Banned Books

[Paul Mackin]

I suppose Will's experience reflects the gulf in the country between the
heartland--where sex, dirty talk, and witchcraft can be dominant
issues--and the metropolis including Washington--where unenlightened
attitudes about race, sexual orientaton and colonialism, say, are the
things that can cause trouble. Related to this, in a private school
just a few blocks from where I live, the librarian (a friend) has a two 
week session each year with the fifth and sixth graders in which the
reasons for banning certain books are discussed and their location in the
school library pointed out. The kids are neither encouraged to, nor
discouraged from, taking the banned books out.

			P.




On 20 Sep 2000, Will Layman wrote:

> Foax --
> 
> I'm proud to say that, at my high school, we taught four of these ten "Most Challenged Titles" in the last school year.  Not that they're all the greatest books, but -- c'mon!  I taught SNOW FALLING to a high school senior in tutorial, and she (perhaps correctly) thought it was boring.  I guess sexual content and offensive language just ain't what it used to be!
> 
> -- Will Layman
> 
> Doug Millison wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> 
>    The top 10 most challenged titles of last year were:
> 
>    1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, for its focus on wizardry and
>    magic;
>    2 Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for using offensive language and
>    being unsuited to its intended age group;
>    3. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (1998's "most challenged" fiction
>    book), for using offensive language and being unsuited to its intended age
>    group;
>    4. Blubber by Judy Blume, for offensive language and being unsuited to its
>    intended age group;
>    5. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, for offensive language and being
>    unsuited to its intended age group;
>    6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, for using offensive language and
>    being unsuited to its intended age group;
>    7. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, for being too explicit
>    in the book's portrayal of rape and other sexual abuse;
>    8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, for its sexual content;
>    9. The Color Purple by Alice Walker, for sexual content and offensive
>    language;
>    10. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, for sexual content and
>    offensive language.
>