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More helpful information for your research.

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Find 100+ of various articles about banned books and censorship.

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How many have you read?

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100 Most Frequently Challenged Books (Of All Time!!)

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100 Most Frequently Challenged Books (Of All Time!!)

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Are you as shocked as I am?

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The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported. In addition, OIF has only been collecting data about banned books since 1990, so we do not have any lists of frequently challenged books or authors before that date.

OIF receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books and compiles this information into lists in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The ALA condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information. For more information on ALA's efforts to condemn censorship, please explore Banned Books Week: Celebrating Your Freedom to Read.

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100 most frequently challenged books by decade

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The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported. In addition, OIF has only been collecting data about banned books since 1990, so we do not have any lists of frequently challenged books or authors before that date.

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Why are books banned?

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Read the argument against banning this book.

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A parent in Waukesha, WI has formally requested a district-wide ban on John Green's award-winning and beloved novel Looking For Alaska, reportedly claiming the book is "not suitable for teenagers."

It's worth noting that the book won the American Library Association's prestigious Michael L. PrintzAward, which is given annually to "the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit."

The Kids' Right to Read Project just won a fight opposing the removal of Green's Paper Towns in Florida, and has defended Looking For Alaska on numerous occasions.

KRRP and allies sent the below letter, which explains the constitutional and educational reasons for retaining the book, to the Waukesha district superintendent and school board members on Friday.

UPDATE: Victory! At a July 25th meeting, the school committee decided not to remove Looking for Alaska.

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John Green's Looking For Alaska Challenged in Wisconsin

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A parent in Waukesha, WI has formally requested a district-wide ban on John Green's award-winning and beloved novel Looking For Alaska, reportedly claiming the book is "not suitable for teenagers." It's worth noting that the book won the American Library Association's prestigious Michael L.

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Banned Books week has their own website to read news.

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Banned Books Week is an annual event that highlights the value of free and open access to information.

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Challenged, but Retained: Stolen Children

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Challenged, but Retained: Stolen Children

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An attempt was made to ban it, but it didn't work!

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This bibliography represents books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in 2011 and 2012 as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom from May 2011-May 2012. (Dates prior to May 2011 indicate the controversy began earlier, but continues into 2012.)

Alexie, Sherman

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Thorndike Press; Little, Brown

Banned, but later returned to the Richland, Wash. school district's reading list (2011) despite objections to the "coarse themes and language in the young-adult novel." Pulled from the Dade County, Ga. library shelves and the required high school reading list (2011) because of complaints about "vulgarity, racism, and anti-Christian content." Challenged at the Old Rochester Regional Junior High School in Mattapoisett, Mass. as an eighth-grade English assignment (2011). Challenged as required reading in at least three freshmen English classes at Westfield, N.J. High School (2012) because of "some very sensitive material in the book including excerpts on masturbation amongst other explicit sexual references, encouraging pornography, racism, religious irreverence, and strong language (including the f- and n-words)."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Sept. 2011, pp. 196-97; Jan. 2012, pp. 9, 13; May 2012, pp. 105-6.

Anderson, Laurie Halse

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Challenged, but retained in the Republic, Mo. schools (2010) despite complaints that it is "soft-pornography," "glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex," and "teaches principles contrary to the Bible."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2010, pp. 243-44; Sept. 2011, pp. 175-76.

Berger, John

To The Wedding

Vintage

Challenged as assigned reading for juniors in the International Baccalaureate program at Murrieta Valley, Calif. High School (2011) because some parents said students shouldn't be exposed to the mature content, which includes, on at least three occasions, the use of the f-word to describe sexual relations that take place.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, p. 59.

With the original Sanskrit text, roman transliteration, English equivalents, translation, and elaborate purports by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. A Russian court has dismissed a call to ban an edition of the Hindu holy book, in a case that triggered protests in India. The commentary, not the text itself, was the cause for scrutiny, according to prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk who wanted the edition to be ruled "extremist." The Russian translation of the book was at risk of being placed on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000 texts, including Mein Kampf and publications by the Jehovah's Witness and Scientology movements.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, p. 82.

Brown, Laurie Krasny and Marc Brown

What's the Big Secret? Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys

Little, Brown, and Company

Challenged, but retained at the Oak Harbor, Wash. School District No. 201 (2011) despite a parent's concern that the book discusses sex and "it's completely too graphic."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, July 2011, p. 137.

Butler, Dori Hillestad

My Mom's Having a Baby

Albert Whitman & Company

Challenged in the Carrollton, Tex. Library (2011) because it is inappropriate for children. The book won an Editor's Choice award from Booklist in 2005 and was named a Top Ten Sci-Tech Book for Youth by Booklist. Retained at the Hillsborough County, Fla. Public Library System (2011). Published in 2005, the book tells of a little girl named Elizabeth who is curious about childbirth and how her mother became pregnant. Throughout the book's thirty pages, little Elizabeth learns about these topics in great detail.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, pp. 95, 116.

Capote, Truman

In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences

Modern Library; Random; Vintage; G.K. Hall; Transaction

Some Glendale, Calif. Unified School District officials and parents (2011) attempted to block a request by a high school English teacher to add the text to the district's advanced English curriculum because the nonfiction book was "too violent for a young audience"; the school board voted 4-0 to approve the book for Advanced Placement students. Since its publication in 1965, it has been widely recognized as a seminal work in American literature, frequently appearing on high school and college reading lists.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, p. 204; Jan. 2012, pp. 35-36.

Card, Orson Scott

Ender's Game

Tor Science Fiction

A teacher at Schofield Middle School in Aiken, S.C. (2012) will not face criminal charges for reading to his students from the science-fiction book. In addition to the Card novel, which has won several science-fiction awards and is listed on numerous children's literary review websites as appropriate for children twelve and older, the teacher read excerpts from an Agatha Christie novel and a young adult novel set in the Old West, officials said. The incident came to light after the materials were characterized by one student and one parent as pornographic, according to a press release issued by the school district.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, p. 107.

Cast, P.C., and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Challenged in the North Star Borough School District, Fairbanks, Alaska high school libraries (2011) because, "It simply causes kids to think even more of things sexual." The teenage vampire novel is part two of the "House of Night" series.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, p. 93.

Chbosky, Stephen

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Pocket Books

Challenged, but retained, at the Clarkstown, N.Y. North High School (2011) despite a parent's complaint about the coming-of-age novel, which deals graphically with teenage sex, homosexuality, and bestiality.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, pp. 97-98; July 2011, p. 161.

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

A Study in Scarlet

Oxford University Press

Removed from the Albermarle County, Va. School sixth-grade required reading list (2011) because the book casts Mormonism in a negative light. The complaint cited the novel's reference to Mormons as "murderous" and "intolerant," as reason to remove the work. The complaint also alleged that the work unfairly characterized Mormons as murderous kidnappers. The classic novel was the first to present the character of the brilliant sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his friend, Dr. Watson. Doyle wrote the novel in three weeks; it was published in 1886.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Sept. 2011, pp. 177, 200-01; Nov. 2011, p. 205-6.

Ehrenreich, Barbara

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America

Holt

Challenged, but retained on the Easton, Pa. Area High School's Advanced Placement English reading list (2012) despite several residents and persons from outside the district calling the book "faddish," of "no moral value," and even "obscene."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, pp. 128-29.

Findley, Timothy

Clark, Irwin

Challenged, but retained in the Bluewater, Ont., Canada, classrooms (2011) despite requests to ban the book because it "includes a number of very explicit and detailed descriptions of sexual encounters, most of them exploitive and violent." Several parents "objected especially to details about the hero's visit to a 'whorehouse' and to a vivid description of the young Canadian soldier's gang rape by fellow soldiers." The book is not compulsory and is on the list of books that can be used in the Grade Twelve curriculum, the final year of secondary school in Canada with students being seventeen or eighteen years old.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, July 2011, p. 139; Jan. 2012, p. 36.

Green, John

Looking for Alaska

Speak

Challenged as required reading for Knox County, Tenn. High Schools' Honors and as Advanced Placement outside readings for English II (2012) because of "inappropriate language." School Superintendent Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr. said that a parent identified this as an issue and the book was removed from the required reading list. He didn't say whether the book was still in the schools.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, pp. 107-8.

Gruen, Sara

Water for Elephants

Algonquin Books

Removed from a spring break elective course at the Bedford, N.H. School District (2010) after a parent complained about the novel's sexual content. The complainant further suggested that the school only allow "youth versions" of particular books or organize a parental review system over the summer that would look at books that students need parental permission to read. A checklist has been proposed that Bedford school officials would use to rate books and other instructional materials.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, pp. 96-97.

Harris, Robie H.

It's Perfectly Normal: A Book about Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health

Candlewick Press

Challenged, but retained at the Lee County, Fla. libraries (2011) despite the book's explicit illustrations.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, p. 218.

Hergé

Tintin in the Congo

A Belgian court (2012) rejected a five-year-old bid by a Congolese student to have the 1946 edition of Herge's book banned because of its racist depictions. "It is clear that neither the story, nor the fact that it has been put on sale, has a goal to ... create an intimidating, hostile, degrading or humiliating environment," the court said in its judgment. Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, who launched the campaign in 2007 to ban the book, plans to appeal.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Jan. 2012, pp. 17-18; May 2012, p. 130.

Hosseini, Khaled

The Kite Runner

Bloomsbury

Challenged, but retained as part of Senior Advanced Placement English at the Valley View High School in Jonesboro, Ark. (2011). The issue arose after two patrons disapproved of the novel because of a scene depicting male-on-male rape, sexual innuendo, and vulgar language, as well as religious content throughout the book. Challenged as optional reading in the tenth-grade honors class at Troy, Pa. Area Schools (2012) because the novel depicts a sodomy rape in graphic detail and uses vulgar language.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, p. 79; May 2012, pp. 106-7.

Kehret, Peg

Stolen Children

Dutton

Challenged, but retained at the Central York, Pa. School District (2011) despite a parental concern that the book "was too violent." The book centers on the kidnapping of thirteen-year-old Amy and her three-year-old babysitting charge. The kidnappers videotape the pair and send the DVDs to their parents for ransom; Amy works to send clues through the videos to help police find them.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2011, p. 52; May 2011, p. 114.

LaCour, Nina

Dutton Books

Pulled from the Blue Springs, Mo. School District library and classrooms (2011) because the book is "riddled with obscenities." The novel is about a young girl coping with the suicide of her best friend. The book, according to parents, was read as part of an extra credit assignment in a freshman English class. The local chapter of the ACLU is threatening to get involved if the book is permanently removed.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Jan. 2012, pp. 9-10.

Lelyveld, Joseph

Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India

Knopf

Banned in parts of India (2011). A Santa Cruz, Calif. educational organization, Foundation for Excellence, canceled an event planned in honor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author (2011). The foundation provides scholarships for students in India and canceled the event after the biography hinted a homosexual relationship between Gandhi and a German named Hermann Kallenbach. The foundation "didn't want to be involved with any controversy."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, July 2011, pp. 141-42.

Lott, Bret

The Hunt Club

Harper Perennial

Challenged as one option for the required summer reading at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, S. C. (2011) because it "uses foul language, degrades women, and people of color." The novel is set in the South Carolina Lowcountry and tells the story of a teenage boy and his uncle who find a dead body and have to figure out what happened.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, pp. 204-5.

Mackler, Carolyn

Candlewick Press

Banned from the Borger, Tex. Independent School District intermediate and middle school library and removed from class reading lists (2011) because of concerns over sexual content and profanity.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, pp. 203-4.

Martinez, Elizabeth

500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures

Southwest Community Resources

Banned from the Tucson, Ariz. Unified School District (2012) along with Critical Race Theory, by Richard Delgado; Message to Aztlan, by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales; Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement, by Arturo Rosales; Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire; Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson; and Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, by Rodolfo Acuña. In a district with over sixty percent of the students coming from Mexican-American backgrounds, the school board "dismantled its Mexican-American Studies program, packed away its offending books, shuttled its students into other classes," according to an editorial in the New York Times, because "it was blackmailed into doing so." The Times referred to measures taken by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal, who threatened to withhold millions of dollars if the school district didn't terminate the nationally acclaimed program immediately. The superintendent has spent years crusading against ethnic-studies programs that he claims are "brainwashing" children into thinking that Latinos have been victims of white oppression.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, pp. 49, 51, 82-84; May 2012, pp. 102-3.

Morrison, Toni

Knopf; NAL

Challenged, but retained as a text in Salem, Mich. High School Advanced Placement English courses (2012). The complainants cited the allegedly obscene nature of some passages in the book and asked that it be removed from the curriculum. District officials determined the novel was appropriate for the age and maturity level of Advanced Placement students. In reviewing the novel, the committee also considered the accuracy of the material, the objectivity of the material, and the necessity of using the material in light of the curriculum.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, pp. 79-80; May 2012, p. 127-28.

Morrison, Toni

The Bluest Eye

Knopf; NAL

Challenged in the Brookfield, Conn. High School curriculum (2011) because of sex scenes, profanity, and age-appropriateness of the book. Students in the high school have been reading Morrison's book since 1995.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Jan. 2012, pp. 11-12.

Murakami, Haruki

Norwegian Wood

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Pulled from the required summer reading list for middle school and high school students at the Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown, N.J. (2011) after parents complained about a gay sex scene.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, p. 204.

Nasrin, Taslima

Motilal UK Books of India

The head teacher at the K.C. Technical and Business Management College in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2012) was arrested after the book, considered blasphemous by some Muslims, was found in the school's library. The teacher could face up to three years in jail if he is found guilty of authorizing the book's inclusion in the library. The Prothom Alo newspaper said the teacher denied having the book and said he was the victim of a conspiracy. The novel was banned a year after its publication in 1993, and Nasrin was forced to flee Bangladesh to escape death threats from radical Muslims who considered it blasphemous for advocating secularism.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, p. 63.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds

Lovingly Alice

Atheneum

Removed from the Quail Run Elementary library in the Paradise Valley, Ariz. Unified School District (2011) after the mother of an eight-year-old student complained about its sexual content.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, July 2011, pp. 136-37.

Ockler, Sarah

Twenty Boy Summer

Little, Brown

Removed from Republic, Mo. High School (2011), but later returned and stored in a secure section of the library only accessible to parents. Teachers cannot require the book nor read it aloud in school. A Republic resident filed a complaint about the appropriateness of the book because it sensationalizes "sexual promiscuity, questionable language, drunkenness, lying to parents, and a lack of remorse by the characters."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2010, pp. 243-44; Sept. 2011, p. 175; Nov. 2011, p. 203.

Pilkey, Dav

The Adventure of Super Diaper Baby

Scholastic

Banned from the Channelview, Tex. Independent School District (2011) because it contained the phrase "poo poo head."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Sept. 2011, p. 176.

Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell

And Tango Makes Three

Simon

Pulled from the Gibbs Elementary School in Rochester, Minn. (2011) as inappropriate for elementary school students and removed from school library shelves. This decision was later reversed as a mistake for failing to follow district policy. Eventually, a "temporary resolution" was reached requiring that one of the parents who challenged the book be present when their child checks out books from the school media center in the future.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, p. 127.

Sapphire (Ramona Lofton)

Vintage

Challenged on an extracurricular reading list in the Horry County, S.C. school library (2011). The 1996 novel is based on the story of Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old, who grows up in poverty. Precious is raped by her father, battered by her mother, and dismissed by social workers. The story follows Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, through her journey of learning how to read and be on her own. The novel was made into a critically acclaimed movie, Precious, in 2009, which received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, p. 94.

Schrag, Ariel

Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age

Viking

Challenged, but retained in three Maine towns -- Dixfield, Mexico, and Buckfield -- middle school libraries (2011) despite "objectionable sexual and language references." The book, however, will be placed in the libraries' professional collection, which means a student may take out the book only if parental permission is granted.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, pp. 57-58.

Semencic, Carl

Pit Bulls and Tenacious Guard Dogs

Thomasson Grant & Howell

Banned at the Logan, Australia West Library (2011) because it contains information on restricted dog breeds. In 2001, under Local Law 4 (Animal Management) the Logan City Council placed a ban on, among others, pit bull terriers and American pit bulls. Therefore, Logan City Council libraries do not stock literature on any of the prohibited breeds.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2011, p. 118.

Shakespeare, William

No Fear Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet

SparkNotes

Some parents in Liberty, S. C. (2012) are furious about the book their kids are reading in middle school. They say it's too mature for their kids because of the sex. The book in question is an easy-to-read version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, p. 107.

Sheff, Nic

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines

Atheneum

Pulled from the required summer reading list for middle school and high school students at the Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown, N.J. (2011) because the book includes "depictions of drug usage and a homosexual orgy."

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, p. 204.

Swift, Graham

Vintage

Challenged as a text in Salem, Mich. High School Advanced Placement English courses (2012) due to the book's sexual content. Superintendent Jeremy Hughes immediately pulled the book, but later decided to put the book through the district's review process. The book was reviewed and retained.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Mar. 2012, pp. 59-60; May 2012, pp. 127-28.

Vonnegut, Kurt

Slaughterhouse-Five

Dell; Dial

Removed from Republic, Mo. High School (2011), but later returned and stored in a secure section of the library accessible only to parents. Teachers cannot require the book nor read it aloud in school.A Republic resident filed a complaint about the appropriateness of the book arguing that it teaches principles contrary to the Bible.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2010, pp. 243-44; Sept. 2011, p. 175; Nov. 2011, p. 203.

Von Ziegesar, Cecily

Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel

Little

Challenged at the Lake County, Fla. Public Library (2011) by a county commissioner because the book explicitly details the lives and loves of privileged adolescent girls in New York City. The book inspired a popular television series, which premiered in 2007. Removed from all libraries in the Picayune, Miss. school district (2011) due to the book's explicit language.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 2011, pp. 202-3.

