Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

in
Little Black Sambo
By Helen Bannerman

A crazy, racist little fairy tale, Sambo learns to steal from bullies and eat hella pancakes.

Banned

1956 - Canada - Removed by the Toronto, Ontario board of education after complaints from several groups that "the popular book was a cause of mental suffering to Negroes in particular and children in general."

1959 - New York - A black resident of New York City challenged the book at a school library, calling it racially derogatory. The book was eventually restored to library shelves.

1964 - Nebraska - School superintendent of Lincoln school system ordered it removed from open shelves due to the inherent racism of the book. The book was placed on reserved shelves with a note explaining it would be available as optional material.

1971 - Alabama - Montgomery schools banned the book for being "inappropriate" and "not in keeping with good human relations."

1972

United Kingdom - General attack in schools and libraries for symbolizing "the kind of dangerous and obsolete books that must go."

Canada - Hamilton, Ontario teachers ordered students to tear the story from their books; the Montreal-based Canadian National Black Coalition began a war to remove the book from school and library shelves; New Brunswick banned it entirely.

Texas - Dallas school libraries removed the book because it "distorts a child's view of black people."

Sources

Associated Press. "COMPANY NEWS; Sambo's to Alter Northeast Names." New York Times, 1981. Retrieved January 5, 2018 from http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/11/business/company-news-sambo-s-to-alter-northeast-names.html

Bannerman, Helen. "Little Black Sambo." Applewood Books, 1921. Bedford, Massachusetts.

Doyle, Robert P. "Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read." American Library Association, 2014.

Golus, Carrie. "Sambo’s subtext." Chicago Magazine. 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2018 from http://magazine.uchicago.edu/1010/chicago_journal/sambos-subtext.shtml

Pancake Parlour. "Helen Bannerman on the Train to Kodaikanal." Retrieved January 5, 2018 from http://web.archive.org/web/20060820084143/http://pancakeparlour.com/Wonderland/Highlights/Thefuture/Short_Stories/Bannerman/bannerman.html

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel

in
I Am Jazz
By Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings

The autobiography of transgender teen Jazz Jennings, this heartfelt tale is one of acceptance.

Banned

2015 - Wisconsin - The Mount Horeb Primary Center planned a reading of the book to educate the students because of a transitioning student. They sent out a letter advising parents. The Liberty Council, a recognized hate group, sent a letter threatening to sue based on "inappropriate discusion of gender confusion and sexuality" with primary students. The school cancelled the reading. Local parents decided to hold a reading at a local library, attended by the author, with an audience of approximately 600.

#3 Top Ten Challenged of 2015, #4 Top Ten Challenged of 2016

Sources

My trans picture book was challenged – but the answer to hate speech is more speech

I Am Jazz Authors Call Readers to Action for Banned Books Week

I am Jazz Tag - OIF blog

I AM JAZZ - Marshall University Libraries

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

in ,

Two boys join together to create a superhero by coercion and violence so they can escape responsibility for their actions and make a profit.

Banned

On the Top ten frequently challenged books lists of the 21st century in 2013, 2012, 2005, 2004, and 2002

#13 on Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009 (as series)

2000 - Connecticut - Removed from Maple Hill School in Naugatuck due to concerns that is caused unruly behavior among children

2015 - Michigan - Arborwood Elementary School in Monroe removed the book from a book fair because a main character ends up gay

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

in
Where the Wild Things Are
By Maurice Sendak

A child gets sent to bed without dinner and in the throes of hunger pains experiences vivid hallucinations of wild things and voyages.

Banned

Banned for being "too dark" and for supernatural themes.

Most accounts are vague, but American Southern libraries and schools seem to be the initial place of the book being challenged.

Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim criticized the book in the March 1969 edition of Ladies Home Journal, although in the same column admitted to not being familiar with the book.

Sources

Shafer, Jack. “Maurice Sendak’s Thin Skin.” The Slate. Original publication October 15, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2018 from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/10/where-the-wild-things-are-author-maurice-sendak-can-t-stoppositioning-himself-as-bruno-bettelheim-s-victim.html

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

in

A small man is sucked out of his clothes and into a hellish wasteland where he must defeat a cult of baking Hitlers before they give rise to the abomination known as M'ilk.

Banned

1972 - Sendak's editor, Ursula Nordstrom wrote to a librarian who burned the book and commented on librarians and teacher painting over the boy's nudity

1977

Illinois - Banned in Norridge at Pennoyer Elementary after a school board member complained about "nudity without a purpose," but was reinstated in 2012. 

Missouri - Damaged in Springfield by drawing shorts on the nude boy

1985 - Wisconsin - Challenged at the Cunningham Elementary School libraries for nudity

1988 - Illinois - Challenged at the Robeson Elementary School in Champaign because of "gratuitous" nudity

1989 - New Jersey - Challenged at the Camden Elementary school libraries for nudity

1992 - Minnesota - Challenged at the Elk River schools because reading the book "could lay the foundation for future use of pornography"

1994 - Texas - Challenged at the El Paso Public Library because "the little boy pictured did not have any clothes on and it pictured his private area"

2006 - North Carolina - Challenged in the Wake County schools. Parents are getting help from Called2Action, a Christian group that says its mission is to "promote and defend our shared family values."

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle

in

 

An disembodied voice commands an artist to draw a star and the hellish helix of conditioned response spirals out of control. The universe is created and destroyed at the whim of a madman or madwoman and all you, the reader, can do is hold on for dear life. The art's nice, too.

Banned

Texas - Aldine Independent School District (Houston) Magrill Elementary for Sexual Content and Nude illustration

1996 - Washington - Challenged in the elementry school libraries of Edmonds School District for illustrations of nude man and women

1999 - New York - Challenged but retained in the Dorothy B Bunce Elementary School library in Pavilion after parent' objective of an illustrations of nude man and women based on Adamn and Eve mythology

#61 on Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

in
Green Eggs and Ham
By Dr.Seuss

Follow Sam I Am as he attempts to gather the soul of another victim by forcing him to eat rotten food through persistence.

Banned

Banned in China until 1991 for its depiction of early Marxism.

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources:

Goodreads

NYPL

The Stupids Die by Harry Allard and James Marshall

in
The Stupids Die
By Harry G. Allard Jr.

Title: The Stupids Die

Author: Harry Allard, James Marshall (Illustrator)

Publisher and Publication Year: 1985 by HMH Books for Young Readers (first published 1981)

Summary

In this existential tale of woeful stupidity, the Stupid family are faced with their greatest challenge: life. How do they get up in the morning, how do they live, and what the fuck was up with the shower scene. Join our podcast as we delve into the insanity that is The Stupids Die.

Banned

Challenged for the following reasons: reinforcing negative behavior, promoting low self-esteem, encouraging disrespect for authority, use of the word "stupid."

ALA's Top Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009, #62

1998 - Michigan - Removed from the Howard Miller Library in Zeeland with three other Allard books in the series for complaints that children shouldn't refer to anyone as "stupid"

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/