Banned Books Week

[lesroi]

One of my great friends is a Librarian and she sent me this link:


http://www.cafepress.com/rtshirts.3338129


Tracy

 

[Tifffany]

I don't even remember bawdy material in Canterbury Tales. I guess I wasn't paying attention! Which was not unusual in my high school years.

Oh my gosh, yeah, some of the tales in it are quite sexual. Made for some fun reading in English AP last year.

 

[wld]

I got on the bad mommy list years ago. The dds were about 10 and 6 and we were standing outside a bookstore that had a display of banned books. There in the middle was our favorite book by Shel Silverstein "Where the Sidewalk Ends" What? Not possible!! We researched it further and wouldn't you know their very favorite poem that made them giggle and giggle was the cause for "promoting Canabalism(sp)"
Good grief....they always called it the someone ate the baby poem..its real name is Awful....they also both took it to school at some point in their academic career as an example of their favorite poem....they thought it was a riot..Buuuurp!!

 

[sodaseller]

We were at my secretary's wedding. My family sat with one of my partner's family. He is a great guy but their family is very fundamentalist. We have a lot of discussions at work, always respectful. My daughter began speaking to their son about Harry Potter and he responded that he never read such Satanic books and that my DD9 should not either. Very awkward. An interesting drive home and attempted explanation

 

[noodleknitter]

"Where's Waldo?" and "Where the sidewalk Ends!" Good Grief!!!!

Why is "The Bridge of Teribinthia" banned? I just assigned it to my son, because it looked like a great book! We've read dozens of those books! I want a T-shirt!

 

[paintnolish]

If they offer them again this year, I'll get you one, pal!

Me,too! As an Eng Ed major, I think one would be pretty funny!

 

[sharbear]

"Where's Waldo?" and "Where the sidewalk Ends!" Good Grief!!!!

Why is "The Bridge of Teribinthia" banned? I just assigned it to my son, because it looked like a great book! We've read dozens of those books! I want a T-shirt!

I don't know but I am venturing to guess that the suicide in "The Bridge to Terabithia" is why that book is banned. It's a great book but very sad. Unless I am thinging of the wrong book, it's been a long time.

My kids 8th Grade English teacher did her whole year in banned books. It was great.

 

[noodleknitter]

Thanks! I think that a year of banned books os a fun idea. My son is in 7th this year...maybe we'll make an 8th grade tradition! ~~smile~~ I still have 2 more boys to go thru the system!

 

[Crankyshank]

there wasn't a suicide in Bridge to Terabithia - it was an accident.

It was banned because it promoted witchcraft and used vulgar language because of the use of the phrase "Oh Lord"

It's a very good book, noodleknitter

 

[nuke]

Here's the list.

100 banned books list

 

[noodleknitter]

there wasn't a suicide in Bridge to Terabithia - it was an accident.

It was banned because it promoted witchcraft and used vulgar language because of the use of the phrase "Oh Lord"

It's a very good book, noodleknitter

Well, Phooey...now I'm going to have to read it...like I have the time! Thanks!

How sad that people can be so foolish and narrow-minded.

 

[Maleficent13]

Can someone explain these two to me?

Blubber by Judy Blume

and

How to Eat Fried Worms?????

Granted, it's been many years since I read either one, but I don't remember anything "ban worthy" in them.

 

[noodleknitter]

I could see Blubber by Judy Blume being offensive to someone. She is so honest in the way kids act, and what they say and think...and those things aren't always nice. (I certainly don't agree with the banning, however.)

Never read "Fried Worms", though.

 

[Crankyshank]

Bridge only took me about an hour to read Sunday so it's not too time consuming. keep tissues handy though

Blubber by Judy Blume is often banned for language and scenes depicting kids being disrespectful to authority figures. Also, the antagonist is never punished. ALA_2000

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell ISBN 0440445450 ALA_2000 (Main character eating worms as part of a bet was seen as gross and something that could be easily imitated)

http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-banned-books

 

[noodleknitter]

Cool link!

Will keep tissues handy...but probably won't read before bed! I can't breathe all night if I cry before I sleep!

 

[Maleficent13]

I have read your posts, Crankyshank, and I guess it's a good thing that I cannot understand the reasoning behind the hoopla. Thanks for the info!

It has also given me the bug to go back and reread all of Judy Blume's books!

 

[Maleficent13]

This is amazing:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank has been banned or challenged for various reasons including being "a real downer."

Gosh, they really need to write more uplifting books about the Holocaust! WTH???

 

[mickeyfan2]

Below are the "banned" books that we read in HS or younger.

.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—racist language

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl—sexually explicit

The Catcher in the Rye—offensive language

Little Red Riding Hood—bottle of wine in basket for Grandma

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary—offensive language

To Kill a Mockingbird—racist language


Fahrenheit 451

Now books I wished were banned we had to read. Anything by John Steinbeck and the Martian Chronicles.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Carrie by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford


So I have read 16 out of 100. Not too bad for my bad "banned" book habit. Seems I have much more reading to do. Glad to see my friend John on the list.

 

[Geoff_M]

While this discussion is all well and good, and I agree that the world does not lack a shortage of pinheads that want to do things like ban To Kill A Mockingbird for highly questionable reasons, there are somethings that alway make me uncomfortable with this ALA annual "celebration":

1) The ALA seems to imply that "banned" books are somehow more noble than other books... or that they are automatically worthy of respect.

2) Banned books, we are told, are "Your ticket to Freedom". I realize that on one level they are refering to our "Freedom of Speech", but is opting to not use a book in a classroom tantamount to supression of speech? If I'm concerned that something my child is being asked to read in school isn't, in my view, age-appropriate then does me questioning that out loud make me the same as a "book burner"? So what's a parent in this situation supposed to do?

There will always be twit parents who challenge books in classes on seemingly laughable grounds. When this happens, it should be other parents' duty to stand up and say "Now, come on..." but is having such discussions about reading materials inherently "bad", and does it make such books that are discussed "good"? From the way I read the ALA, I think the answer is "yes".