Walls, Jeannette

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

Scribner

Challenged, but retained as part of the tenth-grade English curriculum in the Sade-Central City High School classrooms in Cairnbrook, Pa. (2012). The 2005 best-selling memoir in which Walls describes her hardscrabble upbringing includes sexual assault, casual profanity, drunkenness, seeing the family cat pitched from a moving car, and having to drink ditch water. Even critics of the graphic book praise its theme - overcoming adversity.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, May 2012, p. 128.

Watson, Larry

Montana 1948: A Novel

Milkweed Editions

Challenged, but eventually retained at the Merrill, Wis. High School (2011) despite some parents complaining that it is "questionable reading material for their tenth-grade students because of language, and sexual and racist themes." School leaders added it to the curriculum twelve years ago, saying it was a less controversial substitute for Catcher in the Rye. School leaders also said students have the option of reading a different book if they don't feel comfortable with the one they're assigned.

Source: Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, July 2011, pp. 161-62; Nov. 2011, p. 206; Jan. 2012, p. 35.

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Books Challenged or Banned in 2011-2012, by Robert P. Doyle

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This bibliography represents books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in 2011 and 2012 as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom from May 2011-May 2012. (Dates prior to May 2011 indicate the controversy began earlier, but continues into 2012.)

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Author's Thoughts on Her Book Being Banned

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Author's Thoughts on Her Book Being Banned

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How do authors feel about it?

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In honor of Banned Books Week, which ran for the last week of September, we thought that it would be interesting to take a look at 's history of being on the "banned-books list."

The American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom established "Banned Books Week" in 1982 to promote "awareness of challenges to library materials and [celebrate] freedom of speech." Throughout the week, the ALA examines books that have been banned or challenged in schools and libraries across the country. Every year, the ALA reports the top 10 most frequently banned books of the year. Every ten years, they announce the top 100 banned books of the decade.

The Giver graced the ALA's top 100 list both decades of its existence, ranking eleventh from 1990-1999, while dropping to twenty-third from 2000-2009. Slate magazine reported that in these instances, The Giver (intended for grades 5-8) was considered "Unsuited to Age Group" (). According to the ALA during one instance of banning, "parents called the book 'lewd' and 'twisted'" ().

On her website, Lois Lowry addresses this question of possibly banning The Giver (or any book, really) in her "FAQ" section. She answers the following:

"Question: A parent from my school wants to ban The Giver. What do you think about that?

Answer: I think banning books is a very, very dangerous thing. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It's okay for a parent to say, "I don't want my child to read this book." But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let's work hard to keep it from truly happening. "

(To read more from Lois Lowry's FAQ section, CLICK HERE)

Ironically, in the world of The Giver, the strict rules disallow citizens from reading books other than the dictionary and the Book of Rules. The government also controls many other freedoms, such as riding bikes and girls wearing ribbons in their hair. Courtney Young, President of the American Library Association, points out (in a Huffington Post article) that the end result of banning a book is what's most important to consider in this debate:

"While not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to choose for ourselves what to read, listen to or view. It is thanks to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents and students that most challenges are unsuccessful and national awareness campaigns such as Banned Books Week ... which stresses the importance of preventing censorship and ensuring everyone's freedom to read any book, no matter how unorthodox or unpopular." ( HP)

Mark Hemingway, a contributing writer to The Federalist and a parent of two, argues in favor of banning. He references the Stephen King novel Rage, which King stopped selling after it was reported to have influenced four school gun shootings. In a Federalist article, Hemingway explains, "In a better world, King shouldn't feel he has to keep Rage from being sold. There would be enough responsible adults around to keep disturbed kids from reading it. This is the difference between actual book banning and what the American Library Association thinks it is."

Hemingway continues on to argue that, "To say that knowledge never hurts is to deny that books have any power to influence people at all. And if you're not trying to influence people, why write?" ( TF)

Lois Lowry agrees that there is certainly a power, and therefore a danger, in writing for the masses. However, in her Newbery Award acceptance speech, she also explains that such danger is sometimes quite worth it-a message that is, in fact, at the very core of The Giver:

"The Giver passed along to the boy knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things."

And while people try to balance freedom with safety (a seemingly age-old question), novelist Dennis Miller observes that perhaps banning is overall counterproductive. In a Huffington Post article, he notices that, "When you ban a book you draw attention to it. You create a desire among readers...Tell me I can't have something because it is bad for me and I want it more. We all crave the forbidden."

Likewise, as Jonas receives the memories of the past, he, too, begins to desire the parts of life that his government forbids.

Thanks to ALA's Banned Books Week, this question will continue to be challenged, discussed, and debated.

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Banned Books Week: THE GIVER's history with being considered a "banned book"

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In honor of Banned Books Week, which ran for the last week of September, we thought that it would be interesting to take a look at The Giver's history of being on the "banned-books list."

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Authors Stand Up for Freedom of Information

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Authors Stand Up for Freedom of Information

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Hear how this makes authors feel.

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Penguin Presents: Authors Stand Up for Free Speech

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Brain break!

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Try not to blink!

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This will guide you through citing your sources in MLA format.

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EasyBib: The Free Automatic Bibliography Composer

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Automatic works cited and bibliography formatting for MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian citation styles. Now supports 7th edition of MLA.

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The first section is helpful for your study of the first amendment (freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.)

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First Amendment Resources | Statements & Core Documents | Publications & Guidelines

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.

One of the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment gives everyone residing in the United States the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations. The First Amendment allows individuals to speak, publish, read and view what they wish, worship (or not worship) as they wish, associate with whomever they choose, and gather together to ask the government to make changes in the law or to correct the wrongs in society.

The right to speak and the right to publish under the First Amendment has been interpreted widely to protect individuals and society from government attempts to suppress ideas and information, and to forbid government censorship of books, magazines, and newspapers as well as art, film, music and materials on the internet. The Supreme Court and other courts have held conclusively that there is a First Amendment right to receive information; the right to receive information is a corollary to the right to speak. Justice William Brennan elaborated on this point in 1965:

"The protection of the Bill of Rights goes beyond the specific guarantees to protect from Congressional abridgment those equally fundamental personal rights necessary to make the express guarantees fully meaningful.I think the right to receive publications is such a fundamental right.The dissemination of ideas can accomplish nothing if otherwise willing addressees are not free to receive and consider them. It would be a barren marketplace of ideas that had only sellers and no buyers." Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301 (1965).

When the Supreme Court considered whether a local school board violated the Constitution by removing books from a school library, it held that "the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom."

Public schools and public libraries, as public institutions, have been the setting for legal battles about student access to books, removal or retention of "offensive" material, regulation of patron behavior, and limitations on public access to the internet. Restrictions and censorship of materials in public institutions are most commonly prompted by public complaints. Government officials, in the form of the library board or school administration, are ever mindful of the importance their neighbors may place on religious values, moral sensibilities, and protecting children from offensive materials. So, directly or indirectly, ordinary citizens are the driving force behind the challenges to the internet, information and ideas.

The First Amendment protects public institutions from having to compromise the ideals of free speech by establishing a framework that defines critical rights and responsibilities. It protects the freedom of speech, thought, and inquiry, and advocates respect for the right of others to do the same. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wisely guides the American people to resort to "more speech not enforced silence" in seeking to resolve our differences in values, sensibilities, and offenses.

The First Amendment's constitutional right of free speech, which is also applied to the states, only prevents government restrictions on speech, not restrictions imposed by private individuals or businesses. Mark Zuckerberg can restrict speech on Facebook because it is a private business and he is not the government.

Criticism of the government, political dissatisfaction, and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy are almost always safeguarded. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized several categories of speech that are not protected by the First Amendment. Among these are obscenity, child pornography, and libel and slander. Deciding what is and is not protected speech is almost always reserved for a court of law.

First Amendment Resources

Clauses of the First Amendment
The National Constitution Center. "The National Constitution Center is the first and only institution in America established by Congress to 'disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people."

First Amendment - Religion and Expression
FindLaw. "FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business, providers consumers and lawyers with a range of case law, statutes, legal news, online career center, blogs and a variety of community-oriented tools."

What is Censorship?

Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons - individuals, groups, or government officials - find objectionable or dangerous. It is no more complicated than someone saying, "Don't let anyone read this book, or buy that magazine, or view that film, because I object to it!" Censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like libraries, to suppress and remove information they judge inappropriate or dangerous from public access, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone.
"Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment." - Article 3, Library Bill of Rights
ALA Statements and Policies on Censorship

Challenged Resources: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2019)
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. ALA declares as a matter of firm principle that it is the responsibility of every library to have a clearly defined written policy for collection development that includes a procedure for review of challenged resources.

Labeling Systems: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2015)
The American Library Association affirms the rights of individuals to form their own opinions about resources they choose to read, view, listen to, or otherwise access. Libraries do not advocate the ideas found in their collections or in resources accessible through the library. The presence of books and other resources in a library does not indicate endorsement of their contents by the library. Likewise, providing access to digital information does not indicate endorsement or approval of that information by the library. Labeling systems present distinct challenges to these intellectual freedom principles.

Rating Systems: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2015)
Libraries, no matter their size, contain an enormous wealth of viewpoints and are responsible for making those viewpoints available to all. However, libraries do not advocate or endorse the content found in their collections or in resources made accessible through the library. Rating systems appearing in library public access catalogs or resource discovery tools present distinct challenges to these intellectual freedom principles. Q&A on Labeling and Rating Systems

Expurgation of Library Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2014)
Expurgating library materials is a violation of the Library Bill of Rights. Expurgation as defined by this interpretation includes any deletion, excision, alteration, editing, or obliteration of any part(s) of books or other library resources by the library, its agent, or its parent institution (if any).

Restricted Access to Library Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2014)
Libraries are a traditional forum for the open exchange of information. Attempts to restrict access to library materials violate the basic tenets of the Library Bill of Rights.
Complete list of Library Bill of Rights Interpretations
Core Documents

Library Bill of Rights (1939)
Adopted by ALA Council, the Articles of the Library Bill of Rights are unambiguous statements of basic principles that should govern the service of all libraries. ( printable pamphlets)

Freedom to Read Statement (1953)
A collaborative statement by literary, publishing, and censorship organizations declaring the importance of our constitutionally protected right to access information and affirming the need for our professions to oppose censorship.

Libraries: An American Value (1999)
Adopted by ALA Council, this brief statement pronounces the distinguished place libraries hold in our society and their core tenets of access to materials and diversity of ideas.

Guidelines

Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities (2005)
Guidelines for librarians, governing authorities, and other library staff and library users on how constitutional principles apply to libraries in the United States.

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A (2007)

Social Media Guidelines for Public and Academic Libraries (2018)

These guidelines provide a policy and implementation framework for public and academic libraries engaging in the use of social media.

Publications

Intellectual Freedom Manual (2015)
Edited by Trina Magi and Martin Garnar with ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom
The 9th edition manual is an indispensable resource for day-to-day guidance on maintaining free and equal access to information for all people

Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (2016 - present)
Edited by Michael Zimmer with ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom
Published quarterly, JIFP offers articles related to intellectual freedom and privacy, both in libraries and in the wider world.

True Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries (2012)
By Valerie Nye and Kathy Barco
This book is a collection of accounts from librarians who have dealt with censorship in some form. Divided into seven parts, the book covers intralibrary censorship, child-oriented protectionism, the importance of building strong policies, experiences working with sensitive materials, public debates and controversies, criminal patrons, and library displays.

Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your Public Library: Scenarios from the Front Lines (2012)
By June Pinnell-Stephens with ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom
A level-headed guide both to the general principles of intellectual freedom as based on current interpretation(s) of the First Amendment and to practical and tactful ways of dealing with disputes as they arise.

Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students' First Amendment Rights (2015)
By Catherine J. Ross
Lessons in Censorship highlights the troubling and growing tendency of schools to clamp down on off-campus speech such as texting and sexting and reveals how well-intentioned measures to counter verbal bullying and hate speech may impinge on free speech. Throughout, Ross proposes ways to protect free expression without disrupting education.

