Did you know that it is currently Banned Books Week?
Every year, during the last week of September, hundreds of libraries and bookstores across the US join together to celebrate the freedom to read and the importance of the first amendment. Since 1982, more than 11.000 books have been challenged for a variety of reasons. Banned Books Week celebrates American’s right to free and open access to information and points out the harms of censorship by looking at both actual and attempted bannings of books across the country. Want to know more? Check out the ALA website and bannedbooksweek.org.
In 2010, the 10 most challenged titles were:
And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson,
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie,
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley,
Crank, by Ellen Hopkins,
The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins,
Lush, by Natasha Friend,
What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones,
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich,
Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie, and
Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer.
Want to know why? Check out this cool infographic from the Los Angeles Times.
This year, you can join the Virtual Read Out! by posting a video reading a passage from your favorite banned books-Jay Asher, Judy Blume, Chris Crutcher, Sarah Dessen, Ellen Hopkins, Whoopi Goldberg, William Joyce, Lauren Myracle and many many more have. Check out the Official YouTube Channel to see them all! For instructions on how to upload your video, and the video criteria click here.
Here at PBC, we’re celebrating Banned Books Week by giving away a signed copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (on the 2010 most-challenged list) and a signed copy of Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (often one of the top three challenged authors, her book Crank is on the 2010 list).
The giveaway will close at midnight MST on October 1, 2011 (the end of Banned Books Week) and we will draw 2 winners (each winner will receive one book-to be chosen randomly) on Monday October 3, 2011.
Want to enter? It’s Easy!
First: Like us on Facebook (Use the Like Button on our right sidebar, or click here)
Then: Come back to this post and leave us a comment telling us your favorite banned book! (Already like us on facebook or don’t have a facebook account? Leave your comment on this post and we’ll enter you in the drawing.) Make sure you use a valid email when you comment here, it is how we will contact you if you’ve won (it won’t be published). We’ll also update this post with the winners.
Update: This giveaway is now closed – the randomly selected winners were Tana Berry and Ashlyn B. Thanks for entering!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has always been a favorite of mine! I can’t imagine picking up one of the new editions of the book that has “revised” some of the wording.
My favorite banned book? There are so many. How about To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie makes me and laugh and cry throughout the book.
My favorite banned book: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My favorite challenged book: Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
My favorite banned book is Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I think as a society we tend to pretend the behind the scenes of life really doesn’t really happen. All of our banned books take off our rose colored glasses and look at life full in the face.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
is my favorite banned book! This book should be required reading!
It’s an oldie, but I have a copy of the children’s book Little Black Sambo that I recovered from my grandmothers attic. I’ve used it as an example of a banned book for racial reasons in high school English classes.
During Banned Books Week, I am always reminded of the words of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas: “Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” In the spirit of fighting subversion, my favorite banned book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee because it features Atticus Finch—a champion for social justice and a role model for parents, lawyers, and citizens everywhere who wish to speak for those silenced or otherwise marginalized by society.
There are so many possibilities here, but I would have to say The Giver is my absolutely favorite book from the ALA list.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tops my chart for sure! 🙂
My favorites to teach all have been banned sometime, somewhere. Doesn’t that figure?
I would have to say Blood and Chocolate, because it was one of the first young adults books I ever read, and I was absolutely hooked from that day on. It made me pursue a career in high school librarianship, and I really feel that young adult books are so much more rich in subject matter than a lot of other ages because the kids are experiencing so much in those years.