Black Boy by Richard Wright
A memoir of a great writer dealing with racial issues, poverty, domestic violence, and a lot of moving around and learning.
Read MoreA Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
A young boy grows up on a farm and is destroyed by a bull, but he gets a pig out of it so winner winner chicken dinner.
Read MoreSong of Solomon by Toni Morrison
A man in wings jumps off the hospital where an important baby soon known as Milkman is being born.
Banned
#72 on ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009
1993 - Ohio - Challenged but retained in Columbus schools for "language degrading to blacks and is sexually explicit"
1994 - Georgia - Richmond County School District removed the book from reading lists and library shelves after a parent complained passages were "filthy and inappropriate"
1995 - Florida - St Johns County Schools in St Augustine challenged the book
1998 - Maryland - Complaints to St Mary's County schools referred to the novel as "filth," "trash," and "repulsive" and lead to challenges. A faculty committee recommended the book be retained, but the superintendent removed the book from the approved text list.
2009 - Michigan - The superintendent of Shelby school suspended the book from the curriculum. The book was reinstated but parents are informed in writing and at a meeting of the books content. Students who don't wish to read it can read an alternative.
2010 - Indiana - Parents of Franklin Central High School's Advanced Placement English class in Indianapolis were concerned about language and sexual content, but the book was retained.
Sources
ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 17 Aug 01 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1977.
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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A banned book unstuck in time and how the library kept its forest despite mutant dogs. #godwearspants or #godalmightypees
Banned
1972 - Michigan - Rochester banned for containing and making reference to "religious matters"
1973 - North Dakota - Challenged at many communities, but burned in Drake
1975 - New York - Banned in Levittown
1979 - Ohio - Banned in North Jackson
1982 - Florida - Banned in Lakeland for "explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language."
1984 - Wisconsin - Barred for purchase in Rancine by an administrative assistant for instructional services
1985 - Kentucky - Challenged in Owensboro for language a secont with an image depicting beastiality, a reference to Magic Fingers on a bed, and the line "The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the fly of God Almighty."
1986 - Wisconsin - Restricted in Racine to parental permission at the flour Racine Unified District high schools for "language, depictions of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women."
1987
Georgia - challenged in Fitzgerald for profanity and sexual reference
Kentucky - challenged in LaRue County for language and "deviant sexual behavior"
1988 - Louisiana - challenged in a Baton Rouge high school library as "vulgar and offensive"
1989 - Michigan - challenged in Monroe high schools for language and portrayal of women
1996 - Texas - challenged in Round Rock high school for being too violent
1998 - Virginia - banned in Prince William County high schools for profanity and sex
2000 - Rhode Island - Removed from Coventry high school reading list after a parent complained of language, violence and sex
2006 - Illinois - A school board member in Arlington Heights, elected on a platform to bring Christian values to board decision making, raised a controversy about several books based on excerpts of the books she found on the Internet
2007 - Michigan - Challenged in Livingston County at Howell High School for strong sexual content by the organization Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE). LOVE asked law enforcement to review the book for distributing sexually explicit conduct to minors. The county prosecutor said the book was not criminally liable, containing content of an artistic, literary, or political nature.
2010 - Missouri - Removed and later returned from Republic high schools, available only to parents. Teachers cannot acquire or read aloud from it. A resident said it taught principles contrary to the Bible.
Source
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.
"Dances and Dames" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
Gathering a group of ragtag individuals is important, either to get confidence through sports or take down a conservationist construction worker with owls.
Banned
2005
Alabama - Removed for profanity from Limestone County high school libraries
Michigan - Challenged at Grand Ledge High School
South Carolina - Removed from the suggested reading list for a pilot English-literature curriculum by the superintendent of the South Carolina Board of Education
2007 - Iowa - Challenged at the Missouri Valley High School for racial slurs and profanity
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. "Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read." ALA. 2014.
"Dances and Dames" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
One boy's climb from apartheid to tennis champion.
