The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

[nonothing]

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged to be banned Books of 1990–2000

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

 

[nonothing]

"t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers." — Judy Blume




it sure is nice to have a place like this one we all come too.....even though agreement is not always found at least your thoughts are free to be writen and read.....ty to all for you commitment to free speech ....


I have read some of these challegned to be banned books.....was tom sayer that bad?

 

[Mrs.Greg]

Actually I've read quite a few of these books and for the life of me can't understand why they would be banned :???:

 

[MsSage]

What you are not showing is some of those books were challeneged and banned in ELEMENTARY schools........... Do you really want a book named Gun ~about a 7th grade girl whos 10 grade brother in a gang is shot and she buys a gun to kill her brothers killer in another gang and shoots him?

Do I want the book banned in Middle school and High school? NO, but it has NO place in an elementary school.

The goosebumps books that are NOT red we have in my school we will NOT have the red ones. The red tells you it is very scary like Cujo and Pet Cemetary.

I believe parents need to read what their kids are reading. But as adults we have to make sure age appropriate material is in their media centers.

 

[Red Robin]

Are they banned in Canada or they just aren't available in some schools?

 

[Mrs.Greg]

OHHH that makes more sence! No I would not want my elementry aged children reading some of the books I read,Greg and I ALWAYS looked through a book the kids brought home from the library before they read it!

 

[DemoDriverGus]

Actually I've read quite a few of these books and for the life of me can't understand why they would be banned :???:

I read "My Brother Sam Is Dead" in the 5th grade, and has forever been my favorite book. I have also read ALL of the Harry Potter books...

Me either Mrs.Greg... someone should explain it :???:

 

[Mrs.Greg]

What you are not showing is some of those books were challeneged and banned in ELEMENTARY schools........... Do you really want a book named Gun ~about a 7th grade girl whos 10 grade brother in a gang is shot and she buys a gun to kill her brothers killer in another gang and shoots him?

Do I want the book banned in Middle school and High school? NO, but it has NO place in an elementary school.

The goosebumps books that are NOT red we have in my school we will NOT have the red ones. The red tells you it is very scary like Cujo and Pet Cemetary.

I believe parents need to read what their kids are reading. But as adults we have to make sure age appropriate material is in their media centers.

Our school has ONE library,elementary to grade 12,if these were banned,unfortunatly they would be banned for ALL grades,that would be sad,there were alot of great books on that list!......Soooo many books,soooo little time

 

[theHiredMansWife]

No Ms. Sage, they're not just banned in elementary libraries. It's highschool and even public libraries, too. Huck Finn is a popular one to ban. (Repeated use of the word "nigger" and the stereotypical depiction of the runaway slave, Jim) Tom Sawyer is banned for a similar reason, except in that case, it's the derrogatory depiction of Indians (Injun Joe)
Harry Potter causes a stir, Gus, because of the mystical, and possibly satanic(!) themes throughout the books. (I've read them all too. :wink: )

I read a really good book as a kid called The Slave Dancer. A boy is kidnapped to play his flute on a slave ship in order to exercise the "cargo." It was a good exploration of the topic and history. During my second year teaching, I tripped over several copies of it in my school's basement. Hot dog! What a great lit. unit for my 7th and 8th graders.

It also turned into a lesson in censorship, though. Some kind soul had gone through each book and had carefully drawn a marker line after the n------ for every usage.
My kids were offended. "Did they think we were going to suddenly see that word and start using it?!"

 

[theHiredMansWife]

Some of those, I'm scratching my head too...

A Light in the Attic?
Flowers for Algernon?

:???:
What's the rationale behind either of those?



Friend of mine has a t-shirt that says, "I read banned books."

 

[MsSage]

ALl I can speak for is the system I work for. Unless a parent challenges a book then the media commitee agree ( 6-8 people ) then the book will be pulled off the shelf at that school ONLY.
We do have a list of books that are not allowed in the elementary schools.
We have had many issues with parents and banning books.

Not sure how you would handle only one library for all students.
Once in upper middle and High school there should be NO "banned" book. If your offended then DONT read it. I do not like horror stories so I dont pick one up.

I LOVE Harry Potter not for the story BUT it got kids excited about reading. ANY book that makes kids EXCITED AND EAGER to read I am ALL FOR. If there is a subject matter you are uncomfortable with then you take the time to talk about your beliefs.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

We too have a school that's k-12 all in one library. I haven't heard about any books bein banned, but ours is set up age appropriete, they've got the shelves labeled by grade more or less. More so for the elementary kids than the highschool level. However, just last week our daughter brought home a permission slip to sign if I would allow her to read books such as Kujo....even at her freshman grade level. That way they don't hafta pull a book, it's there, with limitations, but if the kid is old enuff, then the school leaves it up to the parents to sign or not to sign the permission slip allowin them to check the book out.

 

[Been There]

Well meaning people get carried away with their idea of censurship.
It wasn't right to use the words nigger and injun, but it happened a lot. Most folks probably didn't have any bad intentions with the usage, they just did. It's part of history.
Probably a third of black horses were named Nig years ago, with no derogatory connotations. They were black so that just seemed the thing to call them.

Yet they can print books with the foulest language and perverted sex and there doesn't seem to be all that much objection.

 

[theHiredMansWife]

I haven't heard about any books bein banned

Most people don't. But that's because it's not usually presented as "banning" but rather the school simply won't order the book, it's not appropriate for this level, that sort of thing.

Yet they can print books with the foulest language and perverted sex and there doesn't seem to be all that much objection

Actually there is. There are a number of books on that list that are banned for language and perverted sex.
And even not so perverted, in the case of Where Did I Come From? :lol: