Out of the five banned books on the list, Jonathan Evison's "Lawn Boy," especially when considering the student population of Texas schools, is one of the most necessary to keep in the curriculum. Dark magic, evil villains, sorcerers, oh my! The book, published in 1947, is a clear-eyed glimpse into the thoughts of a young teenager hiding in an attic to avoid being rounded up by the Nazis during World War II. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter lives in two realities: a predominantly white prep school by day, and her mostly Black, low-income neighborhood by night. Poetry isnt exempt, eitherAnd Still I Rise, the third collection of poems by the great Maya Angelou, is on the list, as well. " Lawn Boy " by Jonathan Evison. In a letter, he asked Texas school . Florida banned 566 books, and 457 titles were banned in Pennsylvania, where a majority of books were removed from one school district in York County, which is known as being more conservative. Its difficult to say which book is the most banned in the United States. Jack Londons 1903 classic follows Buck, a giant, lovable cross between a Saint Bernard and Scotch collie. What makes Go Ask Alice (1971) one of the most controversial books of all time? There is one book each from Michael Crichton (a 1993 medical thriller), James Patterson (Cradle and All), and Richard North Patterson (Protect and Defend (Kerry Kilcannon #2)). The librarian alsonoted adistrict in another state removed the title "Maus" from its curriculum, not library. : A Balanced, Comprehensive View of Abortion from its Historical Context to the Current Debate, 100 Questions Youd Never Ask Your Parents: Straight Answers To Teens Questions About Sex, Sexuality, and Health, Thinking Out Loud: On the Personal, the Political, the Public and the Private, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Eyes on Target: Inside Stories from the Brotherhood of the U.S. Navy SEALs, Life, Death and Sacrifice: Women and Family in the Holocaust, More Politicians Need To Address Book Bans: Book Censorship News, February 24, 2023, How to Talk About Book Bans With Friends, Library Patrons, and More: Book Censorship News, February 17, 2023, Write Your Legislators About Banned Books Right Now With This Template: Book Censorship News, February 10, 2023, The Book Banners Recruitment Agenda: Book Censorship News, February 3, 2023, An Open Letter to Stephen King: Book Censorship News, January 27, 2023, Proposed Legislation in Several States to Eliminate LGBTQ+, Obscene Books: Book Censorship News, January 20, 2023, Childrens and Middle Grade: 149 (17.55%), LGBTQ: 509 (59.95%), including Trans: 118 (13.95% of total), Misc: 124 (14.61%), including Pregnancy: 49 (5.77%), Abortion (not Sex Ed): 43 (5.06%), and Unknown 163 (19.20%). Also, keep in mind that age category pie graph: these are mostly YA books, not board books. A parent in McKinney asked the district to remove this coming-of-age novel because it includes descriptions of homosexuality, date rape and masturbation. For nonfiction, books that discuss sex or its consequences openly tend to make the listtitles include Margaret O. Hydes Safe Sex 101: An Overview for Teens, Donna Langes Taking Responsibility: A Teens Guide to Contraception and Pregnancy, and Chloe Shantz-Hilkes My Girlfriends Pregnant! Though sometimes billed as a novel, this 2009 book is more of a collection of short vignettes and essays, all somewhat autobiographical portrayals of the authors time in Vietnam. Some parents have taken it a step further, filling out paperwork to formally challenge the appropriateness of library books and forcing school administrators to review them. Book 2 and 3 of the Timekeeper series, but not book 1. Lots of books on this list are from a series. Santa Spectacular was banned in Texas prisons because it contained stickers. She claimed that, because it includes references to microaggressions, the book is "about critical race theory, which is forbidden by Texas law. Primarily for its whimsical melding of science and the supernatural, which some religious adherents take issue with. Of the 81 book challenges, 42% had no changes, 27% were restricted to older grades and almost a third ended in the removal of 18 titles. Some schools have challenged the fantastical story for language, plus tobacco and alcohol references. She has nine titles on the list. The report released on Monday found that school administrators in Texas have banned 801 books across 22 school districts, and 174 titles were banned at least twice between July 2021 through June 2022. September 20, 2022 1. . Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Mike didnt get much in the way of education. Despite being so beloved, Harper Lees novel is still the fourth most challenged or banned classic book in the United States. . Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. So whether you want to read the best fiction books or the nonfiction books everyone is talking about, these banned books are a great place to start. 