Banned
1993
California - Challenged at Amador High School in Sutter Creek
New Jersey - Challenged at Manasquan schools for a brief yet graphic homosexual passage
1996
Connecticut - Challenged at Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlington for brutal and graphic language
North Carolina - Temporarily pulled from Greensboro high school libraries after a resident sent letters to the school board and administrators, claiming the book could encourage sexual assault among children
1997 - California - Challenged but retained on a reading list for high school sophomores at Lincoln Unified School District in Stockton after parents referred to it as "pornographic and racially insensitive"
1999 - Ohio - Removed from Federal Hocking High School English in Athens for sexually graphic passage
2000
California - Removed from a sophomore reading list at Armijo High School in Fairfield for sexual content
Michigan - Kearsley school officials deleted six sentences describing a homosexual molestation scene in the book after parents found it offensive
2006 - California - Challenged but retained at East Union High School in Manteca after challenged for use of words such as "penis" and "anus" during a scene where young boys prostitute themselves for food
2007 - California - Banned from Burlingame Intermediate School
2010 - California - Challenged but retained in San Luis Obispo High School.
#39 on the ALA Top Banned Books 2000-2009
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014.
Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009
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Help support the podcast on Patreon
"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
Beloved by Toni Morrison
We read an award winning book about a ghost haunting the life of an ex-slave and then talk about ghosts in the library.
Banned
1996 - Texas - Challenged but retained for violence at Round Rock Independent High School
1997 - Maine - Challenged for language at the Madawaska School District
1998 - Florida - Challenged at the Sarasota County schools for sexual content
2000 - Illinois - After a board member promised to bring Christian beliefs to board decision making at the Northwest Suburban High School District 214, a number of titles were challenged and retained. The board member had based her decisions on excerpts from the Internet.
2007
Indiana - Parents asked for parental permission for student access for five books at the Coeur d'Alene School District
Kentucky - Pulled from the senior Advanced Placement English class at Eastern High School in Louisville after two parents complained of bestiality, racism, and sex. Students had to start over with Scarlett Letter for their AP exams.
2012 - Michigan - Challenged but retained at Salem High School Advanced Placement English classes after numerous considerations of district officials including appropriate for age, accuracy of the material, objectivity of the material, and necessity of covering the material.
2013 - Virginia - Challenged at the Fairfax County schools because parent complained for beastility, gang rape, and an infant's gruesome murder
2016 - Virginia - Came into focus during legislation over whether or not parents should be notified about school materials. Excerpts of the novel were read on the state senate floor depicting the novel as a work of, as Senator Richard Black put it, "moral sewage."
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014.
Gawker State Senator Emails AP English Teacher to Offer His Thoughts on Beloved (Too Many Breasts)
Washington Post Fairfax County parent wants ‘Beloved’ banned from school system
Washington Post Why a Va. senator told a teacher: ‘You do not know better than the parents’
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"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Advice and ghosts are in the library as well as the classic novel about a whiny jerk going out on the town and learning that life if full of hypocrisy, even himself.
Banned
1960 - Oklahoma - Teacher was fired in Tulsa from an 11th grade English position for assigning the book. Teacher appealed and was reinstated but the book was removed from the school
1963 - Ohio - Columbus parents asked the school board to ban the novel for being "anti-white" and "obscene." The school board refused.
1975 - Pennsylvania - Removed from reading list after parents complained about the language and content. The book was reinstated after the school board vote, orginally 5-4, was deemed illegal as they required a two-thirds vote in favor to remove a text.
1977 - New Jersey - Challenged and the board ruled the book could be read in an advanced placement class with parental permission.
1978 - Washington - Issaquah school removed it from their optional reading list
1979 - Michigan - Removed from the required reading list at Middleville.
1980 - Ohio - Removed from Jackson Milton school libraries in North Jackson
1982
Alabama - Removed from Anniston High School libraries and later reinstated
Manitoba, Canada - Removed from school libraries in Morris along with two other books as they violate committee's guidelines covering "excess vulgar language, sexual scenes, things concerning moral issues, excessive violence, and anything dealing with the occult."
1983 - Montana - Challenged at Libby High School due to the book's contents
1985 - Florida - Banned from English classes at the Freeport High School in De Funiak Springs as being "unacceptable" and "obscene"
1986 - Wyoming - Removed from Medicine Bow senior high school English reading list because of profanity and sexual references
1987 - North Dakota - Banned from a required sophomore English reading list at Napoleon High School after parents and the local Knights of Columbus chapter complained of profanity and sexual references
1988 - Indiana - Challenged at the Linton-Stockton High School as being "blasphemous and undermines morality"
1989 - California - Muroc Joint Unified School District board in Boron High School removed the book from school reading lists after parents complain the novel was unsuitable because of profanity, blasphemy and promotion of anti-family values. Local resident and religious activist Patty Salazar said she supports the board action because the novel "doesn't belong in a public high school." "It uses the Lord's name in vain 200 times," she said. "That's enough reason to ban it right there. They say it describes reality. I say let's back up from reality. Let's go backwards. Let's go back to when we didn't have an immoral society."
1991 - Illinois - Challenged at Grayslake Community High School
1992
Illinois - Challenged at the Jamaica High School in Sidell for profanity, depiction of premarital sex, alcohol abuse, and prostitution
Iowa - Challenged at Waterloo schools for profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled.
Florida - Challenged at Duval County public school libraries for profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled.
Pennsylvania - Challenged at the Cumberland Valley High School after parent's objections of profanity and immorality.
1993 - California - Challenged and retained at Corona Norco Unified School district because it is "centered around negative activity."
1994
Wisconsin - Challenged but retained at the New Richmond High School for use in some English classes
New Hampshire - Challenged as mandatory reading in the Goffstown schools for language and sexual content
1995 - Florida - Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools
1996 - Maine - Parent challenged over the word "fuck" ("f" word) at teh Oxford Hills High School
1997
Georgia - Challenged but retained at the Glynn Academy High School in Brunswick after a student objected to profanity and sexual content.
California - Removed by school superintendent required reading curriculum of the Marysville Joint Unified School District to get it "out of the way so that we didn't have that polarization over a book."
1999-2000 - Georgia - Vanned and reinstated after community protests at the Windsor Forest High School in Savannah after a parent complained about the sex, violence, and profanity
2000 - Alabama - Challenged but retained at the Limestone County school district after complaints of language
2001
South Carolina - Removed by a Dorchester District 2 school board member in Summerville because it "is a filthy, filthy book."
Georgia - Challenged by a school board member for language but retained in Glynn County
2005 – Maine - Challenged, but retained as an assigned reading in the Noble High School in North Berwick.
2009 – Montana - Challenged in the Big Sky high School in Missoula
2010 - Florida - Challenged but retained in the Martin School District after a parent's complaint for language
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014.
LATimes - Board Bans 'Catcher in the Rye' From High School English Class
New York Times - In a Small Town, a Battle Over a Book
Time The Hunger Games Reaches Another Milestone: Top 10 Censored Books - Catcher in The Rye
Top ten frequently challenged books lists of the 21st century
World.edu - Banned Books Awareness: “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
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"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)
A story of order and a nightgown with little anchors then a book about an anonymous diary full of lies about drugs and a life not worth living.
Banned
#18 on Top Challenged books 2000-2009
1974 - Michigan - Removed from school libraries in Kalamazoo due to language and sexual content.
1975
Michigan - Removed from school libraries in Saginaw due to language and sexual content
New York - Removed from school libraries in Levittown due to language and sexual content
1977
New Jersey - Removed from school libraries in Trenton due to language and sexual content
Texas - Removed from school libraries in Eagle Pass due to language and sexual content
1979 - Utah - Challenged at the Ogden School District
1980 - New Jersey - Removed from school libraries in North Bergen due to language and sexual content
1982 - Florida - Challenged at Safety Harbor, St Petersburg Middle School Library where written parental permission was required to check out
1983
Colorado - Challenged at the Pagosa Springs schools after a parent objected to language, subject matter, "immoral tone and lack of literary quality"
Minnesota -Challenged at the Osseo School District in Brooklyn Park after a school board found the book's language "personally offensive."
