Banned Books

[Will Layman]

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.