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Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Jack
London's Call of the Wild featured violent descriptions of survival in
the Yukon. The governments of Italy and the former Yugoslavia both banned this
book in 1929. Nazi Germany burned all of London's writings in 1932. Heavily
edited versions of this work appear in print and film as simple adventure
stories.
You can find Call of the Wild in the Maxwell Library in the Young Adult
Fiction section under the call number
L847c 1994
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
This autobiographical work about growing up in the segregated south has been challenged on numerous occasions. Reasons cited include a graphic rape scene, premarital sex, teen pregnancy, and because it "preaches bitterness and hatred against whites."
You can find a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings under the call number
PS3551.N464 Z466
This book is available both in print and audio format.
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Harry
Potter Series
by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter has been under the gun since the first Harry Potter book was published in 1998. Reasons such as the promotion of witchcraft, anti-family bias, and the lack of consequences for disobedient behavior has kept this title on the the list of most frequently challenged books. The basis of a lawsuit in the Cedarville, Arkansas schools in 2002, Harry Potter books were temporarily removed from the school library shelves and students were required to have parental permission to check them out. This ruling was declared unconstitutional and the books were returned to open shelves.
R884s
R884g
R884b
R884o
R884p
R884h
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Ordinary People
by Judith Guest
Removed from Buffalo, New York high school curriculum in 1996, based on the
objections of two parents who cited inappropriate language and content. Also
removed from the Fostoria, Ohio High School library in 1998 after a minister
objected to its obscene language and sexual innuendo.
You can find Ordinary People in Maxwell Library's Young Adult Fiction section under the call number.
G9365o
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Anne
Frank's diary has been criticized for passages Anne wrote describing her
changing body, which are considered to be "sexually offensive";
passages considered to be offensive to Germans; for its religious content; and
for criticisms of family members and other people. Its content on the
mistreatment of Jews was deemed to be "a real downer" by some members
of the Alabama Textbook Commission in 1983. Furthermore, the work has been
considered "pornographic" for Anne's comments about her friend's
breasts.
You can find The Diary of Anne Frank in Maxwell Library under the call
number
D810.J4 F715 1973
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Lord of the Rings Trilogy
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Deemed to be "satanic" Tolkien's works, along with those of J.K. Rowling,
Stephen King and a Ouija board were burned in a bonfire on December 30, 2001 at
Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
You can find The Lord of the Rings in Maxwell Library under the call number
PR6039.O32 L6 2004
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
Banned from the Beulah, North Dakota High School library in January 2009 at the request of the parents of one student, who said the the book was pornographic Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was reinstated four days later.
You can find Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in Maxwell library under the call number
F294.S2 B48
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Terkel interviewed over 120 people about their jobs for this book. Workers responses to his questions were often quite graphic, prompting challenges to "obscene language". Other reasons for challenging the book were that it was "too depressing" and "too negative."
You can find Working in Maxwell Library under the call number
HD8072 .T4
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The
House
of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende
Objections to The House of the Spirits center on its sexually explicit and violent passages. Set in an unnamed South American country Allende's book describes a brutal military dictatorship. Following a challenge in Fairfield, California in 2000, which resulted in the temporary removal of the book from the high school's reading list, the school board called for the establishment of a ratings system for books, similar to movie ratings, so that parents would be better informed as to the content of materials on the school's reading lists.
You can find The House of the Spirits in Maxwell Library under the call number
PQ8098.1.L54 C313 2005
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Daddy's
Roommate
by Michael Willhoite
Topping the list of most frequently challenged books in 1993, and consistently on the list of Most Frequently Challenged books since it was published in 1990, Daddy's Roommate tells the story of a young boy visiting his gay father and his father's partner for a weekend. Daddy's Roommate has been challenged in such places as public libraries in Ada, Idaho; Witchita Falls, Texas; and Rutland, Vermont; in public schools in Juneau, Alaska; and at the Multnomah County (Oregon) Playschool Cooperative. In all cases the book was retained. However, in the Multnomah Playschool Cooperative it was kept only as a parental resource.
A homosexual theme is one of the most frequently cited reasons for challenging a book according to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom
You can find Daddy's Roommate in Maxwell Library in the Children's Picture Book Collection under the call number
W714d
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The
Origin
of Species
by Charles Darwin
Emotions surrounding the teaching of evolution based on Darwin's classic work run as high today as they did in 1925 during the famous "Monkey Trial" in Tennessee. A case in Dover, Pennsylvania in which authorities were sued for advocating the teaching of intelligent design; and another in Atlanta, Georgia, involving labeling textbooks which teach evolutionary theory, have brought the evolution vs. creationism debate to the forefront in recent months.
You can find The Origin of Species in Maxwell Library under the call number
QH365.O2 1958
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The Bible's long history of censorship dates back to the fourteenth century when the Catholic church opposed translating it into languages other than Hebrew, Greek or Latin for fear it would be misinterpreted. "Heretics" such as William Tyndale and John Rogers were burned to death for writing translations. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries versions of the Bible for children and families began to appear with certain passages removed, especially those with references to sex. One of these was created by the aptly named Sarah Kirby Trimmer in 1782. Contemporary challenges to the bible still cite its "obscene and pornographic" passages. Others challenge its racism and sexism.
You can find a variety of versions of the Bible at Maxwell Library in the call number range
BS 180-BS 195
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So Far from the Bamboo Grove
by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
This book was challenged as part of the sixth-grade curriculum in the Dover-Sherborn (Massachusetts) Regional School District in 2006. A fictionalized account of the author's life as a young Japanese girl fleeing Korea at the end of World War II, parents cited the war atrocities as inappropriate for sixth-graders.
You can find So Far from the Bamboo Grove in Maxwell Library in Young Adult Fiction under the call number
W336s
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And Tango Makes Three
by Justin Richardson and Peter Parneff
This book topped the list of challenged materials in 2006 and 2007. Written for children ages 4-8, it is based on the true story of two male penguins who raise a baby at New York's Central Park zoo. It has been removed from some school libraries. Compromises to complete withdrawal of the book include placing it in a restricted section; requiring parental permission to check out; and removal from the picture book section and relocation to the non-fiction section in order to make it less likely that children will find the book.
You can request a copy of And Tango Makes Three from Maxwell Library through Interlibrary loan
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Twilight Series
by Stephanie Meyer
Removed from middle school libraries the Capistrano (California) Unified School District in 2008 as age inappropriate, Meyer's series about a teenage vampire and his mortal girlfriend was reinstated four days later without explanation.
You can find request books in the Twilight Series through the Virtual Catalog
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Questions or Comments about this page should be sent to Pamela Hayes-Bohanan phayesboh@bridgew.edu
Page updated on August 25, 2011
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