Assistance and Consultation

The staff of the Office for Intellectual Freedom is available to answer questions or provide assistance to librarians, trustees, educators, and the public about the First Amendment and censorship. Areas of assistance include policy development, minors' rights, and professional ethics. Inquiries can be directed via email to oif@ala.org or via phone at (312) 280-4226.

Updated October 2017

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First Amendment Resources | Statements & Core Documents | Publications & Guidelines "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

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Challenged for almost 50 years.

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World leading higher education information and services

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Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel and 18 when it was published in 1967.

The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, who, divided by their dissimilar socioeconomic status, hold on to what they can amid the turbulent social changes of the 1960's.

Many remember the all-star cast in the 1983 film adaptation by director Francis Ford Coppola, in which Hinton played a cameo role as a nurse.

Coppola didn't plan on making a film about teen angst until students from Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, wrote to him about adapting The Outsiders. After reading the book, he was moved not just to direct " The Outsiders", but to follow it the next year with another S.E. Hinton novel, Rumble Fish.

To create tension among the actors playing the rival gangs, Coppola devised a scheme, whereby those cast as Socs were given luxury hotel rooms and leather-bound scripts, while the Greaser cast was put on the hotel's ground floor and received tattered scripts. The cast played pranks on each other and the hotel staff during the shoot. Years later, Tom Cruise met someone who worked at the hotel, and when he realized it was the same hotel where he and the rest of the cast had stayed, his first words were, "I'm sorry."

The Outsiders was quite a controversial book when it was released, and it remains so today.

In 1986, it was challenged in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin for its inclusion on an eighth grade reading list because "drug and alcohol abuse was common and virtually all the characters were from broken homes."

It is ranked #43 on the American Library Association's Top 100 Most Challenged Books of 1990-2000 and has been banned from some schools and libraries because of its portrayal of gang violence, underage smoking and drinking, strong language, slang usage, and exposé on family dysfunction.

In 1992, it was challenged in the Boone, Iowa School District because the book was seen as glamorizing smoking and drinking and uses excessive violence and obscenities.

It was challenged in 2001 at George Washington Middle School in Eleanor, West Virginia due to objections to the focus on gangs and gang fights.

The book was written about teenagers by a teenager, and parents generally objected, claiming that their children are being exposed to things they aren't prepared for and insist schools pull it from their curriculums; some also say it promotes "unchristian values" and site its lack of adult role models.

The Outsiders is a theme in itself. Looking at life as an outsider and feeling as though one is being treated as an outsider is a matter of one's point of view.

Teenagers typically consider themselves to be adults, but in reality teens are still under the control of others telling them how to live their lives- parents, teachers, and other authority figures. This loss of control inevitably leads to the feeling that life isn't fair.

Ponyboy sees injustice on a daily basis. His parents are dead, Darry works two jobs to support the brothers, Soda has dropped out of school, and Greasers are looked upon as "white trash." He sees gang warfare as a war between the economic classes. Because he is from the poor side of town, his place in life is unfairly predetermined.

This is exemplified when Randy says, "You can't win. You know that, don't you? It doesn't matter if you whip us; you'll still be where you were before, at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones at the top with all the breaks. It doesn't matter. Greasers will still be Greasers and Socs will still be Socs. It doesn't matter."

With that in mind, another theme is the use of colors in a black and white world. Adolescents see the world in absolutes. You are either Socs or Greasers, rich or poor, good or bad. Hinton descriptively uses color throughout the book to define and add depth to the characters in their environments.

Some wonder if the world as seen by Hinton in the 1960's has any place in today's world, as society has changed so much since then. Or has it?

Not even 20 years passed before The Breakfast Club hit the silver screen. The parallels are quite remarkable between the two stories. The social issues of alienation and cliques adapt with each generation. Teens still engage in a battle of wills between their home life, social life, and personal thoughts. Gangs are still very much a part of life, and as teens fight to find their place in the world they still experiment with drugs and alcohol.

So, yet again, we have naysayers who want to sweep these issues under the rug as if they do not exist, instead of openly talking about them in rational, intellectual circles. They fail to realize that some of the reasons we cling to literary favorites is because the characters and the situations are relatable.

The Outsiders has won the New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List (1967) and the Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book (1967). It has also won the Media and Methods Maxi Award and was named one of the ALA Best Young Adult Books, both in 1975. In 1979, it won the Massachusetts Children's Book Award.

Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.

Sources: American Library Association, Wikipedia, Marshall University

© 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

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Banned Books Awareness: The Outsiders - World leading higher education information and services

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Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel and 18 when it was published in 1967. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, who, divided by their dissimilar socioeconomic status, hold on to what they can [...]

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Do you want to show off your love for banned books? Take a look at the gift shop.

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Banned Books Week (September 22-28, 2019) is an annual event that highlights the benefits of unrestricted reading and draws attention to censorship attempts. This year's Banned Books Week theme is "Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Keep the Light On." Censorship leaves us in the dark by extinguishing information and silencing challenging discussions. But there are places that keep the light on, allowing everyone to access materials from an array of viewpoints.

During Banned Books Week, inspire readers to spotlight censorship and explore the freedom to read with the illuminating materials. Find more products in the ALA Store.

Censorship leaves us in the dark. Proclaim your dedication to keeping the light on and offering an array of viewpoints with this illuminating poster. This year-round poster is the perfect addition to any space where ideas and perspectives are welcome.

22" x 34", $16

Censorship leaves us in the dark, but reading banned books sparks a light. Spotlight censorship with these glow-in-the-dark buttons, which state "Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Read a Banned Book." To learn more about banned and challenged books and ways to defend the freedom to read, the back of the button includes a link to ala.org/bbooks.

Censorship leaves us in the dark, but awareness about the freedom to read keeps the light on. With more than 90 descriptions of recent censorship attempts around the country, the Field Report is a perfect handout for those interested in learning about challenged books, censorship trends, and how to defend the freedom to read. Compiled by speaker, author and former Office for Intellectual Freedom director James LaRue, the Field Report reviews public challenges to books, films, programs, meeting rooms, displays, and online resources. The report also includes 12 ways readers can shine a light on censorship, as well as information on the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018.

