Friday, September 28, 2012

Banned Books Week 2012: Set Books Free!





























Banned Books Week is the last week in September and is set aside to remind people of the importance of the freedom to choose books. It highlights books that have been removed from schools, libraries, or attempted to be removed through censorship. 

This year Banned Books Week runs from September 30th through October 6th.  We celebrated by having our Teen Advisory Board (TAB) design and make a display of books that have been banned elsewhere.   Our theme this year is Set Books Free.  This year, the TAB designed a prison display that patrons can ‘free’ banned books from.  It’s up to everyone to keep books from being locked away. 

Most books are challenged because they are seen as "offensive" or "inappropriate" for a specific age group. It is always appropriate for a parent or guardian to decide what is best for their family, but Banned Book Week is a chance for librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community (that's you!) to celebrate their conviction that a diversity of views and ideas is necessary for a vital, functioning democracy. I mean, what kind of country would we be if we DIDN'T fight for freedom of expression!?
The freedom to seek and read materials in a vital and necessary part of ensuring our first
amendment rights. As long as there are people and groups that try to dictate what everyone
else will read there will be people that work to ensure that everyone gets to choose what’s
best for themselves.

Do your part: check out a "Banned" Book today!!! Below is the list of the most challenged books and authors of the year.  For more information about Banned Books Week go to:





Most Challenged Books of 2011
1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle YP FIC MYRACLE
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa YP FIC HWA
3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins YP FIC COLLINS
4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler J 618.2 BUTLER
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie YP FIC ALEXIE
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor YP FIC NAYLOR
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley FIC HUXLEY
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones YP FIC SONES
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar YP FIC VONZIEGE
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee FIC LEE

Most Challenged Authors of 2011
Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Dori Hillestead Butler My Mom's Having A Baby
Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games trilogy
Chris Crutcher Whale Talk
Eric Jerome Dickey Chasing Destiny
Robert Greene The 48 Laws of Power
Aldous Huxley Brave New World
Kim Dong Hwa Color of Earth (series)
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
Carolyn Mackler The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Lauren Myracle ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series)
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Alice (series)
Dav Pilkey The Adventures of Captain Underpants (series)
Sonya Sones What My Mother Doesn't Know
Cecily Von Ziegesar  Gossip Girl (series)

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