1984 - Mississippi - Challenged at the Rankin County School district for language and sexual content
1986
Georgia - Challenged at the Central Gwinnett High School library for encouraging students to "steal and take drugs"
Georgia - Along with 40 other books, the Gainesville Public Library restricted this book to adults and is kept in a locked room
Michigan - Removed from the school library in Kalkaska for language
1988 - Maine - Challenged at King Middle School in Portland
1993
New Jersey - Removed from Wall Township Intermediate School library by the Superintendent of Schools for language and "borders on pornography" after responding to an anonymous letter in 1987 and removing the book.
New York - Challenged as required reading for language at Johnstown High School
West Virginia - Removed from Buckhannon-Upshur High school English class for language
1994 - Massachusetts - Banned in Dudley at Shepherd Hill High School ninth grade reading list for language, drug use, and sexual content
1995
Alaska - Challenged in Wasilla at Houston Junior and Senior High School
Ohio - Banned from Plain City's Jonathan Alder School District
Virginia - Removed from Warm Springs sophomore English class for language and "indecent situations"
1998 - Rhode Island - Principal in Tiverton middle school confiscated the book from a class while reading. The book was later returned by the school board.
1999 - Texas - Removed from Aledo Middle School library and restricted at the high school library to parental permission after a parent complained about drug use, language and sexual content
2000 - Pennsylvania - REtained as optional reading for eighth graders at Girard's Rice Avenue Middle School after a grandmother found the book offensive for "filth and smut"
2008 - South Carolina - Challenged at Berkeley County's Hanahan Middle School for language, sexual content, drug use, and blasphemy
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom To Read. 2014.
'Go Ask Alice' Is Still Awash in Controversy, 43 Years After Publication
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"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
We talk about the origin of the library's ebooks and an important book everyone should read.
Banned
1984 - California - Challenged and retained in Oakland High School honors class for "sexual and social explicitness" and its "troubling ideas about race relations, man's relationship to God, African history, and human sexuality"
1985 - California - Rejected for purchase from Hayward school trustees due to language and sexual content
1986 - Virginia - Removed from Newport News school library for language and sexual content and placed in special section available only to those over eighteen or with parental permission
1989
Michigan - Challenged at the Saginaw public libraries for sexual content
Tennessee - Challenged as a summer youth program reading assignment in Chattanooga for language and "explicitness"
1990 - Wyoming - Challenged in Ten Sleep schools for optional reading
1992 - North Carolina - Challenged at New Bern High School as a reading assignment because of rape
1995
Connecticut - Challenged at Pomperaug High School in Southbury for sexual content
Florida - Challenged at St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine
Oregon - Challenged and retained in the Junction City high school due to language, sexual content, and "negative image of black men."
1996
North Carolina - Challenged and retained at Northwest High School in High Point for sexual content and violence
Texas - Challenged and retained at Round Rock Independent High School for violence
1997 - West Virginia - Removed from Jackson County School libraries
1999
Ohio - Challenged and retained at Shawnee School in Lima after parents called it vulgar and "X-rated"
Virginia - Removed from Ferguson High School library in Newport News, yet may be requested and borrowed with parental approval
2002 - Virginia - Challenged at Fairfax County elementary and secondary libraries along with seventeen other books by a group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools for language, drug abuse, sexual content, and torture
2008 - North Carolina - Challenged in Burke County schools in Morgantown for homosexuality, rape, and incest
2013 - North Carolina - Challenged but retained at Brunswick County Advanced Placement English eleventh grade assignment for language, sexual content, or has literary value as age appropriate
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014
Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or RSS Feed
"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
