God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut

in ,

Vonnegut dies to bring you news from the Pearly Gates, interviewing notable dead people about their lives and thoughts on current events.

Banned

No specific instances, but some comment on Vonnegut's take on religion, death, the afterlife, and controversial topics.

Sources

Vonnegut, Kurt. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian. Seven Stories Press. New York, 1999.

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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/

Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

in

A woman loses her husband and is not that broken up about it and that broke people up about it.

Banned

  • Scandalous by the people of the time (1890s) because the woman is not upset, even exhilarated, by the death of her husband.

Sources

Chopin, Kate. "Story of an Hour." A Vocation and a Voice. Penguin Books. 1991.

Clark, Pamela. "Biography." KateChopin.org. 2018. Retrieved Febrary 11, 2018 from https://www.katechopin.org/biography/

More, Lois. "Story Time for Grown-Ups: "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin." New York Public Library. 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2018 from https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/03/18/storytime-grownups-kate-chopin-story-hour

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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/

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

in

A small town holds a very special lottery and people were super mad about it.

Banned

1981 - Minnesota - the film version of the story was banned in Forest Lake but reinstated by U. S. District Court Judge

South Africa - Country banned the story as it attacked reliance on traditional values and blindly following traditions, such as apartheid

Readers of the New Yorker responded more to this story than any story previously published in a largely negative fashion. Subscriptions were cancelled, and most mail expressed both confusion and anger.

Sources

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Franklin, Ruth. "“The Lottery” Letters." New Yorker. 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2018 from https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-lottery-letters

McCarthy, Erin. "11 Facts About Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"." Mental Floss. Retrieved January 27, 2018 from http://mentalfloss.com/article/57503/11-facts-about-shirley-jacksons-lottery

Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Lottery and Other Stories. Modern Library. New York, 1949.

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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/

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

in

A man trying to escape prison finds himself locked up in the worst way in this psychadelic novel about conformity, individuality, and sanity.

Banned

#49 ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1971 - Colorado - Challenged in Greenley public school district as non-required reading.

1974 - Ohio - Five residents sued the board of education to remove the book from classrooms, saying it was "pornographic" and ”glorifies criminal activity, has a tendency to corrupt juveniles, and contains descriptions of bestiality, bizarre violence, and torture, dismemberment, death, and human elimination."

1975

New York - removed from Randolph public schools

Oklahoma - removed from Alton public schools

1977 - Maine - Removed from required reading list in Westport

1978 - Idaho - Banned from Freemont High School in St. Anthony and the instructor was terminated.

1982 - New Hampshire - challenged in Merrimack high school

1986 - Washington - challenged but retained in Aberdeen high school for use in honors English for promoting "secular humanism"

2000 - California - Parents at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District complained about profanity and sexual situations and petitioned to have the book removed. Parent of children aged 7,8, and 17 Anna Marie Buckner said "It teaches how very easy it is to smother somebody. I don't want to put these kinds of images in children's minds. They're going to think that when they get mad at their parents, they can just ax them out."

Sources

ALA. "Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century." ALA. 2018. Retrieved on 2018 Jaunuary 26 from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136590

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 18 Jan 26 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

Baldassarro, R. Wolf. "Banned Books Awareness: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey." world.edu. 2012. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from http://world.edu/banned-books-awareness-flew-cuckoos-nest-ken-kesey/

Biography.com. "Ken Kesey Biography.com." The Biography.com website. A&E Television Networks. March 23, 2016. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from https://www.biography.com/people/ken-kesey-9363911

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Viking. 1962; 2002.

Tran, Mai. "Parents Ask School District to Ban 'Cuckoo's Nest.'" LA Times. 2000. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/03/local/me-60611

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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/

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

in ,

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy kinda saunter into the magical world of Narnia and tear stuff up. It's good to be the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve.

Banned

1990 - Maryland - Challenged in Howard County schools for "graphic violence, mysticism, and gore."

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.

Lanzendorfer, Joy. "16 Facts About The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Mental Floss, 2014. Retrieved on January 10, 2018 from http://mentalfloss.com/article/58698/16-facts-about-lion-witch-and-wardrobe

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. HarperEntertainment. New York, 1994.

