Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Rabble-rousing readers unite!

It's that time of year again--school is back in session, the leaves are beginning to change, the air takes on a slight chill, and we here in Libraryland are gearing up to celebrate Banned Books Week, which runs from September 30th to October 6th. Banned Books Week, as you may or may not know, is an annual celebration of our freedom to read what we want without the threat of censorship. A worthy cause, no? Because we should all have the right to decide for ourselves what ideas we want to seek, explore, and express. You can learn more about Banned Books Week from this handy guide created just for tweens and teens here. And check out this cool timeline that explores how Banned Books Week has been "liberating literature" for 30 years.

The most interesting part of this celebration (in my opinion, anyway) is reviewing the past year's challenged or banned books and discovering the reasons why they were challenged in the first place. (Then, they go straight on my to-be-read list because I get a kick out of being a rebellious reader.) Below is the list of the top ten most challenged titles of 2011. Notice a theme here? Many of those that made the top ten are young adult/teen books. Why do you think that is the case? Have you read any of the books on this list? As a teen, what do you think about the issues of censorship and book challenges? What are some of the consequences of removing materials from libraries or schools? Please feel free to discuss any of these issues in the comments section. Discussion is a great way to process through the often complex emotions that tend to murkify (can I use "murky" as a verb?) this issue. We would love to hear what you think. And please join us at the Oregon City Library on Thursday, September 27th at 7:00 to hear Candace Morgan (a front-line crusader librarian for the freedom to read) discuss these issues and a whole lot more.

On to the list.... (source: http://bannedbooksweek.org/about)

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
   Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language; racism

My favorite from this list? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It's one of the greatest books of all time (in my ever-so-humble opinion). We have 3 copies sitting on our YA shelf right now in case you're in the mood for a rebellious read...

Keep a lookout for our Banned Books Week display (planned and designed by our very own Peter) where you can browse and check out an array of banned and challenged books.