16 pages, 50-pack, $35

Downloadable version available, $29

Illuminate a banned and challenged book with these enlightening bookmarks. Censorship leaves us in the dark by extinguishing information, but awareness about the freedom to read keeps the light on. The bookmark includes a link to ala.org/bbooks for further resources on defending the freedom to read, and the hashtag #BannedBooksWeek to encourage others to join the online conversation about censorship.

100/pack, $10

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom is offering three t-shirt designs spotlighting censorship and celebrating the freedom to read. These custom-created shirts are avaialble only through IndiCo Direct. Shirts come in ladies and unisex styles in a variety of sizes.

$20.95, 50/25/25 poly/ring spun combed cotton/rayon

Celebrate the freedom to read and spotlight censorship with these bookmarks that list the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018, compiled by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. In 2018, the American Library Association tracked 347 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services. Spark conversations with these informational bookmarks, that match the theme of Banned Books Week - "Censorship leaves us in the dark. Keep the light on" - and include a link to ala.org/bbooks for further resources on defending the freedom to read.

100/pack, $10

Do you read banned books? With a speckled background and bold lettering, these classic stickers are a great giveaway in classrooms or at programs, and a vivid reminder to continue reading books that challenge us.

100/roll, $10

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is set in a dystopian society where independent thought is a crime, history is rewritten, and surveillance is omnipresent. Did you know that the classic novel has also been threatened with censorship? Draw attention to privacy and censorship concerns with this "eye-catching" bag - the perfect size to carry around your banned and challenged titles. Find privacy and intellectual freedom resources at ala.org/intellectualfreedom.

12 oz., 100% cotton canvas tote, 24" navy handles; 15" W x 16" H x 4" D

$16

The Banned Books Week Box is a literary subscription that fights censorship. Sent once a year, the box contains the newest Banned Books Week products at a 15% discount.

Reading banned books benefits our empathy, our worldview, and our democracy. Make a powerful statement about your freedom to read with this colorful vinyl sticker.

6" x 4", $4

Pour hot liquid in and the redactions disappear!

11 oz., $15

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Banned Books Week (September 22-28, 2019) is an annual event that highlights the benefits of unrestricted reading and draws attention to censorship attempts. This year's Banned Books Week theme is "Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Keep the Light On." Censorship leaves us in the dark by extinguishing information and silencing challenging discussions.

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Is it better to know the history?

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Free speech advocates in America have slammed a call to ban The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank from schools in Michigan because it contains "pornographic" passages.

A mother of a seventh grader in the Northville school district in Michigan said late last month that Frank's depiction of growing up in hiding as a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, contains "inappropriate material". She pointed in particular to a passage from the "definitive" version of Frank's diary - which includes around 30% of extra material left out of the original 1947 edition by Anne's father Otto - in which the young girl discusses her anatomy.

"Until I was 11 or 12, I didn't realise there was a second set of labia on the inside, since you couldn't see them. What's even funnier is that I thought urine came out of the clitoris," wrote Frank. "When you're standing up, all you see from the front is hair. Between your legs there are two soft, cushiony things, also covered with hair, which press together when you're standing, so you can't see what's inside. They separate when you sit down and they're very red and quite fleshy on the inside. In the upper part, between the outer labia, there's a fold of skin that, on second thought, looks like a kind of blister. That's the clitoris."

The mother told local press that this and other passages had made her daughter "uncomfortable", and that the school should have informed parents about the nature of the material. "It doesn't mean my child is sheltered, it doesn't mean I live in a bubble, and it doesn't mean I'm trying to ban books," she said.

"It's pretty graphic, and it's pretty pornographic for seventh-grade boys and girls to be reading," she said. "It's inappropriate for a teacher to be giving this material out to the kids when it's really the parents' job to give the students this information." She has now launched a formal complaint process asking for the unexpurgated version of the diary to be removed from the school, which is currently under review.

But the district is being urged not to ban the book by the Kids' Right to Read Project, part of the National Coalition Against Censorship, as well as by Frank publisher Bantam Books, the National Council of Teachers of English and PEN America, among others. The organisations have come together to write to the school district, saying that Anne Frank's diary is "both relevant to today's students and pedagogically valuable", and that to "remove the book potentially violates the constitutional rights of other students and parents".

"The passage in question relates to an experience that may be of particular concern to many of your students: physical changes associated with puberty," they write. "Anne had no books or friends to answer her questions, so she was forced to rely on her own observations. Literature helps prepare students for the future by providing opportunities to explore issues they may encounter in life. A good education depends on protecting the right to read, inquire, question and think for ourselves. We strongly urge you to keep The Diary of a Young Girl in its full, uncensored form in classrooms in Northville."

Acacia O'Connor, Kids' Right to Read Project coordinator, added: "Anne Frank's diary is so valuable because it brings students into a world that is at turns very different from their own and extremely familiar. Anne was in fear for her life every day in hiding but at the same time she was experiencing the changes every adolescent faces and her descriptions of those changes are real and important."
Topics

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Anne Frank's Diary in US schools censorship battle

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Free speech advocates in America have slammed a call to ban The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank from schools in Michigan because it contains "pornographic" passages. A mother of a seventh grader in the Northville school district in Michigan said late last month that Frank's depiction of growing up in hiding as a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, contains "inappropriate material".

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This is one of the top banned books.

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Since its release in 1993, has been one of the most controversial books in American schools. Between 1990 and 1999, The Giver ranked 11 th on the list of the books most frequently requested for removal. In the 2000s it was 23 rd, just two spots below To Kill a Mockingbird. This Friday marks the release of the first film adaptation of The Giver, which is likely to renew fandom, as well as opposition, to the dystopian young adult novel.

I talked to Barbara Jones, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), which maintains a database of attempts to remove books from schools. There is no way of knowing the exact number of actual attempts, as the OIF can only track those reported in the media or submitted to them by individuals, but since 1990 they have recorded over 11,000 separate instances of what they call "challenges," "attempt[s] to remove or restrict materials." For The Giver just under one-third of all challenges (for which the outcome was reported) resulted in a removal. The state that has seen the most attempts to remove The Giver is Texas, but the book has also been challenged in Massachusetts, Washington, and many other states all over the country.

