Category: Banned and Challenged Books
To Silence the Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of America’s most divisive novels, particularly in classrooms as required reading. Get a glimpse into the recent decision to remove it from the curriculum in Duluth Public Schools district’s two high schools, its replacement novel, and who makes such decisions in the public school system.
Intellectual Freedom News 4/12/19
Books by John Oliver and Angie Thomas on this year’s list of ‘Most Challenged’ titles; “Don’t #%?$ My Graphic Novels: Conquering Challenges and Protecting the Right to Read” free webinar on Wednesday, April 24; OIF, ODLOS, and VLA Respond to Hollins University’s removal of yearbooks
Responses from Authors of the Top 11 Most Challenged Books
On Monday, the American Library Association released the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018 in the State of America’s Libraries Report. The reasons for challenging the titles ranged from LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints, to “anti-cop” and profanity. Here are some responses from authors on their books being on the Top 11 Most Challenged Books list.
Why are there 11 most challenged books this year?
The State of America’s Libraries 2019 report includes a snapshot of censorship in libraries, schools and universities; who initiates challenges, where are they taking place, and what are the reasons?
Happy Birthday, Maya Angelou
Dr. Angelou’s words urge us all to push past our fears, our anger, our hate. To find freedom in the good, the kind, the welcoming. To embrace our neighbor, both human and the world. To rise and feel the pulse of a new day.
Happy Birthday, Tim Federle!
Happy birthday to Tim Federle, author, broadway performer, and board member of the National Council Against Censorship, who was born in California on March 24, 1980.
‘Books saved my life and my sanity’: An Interview with Banned Author Carmen-Francesca Banciu
Carmen-Francesca Banciu is an author, journalist and lecturer who grew up in Romania as the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Communist party. She studied in Bucharest, going on to win the International Short Story Prize in Arnsberg, Germany in 1985, leading to a ban on her works in Romania.
Happy Birthday, Art Spiegelman
Through his art, Spiegelman has taken on such topics as Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and the Crown Heights riot of 1991 and we celebrate him as a banned author.
Un-American Books in American Classrooms
Books are most often challenged for language, sexual content, and violence, but what about for political reasons? A perfect storm ensues when political ideologies, race-based fears, and those seeking political gain exert influence over a school’s curriculum.
A Censor Sits in a Library
By: guest contributor Emily M. Schneider, Ph.D. – I am not writing to defend Gantos and McKean’s novel. I empathize with those critics who have expressed fears that it will only stoke the fires of xenophobia and normalize suspicion of Muslims, and that children may find in the book an excuse to bully their peers who seem to conform to the exaggerated images in the book. But, like Fitzgerald, I can also hold opposing ideas, specifically, fears of censorship, and the idea that allowing a book to be published does not imply endorsement of its message.