood that I can imagine her discussing with a therapist at some time in the future. That was not one of them.

 

[SFG75]

The first time we read it together my daughter pointed it out and giggled. I can think of a few episodes in her childhood that I can imagine her discussing with a therapist at some time in the future. That was not one of them.

LOL@therapist comment. That was a good one. Right you are, people object to a book due to a number of things. As some have pointed out previously, a few of these books would have reamined in anonymity had they not been rescued by the folks who hate them so much. In politics, sometimes you do them a favor by acknowledging them and by constantly mentioning them. Likewise, some of these books would just collect dust if those who hate them would allow that to happen. In regards to therapy, it isn't controversial scenes and that kind of thing which causes dysfunction. Everything has a context, and to oppose I know why the caged bird sings for what is in it, ignores the context of how that stuff is presented and ultimately, what the ultimate purpose of having that in there is.

 

[Kookamoor]

The only problem with Judy Blume's books is that they answer the questions kids want to know because the parents won't.

 

[mehastings]

I plan on using the week in my government class to celebrate it, as well as to mix in a report on a given book that has been trageted.

This sounds like a really great idea. I'd like to hope that you won't have to worry about parents making an issue of you assigning "controversial" books to their kids to read. I know your students are older, so it should make it easier than if you were dealing with ten year olds. However, from what I understand book banning is more prevalent out there than it is here. Is this true? I never had trouble with that kind of stuff as a kid, which I attribute partially to the fact that I live in the most liberal area in the country. In fact, my mother and aunt (who was an English teacher) encouraged me to read "challenged books". I'm sure that there is someone here who has had an opposing experience though.

 

[abecedarian]

About that naked little boy in In the Night Kitchen..I homeschool, and am a conservative Christian, and I've seen a whole lot more concern among other homeschoolers over various books in the Usborne line. They're widely used because of the great coverage of historical topics. But they tend to portray the people in their various modes of dress, or undress in this case. Lots of people use stickers to cover those pictures. Another book that causes "problems" is Sister Wendy's Story of Painting ( I may be off a bit on the exact title)-but its a gorgeous book with full color close-up photos of artwork from the earliest known works to the present. My personal practice has been to leave the books the way the are, and use the occassional nudity in the pictures as an opportunity to discuss customs of the various cultures represented. If I believe the lack of modesty is a reflection on the morals of the cutlure, then I'll discuss that too. As for nudity in Sister Wendy's book, We just haven't dwelled on it. It's a wonderful book, and I can't justify ruining it by adding stickers or worse, "drawing clothing on the nudes"-jeesh, that's worse than asking me to sing...Material like this is a great opportunity to talk about what the artist saw when creating the work, and maybe their awe at how "beautifully and wonderfully made" the human body is.

 

[Stewart]

If I believe the lack of modesty is a reflection on the morals of the cutlure, then I'll discuss that too.

Anyone who would want to censor nudity in art must believe Jesus popped out of Mary wearing a tuxedo.

 

[abecedarian]

Anyone who would want to censor nudity in art must believe Jesus popped out of Mary wearing a tuxedo.

Duh! They had to wrap him in swaddling clothes, so he musta been born naked like all the rest ;0)

What I meant was in the case of books like the Usborne series, which tries very hard to depict the period they're about, as realistically as possible..an example is the Minoan culture, where the ladies dresses looked like proper Victorian, ankle-length, long-sleeved gowns..with the top cut out to expose the bosom.. or the scene of a Viking village with a naked little boy fishing from a stream..(that one was just funny) In the case of books about art, I think its better to use the painting as a point of discussion about the painter, and what he or she was trying to do with the work.

BTW-We sometimes tease the kids that they were born naked, and its funny to watch them try to deny it ;0)

 

[Stewart]

We sometimes tease the kids that they were born naked, and its funny to watch them try to deny it

Up until five, or thereabouts, kids don't recognise that they were little, and live only in the present. They can't believe they were ever that small, were you to show them a photograph or a video of themselves in a cot. Saw it on a TV show a few years back.

 

[abecedarian]

Up until five, or thereabouts, kids don't recognise that they were little, and live only in the present. They can't believe they were ever that small, were you to show them a photograph or a video of themselves in a cot. Saw it on a TV show a few years back.

That's true! And to really freak their sweet little beaks, try to convince them that GRANDMA is dad's mom...they can't stand it