Banned Books

#IReadBannedBooks

Banned Books


Popular books that have been banned or challenged include (by category):

Classics

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

1984, by George Orwell

Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov

Authors of Color

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reason for challenges: racism, homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence

Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane 
Reason for challenges: homosexuality, sexually explicit

The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison 
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language

Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
Reason for challenges: racism, offensive language, violence

Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, violence

Native Son, by Richard Wright 
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence

The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende 
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language

Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya 
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language, occult

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
Reason for challenges: racism, sexually explicit, offensive language

Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
Reason for challenges: sexually explicit, offensive language

Other books written by authors of color challenged during this period include Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry (offensive language) by Mildred D. Taylor and American Indian Myths and Legends (sexually explicit) by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.

Diverse Content

A Gathering of Old Men, by Ernest J. Gaines

A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich, by Alice Childress

A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Always Running, by Luis J Rodriguez

Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence, by Marion Dane Baue

America, by E.R. Frank

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Annie on My Mind, by Nancy Garden

2015

Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).

I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).

The Holy Bible
Reasons: Religious viewpoint.

Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).

Habibi, by Craig Thompson
Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.

Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).

Young Adults

The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne. T Collins

The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott. Fitzgerald

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Carrie, by Stephen King

Kids

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl 

The Witches, by Roald Dahl 

Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, by Kathryn Harper

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey

Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling

A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein

 

*Lists courtesy of the American Library Association




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