It’s that incredibly troubling time of year again! The American Library Association has
announced the most challenged books of 2012. According to the ALA:
A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint,
filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of
content or appropriateness. The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported.
We estimate that for every reported challenge, four or five remain
unreported. Therefore, we do not claim comprehensiveness in recording
challenges.
So with 464 reported challenges that’s an estimated
1,600-2,000+ challenges! Now no one should ever complain that someone doesn’t
want to read a book or doesn’t want their family to read a book. However, when someone starts trying to deny
everyone else form access to the book, that’s when us librarians get all worked
up! Below is the most challenged books
along with the reasons they were challenged.
2012
Out
of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom
- Captain
Underpants
(series), by Dav Pilkey.
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
These not be for every family,
but Captain Underpants mix of crude and silly humor has made THOUSANDS of non-readers
into readers.
- The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
The ‘racism’ complaint boggles my
mind. The book is partly about the HARM
of racism. The book itself is not
racist, however often books that tackle racism are complained about for ‘racism’.
- Thirteen Reasons
Why,
by Jay Asher.
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
Suicide in and of itself seems
like an odd complaint to me. I mean it exists, we have to confront it on some
level, right?
- Fifty Shades of
Grey,
by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
Well, apparently adults shouldn’t
be allowed to read books written about adult situations.
- And Tango Makes
Three,
by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
This is definitely a book that
each family should decide for themselves about, but it’s only unsuitable for
ALL children if the idea that homosexuality exists is unsuitable for ALL
children. That’s difficult to enforce.
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled
Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
Religious viewpoint is one of my least
favorite protests. We live in a country
FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM!
- Looking for
Alaska,
by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
These are all the MAIN reasons
for books being removed. I think they
are absolutely good reasons for anyone to choose not to read a book. Unfortunately, each of these reasons is also
very subjective and so it’s a problem to say what is offensive language to you
is offensive language to me.
- Scary Stories (series), by
Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
I will say if this book had been
removed from my library as a child it would have saved me LOADS of nightmares,
but scary books and nightmares are supposed to be a part of growing up!
- The Glass Castle, by Jeanette
Walls
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
- Beloved, by Toni
Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence
So in summation, always feel free to reject a book for
you or your family for ANY reason, but when you are trying to remove access to
a book for ALL families it should be done with great care and consideration.