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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/

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

in ,
The Great Gilly Hopkins
By Katherine Paterson

A brat becomes an average kid with a strange family with this week's book.

Banned

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

1983 - Kansas - Challenged at Lowell Elementary School in Salina for the language "God," "damn," and "hell"

1985 - Minnesota - Challenged at Orchard Lake Elementary School in Burnsville because "the book took the Lord's name in vain" and had "over forty instances of profanity

1988 - Colorado - Challenged at the Jefferson County schools because "Gilly's friends lie and steal, and there are no repercussions. Christians are portrayed as being dumb and stupid."

1991 - Connecticut - Pulled but later restored at four Cheshire elementary school for being "filled with profanity, blasphemy and obscenities, and gutter language."

1992 - Texas - Challenged at Alamo Heights School District for language such as "hell" and "damn"

1993 - Kansas - Challenged at the Walnut Elementary School in Emporia by parents for graphic violence and language

1997 - Nevada - Challenged yet retained for explicit language in the Lander County School District

Sources

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved January 9, 2018 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

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

"Katherine's Biography." Katherine Paterson's Website. AuthorsOnTheWeb; 2016. Retrieved on December 23, 2017 from http://katherinepaterson.com/biography/

Paterson, Katherine. "The Great Gilly Hopkins." Avon Books, 1978.

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

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

in
Jacob Have I Loved
By Katherine Paterson

Banned for language and moral/religious reasons, we get into the story of a little girl with family problems and the old man she thinks is taking her friend.

Banned

1989 - New Jersey - Challenged at Bernardsville schools for being offensive to several parents on moral and religious grounds.

1993 - Pennsylvania - Challenged in the Gettysburg public schools for offensive language

Sources

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

"Katherine's Biography." Katherine Paterson's Website. AuthorsOnTheWeb; 2016. Retrieved on December 23, 2017 from http://katherinepaterson.com/biography/

Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. HarperTrophy, 1980.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

in

From the deep Depression-era south is a story of hope and hatred and one family's story.

Banned

1993 - Louisiana - Arcadia High School removed from ninth-grade reading list for racial bias.

1998 - California - Challenged at O'Hara Park Middle School in Oakley for "racial epithets."

2000 - Alabama - Challenged at Chapman Elementary School libraries in Huntsville for "racial slurs in dialogue to make points about racism."

2004 - Florida - Challenged but retained at Seminole County school curriculum after an African American family raised concerns about the book, finding it inappropriate for their thirteen-year-old son.

Sources

Crowe, Chris. "Mildred D.Taylor." The Mississippi writer's Page. University of Mississippi, 2015. Retrieved 8 Dec 2017 from http://mwp.olemiss.edu//dir/taylor_mildred/

Doyle, Robert P. "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry." Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA, 2014.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
By Mildred D. Taylor

William Tyndale's New Testament

in ,

The library delves into the Gospel of Matthew with this biblical translation that brought Jesus to the English masses and totally got the author murdered by the state.

Banned

1526 - England - As the first English-language version of the New Testament, it was also the first print book banned in England. Translating the original Greek and Hebrew into present speech was illegal. Tyndale tried to publish it in Cologne in 1525 and succeeded in 1526 in Worms anonymously. Six thousand copies were smuggled into England and and publically burned. One copy survived in the library of Baptist College in Bristol. Reprints were continually published despite ban.

1534 - England - Church authorities attempted to extradite Tyndale from Europe. He continued publishing revisions under his own name before being arrested in 1535. He was imprisoned, strangled at the stake, and burned with copies of his translations of the Bible. Around 50,000 copies in seven additions were in circulation the time of his death.

1546 - England - The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a new ban, citing references to church functionaries as "horse-leeches, maggots, and caterpillars in a kingdom." Tyndale's works were to be burned when found.

1555 - England - Queen Mary issued a ban for false doctrines against the Catholic faith.

Sources

BBC. "William Tyndale." BBC, 2017. Retrieved 17 November 24 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/william_tyndale/

Christianity Today. "William Tyndale." Christianity Today, 2017. Retrieved on 17 November 23 from http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/scholarsandscientists/william-tyndale.html

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

Tyndale, William. "William Tyndale's New Testament." Wordsworth Classics of World Literature, 2002.