Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week

Banned and Challenged books that you may or may not know.

Poll

If you found a book in our Library, on Epic or on Sora that offended you, would you _______?

• want it removed

• want it to stay for other's who might like it

• want to learn about it in class and talk about why it's controversial

I appreciate your answers, but not everyone thinks like that. Books have been challenged and or banned here and in other countries.

Banned

A book that has been declared unfit and removed from a collection so that no one will read it.

Challenged

A book that someone asked to be removed from the collection so that no one could read it.

Who does that?

• Individuals

• Groups (political, religious)

Poll

Have you read any of these books?

• Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey

• Drama by Raina Telgemeier

• anything by Judy Blume

• Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Poll

How about these?

• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Poll

One more time

• Skippyjon Jones by Judy Shachner

• Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

• The Holy Bible

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

In the US many books are challenged. Book bannings have made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

There are many common reasons books are banned

• Racial Issues: About and/or encouraging racism towards one or more group of people.

• Encouragement of "Damaging" Lifestyles: Content of book encourages lifestyle choices that are not of the norm or could be considered dangerous or damaging.

• Inappropriate Dialog: The author of the book uses words such as "God" or "Jesus" as profanity. This could also include any use of profanity or swear words within the text that any reader might find offensive.

More Reasons

• Inappropriate Situations: Many books with content that include inappropriate situations are banned or censored.

• Violence or Negativity: Books with content that include violence are often banned or censored. Some books have also been deemed too negative or depressing and have been banned or censored as well.

• Presence of Witchcraft: Books that include magic or witchcraft themes. A common example of these types of books are J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series.

Even more reasons

• Religious Affiliations (unpopular religions): Books have been banned or censored due to an unpopular religious views or opinions in the content of the book. This is most commonly related to satanic or witchcraft themes found in the book. Although, many books have also been banned or censored for any religious views in general that might not coincide with the public view.

• Political Bias: Most Commonly occurs when books support or examine extreme political parties/philosophies such as: fascism, communism, anarchism, etc.

• Age Inappropriate: These books have been banned or censored due to their content and the age level at which they are aimed.

The Freedom to Read

• This freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities, is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

• (But you are still subject to your parents input)