According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011. Many more go unreported.
The 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:
ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle. Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group.
The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa. Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group.
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence.
My Mom’s Having A Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy by Dori Hillestad Butler. Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group.
Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit.
What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones. Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit.
Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar. Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Reasons: offensive language; racism.
The American Library Association has also released an interactive map that reflects cases of book challenges documented by ALA and the Kids’ Right to Read Project (2007-2011), a collaboration of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. The map details specifically where each challenge came from, what book(s) it was for, and the reason given for the challenge.
Naomi Johnson
October 5, 2012 - 8:57 PM