Top 10 Banned Books of 2013

What does the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilky, "The Bluest Eyes" by Toni Morrison, and "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie have in common? They are the top three books challenged somewhere in the United States during the past year.

                                                                                                     
The American Library Association's Office For Intellectual Freedom has just released their annual list of the top 10 out of the 307 challenges reported during 2013. The list includes reasons challengers gave for their opposition to the title.

Wondering what it means for a book to be "challenged" and/or "banned"? Here's what ALA has to say:

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.  Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection


To see what other books made the Top Ten List, click here.  

In the fall, these titles and many others will be honored during  Banned Books Week, which celebrates the freedom to read. Meanwhile, read a banned book, because you can.

Banned & Challenged Classics

2000-2009 Top Banned/Challenged Books

Banned Books That Shaped America

The following comes from the fabulous Banned Books Week website, endorsed by the Library of Congress and sponsored by a host of organizations including:  American Booksellers Association, American Library Association,  American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Banned Books That Shaped America:

"Books that Shaped America" is an exhibit created by the Library of Congress, exploring books that "have had a profound affect on American Life".  Some of the venerable books in the exhibition that have been challenged or banned include:


The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884

One of the most frequently challenged books of all time, was called "trash and suitable only for the slums" when first published. For over a century, censors decry the book, alleging it to be "oppressive,"  "racially insensitive" and guilty of "perpetuating racism."  

The Call of the Wild, Jack London, 1903

This staple of reading lists was burned in Nazi Germany bonfires, and banned in Italy and Yugoslavia in the 1920s and 30s. Age inappropriate due to dark tone, violence and blood are oft-cited reason censors claim why they are against what is considered Jack London's best work.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960

Promoting white supremacy, racist, degrading and profane. These are the terms used by censors who want the Pulitzer Prize winning book removed for high school American Literature classes.

Quotations About Censorship

"Don't join the book burners... Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book." 

                                    - Dwight D. Eisenhower  









“[I]t’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” 
                                             - Judy Blume

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed." 

                                   - Benjamin Franklin 

"Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. The surest path to wisdom is a liberal education." 

                                   -Alfred Whitney Griswold 

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." 

                        - Heinrich Heine (19th Century German Poet)

"Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there." 
                                                               - Clare Booth Luce







Thanks to the New Mexico State University Library for the great online resource guide about Censorship and Banned Books, the source for the above quotations.

Banned Books Week 2013

It's Banned Books Week!
Though for librarians and other folks interested in the freedom to read, every day is an opportunity to take a stand against censorship, this week comes with special events and bookmarks! (Come to the library to get your limited edition place holder.)

From the American Library Association (ALA):
"Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular"


Authors such as Sherman Alexie, Laurie Halse Anderson and others are on board too!

Some of  the most challenged or banned books books during 2012-2013 are:

For a comprehensive list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books (by year) of the 21st Century, click here.

Censorship attempts can take many forms. Curious about the difference between a challenged and banned books? Click here.
"The American Library Association promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. "