In the last two decades, the most frequent reasons for a book being challenged in the United States have been categorized by the OIF as complaints that the book contains "Offensive Language" or is "Sexually Explicit." But The Giver is not usually objected to for either of these reasons. The most frequently cited reasons to challenge The Giver have been "Violence" and claims that the book is "Unsuited to [the] Age Group"-or in other words that it's too dark for children.

The chart below plots the top five most common reasons The Giver was challenged in red. The bars in blue represent how often that excuse was given for all book challenges the OIF has recorded.

Jones said that so far The Giver has not seen any recent uptick in challenges, but given the movie's summer release she believes this is likely to change soon. Jones said, "It's August now and when people hear of the movie and figure out it's in school libraries it's likely to see more challenges." The OIF reports that last year the top three most challenged books were Captain Underpants, The Bluest Eye, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The Giver may not make it that far on the list this year, but it's likely that the movie's release will spur more challenges when school resumes.

But even if a few protective parents get their way in some districts, and the book is removed from a handful of libraries, it's unlikely to stop the vast majority of young readers from finding it. The Giver has seen a surge in book sales ahead of the movie's release, and on Amazon's list of best-selling Teen & Young Adult Books, it currently ranks No. 2.

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Will the Giver Movie Prompt More Schools to Ban the Book?

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Since its release in 1993, has been one of the most controversial books in American schools. Between 1990 and 1999, The Giver ranked 11 th on the list of the books most frequently requested for removal. In the 2000s it was 23 rd, just two spots below To Kill a Mockingbird .

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Read what several have to say.

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The Hunger Games made No. 5 on ALA's most frequently challenged books, and the whole series later made No. 3. They were banned due to insensitivity, offensive language, violence, anti-family, anti-ethic, and occult/satanic.
Freshman Olivia Severyn said, "It is important to learn about all different situations, even if they are not the best, to learn from them."
"The Hunger Games" was banned in 2011, and a parent went to Goffstown school board in New Hampshire saying that the eleven-year-old child had nightmares. The parent said that banning the book could numb children to the effects of violence.
Severyn said, "The parent has a choice but you cannot ban it from everyone."
In 2014 the first novel in the series was banned again for religious viewpoint and for being unsuited for the age group.
It makes complete sense that the books are violent, after all it is a war trilogy. The main characters, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, are first in a fight to the death then a war against their government.
Severyn said, "The Hunger Games is a work of fiction that is supposed to be enjoyed, it does not promote a violent culture, it simply educates about one."
However, the anti-family challenge does not parallel all parts of the book. Everdeen's father dies before the plot line starts, and her mother was depressed.
Yet, Everdeen has a loyalty and strong protective feeling towards her sister, Primrose Everdeen. The main character has a love for her sister that does not diminish at all throughout the books.
In all three of the books not once was religion mentioned. It is a foreign concept to the post-apocalypse world that the characters are set in. Which makes the satanic complaint unjustified.
For more on why books are being banned, click here.

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The Hunger Games made No. 5 on ALA's most frequently challenged books, and the whole series later made No. 3. They were banned due to insensitivity, offensive language, violence, anti-family, anti-ethic, and occult/satanic. Freshman Olivia Severyn said, "It is important to learn about all different situations, even if they are not the best, to learn...

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Marion County, KY Considering Censorship for Looking for Alaska

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Marion County, KY Considering Censorship for Looking for Alaska

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How did people argue their point?

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By: Ellie Diaz

Some students were restricted from exploring "the Great Perhaps." John Green's ranked No. 6 on the American Library Association's Looking for Alaska Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016.

Looking for Alaska is told from the perspective of Miles, a teenager who leaves his boring high school to attend a co-ed boarding school and embark on a new adventure, one that is alluded to from the famous last words of authors. At Culver Creek Boarding School, he joins an eccentric friend circle, which includes Alaska, a rebellious, poetic prankster who will alter his life.

The Printz award-winning novel was challenged for a sexually explicit scene that "may lead a student to sexual experimentation." The scene involves oral sex between two teenagers, which is depicted as awkward as the pair is unsure what to do.

When the Marion County (Kentucky) High School considered removing the book from the library and senior English curriculum, the community fiercely advocated to keep it in the classrooms. Alumni students wrote to the local newspaper, the local public librarian created a display with all of Green's books, and educators made anti-censorship T-shirts and buttons. Even the author himself got involved, posting on Facebook that he's grateful to high school staff and students who supported the book and understand the " importance of reading books critically and thoughtfully as a whole, rather than focusing on individual scenes ripped from their context. "

The author asked his fans to rally and send letters of support to the teacher who wanted to use Looking for Alaska in the classroom, Emily Veatch. Veatch had been publicly attacked by some community members, with at least one person demanding she be fired. At the school district review committee meeting, Veatch said she received more than 500 encouraging emails, with half of them written by teenagers who had read the novel.

"To claim that our students are not mature enough to discuss grief, forgiveness, and their place in the world is doing them a disservice," Veatch said in a written statement to the committee. " ... I did not choose Looking for Alaska because I wished to expose my students to inappropriate material. I chose an award winning novel that I knew would engage and inspire my students."

The book was retained at Marion County High School, and many readers rejoiced.

Looking for Alaska isn't a stranger to ALA's Top Ten list. The YA novel made the list in 2012, 2013 and 2015, with challenge reasonings listed as "offensive language," "drugs/alcohol/smoking" and "unsuited to age group."

Last year, Green made a about it being the top challenged book of 2015, explaining that teenagers are thoughtful readers and will not be pressured into sexual situations just by reading the novel.

"If you have a worldview that can be undone with a novel," said Green," let me submit that the problem is not with the novel."

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Spotlight on Censorship: 'Looking for Alaska' - Intellectual Freedom Blog

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By: Ellie Diaz Some students were restricted from exploring "the Great Perhaps." John Green's ranked No. 6 on the American Library Association's Looking for Alaska Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016.

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Find out what the ALA has to say.

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ALA | Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A

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Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.

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Banned: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Banned: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Why are all the best books the ones that are banned?