0:00. The reflections on race and identity are at once funny, poignant and heart-wrenching. Racism is a central theme in Of Mice and Men, which details the journey of two migrant ranch workers in Depression-era California. This hotly debated work of young adult fiction is written in diary form and reads as if written by a 15-year-old teen runaway on a journey to find herselfif she doesnt destroy herself first. Ive already shared some of the mistakes, omissions, and strange inclusions (like sex ed books from the 70s) on this list, but thats only scratching the surface. Keeping these books out of school libraries means students are less educated and are more likely to practice risky behavior because they dont have all the facts. January 14, 2022, 8 . illustrated books barely have any words, yet for an entire decade, they were some of the most banned. I'm done arguing with the people over whether this is fascism.". The fight over censorship and banned books is nothing new, but there seems to be a fresh effort to purge the shelves of so-called edgy cultural commentary (as in Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You), uncomfortable interpretations of reality (such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the Holocaust book Maus), discussions of gender identity (as with George M. Johnsons banned book All Boys Arent Blue) and provocative stories that could lead to political questioning (The Handmaids Tale, anyone?). This 1937 book by Nobel Prizewinning author John Steinbeck has been pulled from shelves for almost a century. Krause doesnt give any reason or justification for challenging LGBTQ books, despite them being the majority of the books listed. 1.3K. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. Honored . In asking to ban this nonfiction book about resisting racism, an Eanes parent suggested replacing it with copies of the Bible. I went through all 850 books to find out, and I found some interesting and unsettling things. Khaled Hosseinis 2003 debut novel whisks readers away to Afghanistan, where the son of a rich man and the son of his servant forge an unlikely friendship. LGBTQIA+ advocate and nonbinary writer George M. Johnson calls this 2020 book a memoir manifesto. Books at a New Jersey high school library that were targeted for bans. But no, her diary hasnt been removed from libraries because of the terror undergirding this heartbreaking account. If youre a student who wants to learn about the history of the Ku Klux Klan, you may need to look outside of your school library to find the most acclaimed book on the subject for young adults: Susan Campbell Bartolettis They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group isnt on the shelves in three districts. This novel, about a 1930s East Texas romance between a Mexican American girl and a Black boy, isn't suitable for teens, a Birdville parent wrote, because "it depicts a graphic sexual experience between minors. nytimes. Also, I used trans as an umbrella term for any books dealing with gender-nonconforming people for the sake of clear statistics. ", A parent in Plano said this coming-of-age novel about a Mexican American character's journey to understanding his own sexuality and ethnic identity should be banned because it contains "profanity, pornography, gambling, homosexuality." That may as well have been a lifetime ago, however, as the length and breadth of the list indicates. Over the past year, schools and libraries around the country have been banning a whole lot of books. (The film adaptation, which similarly deals with anti-fascist themes, is also banned in China and Russia.). Well, shes got cancer. (The format of Title : subtitle is common in library records, but not in most other places.) But while it may not be a history text, its certainly a must-read book about racism. Texas book challenges can be traced to last October, when state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, sent a list of some 850 books about race and sexuality including Kobabes to school districts asking for information about how many of those are available on their campuses. More recently, however, the book has been challenged because of sexual harassment allegations against the author himself. The parents challenging these books say that sex ed should be taught in the home, by parents, but that ignores that many households wont do this, and also that most teens dont feel comfortable talking to their parents about sex. Book bans tend to be specific to schools, towns or sometimes states. Bestselling author Jason Reynolds, the "Banned Books Week 2021 Honorary Chair," has two books on the most recent list: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-written with Ibram X. Kendi and All . A mom in Birdville asked school leaders to remove this book an illustrated guide to puberty, sex and sexual health after her child checked it out, writing that it wasn't appropriate for middle schoolers. They don't know she's queer, the student told a reporter, and given their past . Along with books written for teens to understand their bodies and sexuality, this list also includes any books about abortion or pregnancy, including history books about Roe vs. Wade or debates about abortion. : A Balanced, Comprehensive View of Abortion from its Historical Context to the Current Debate from 1991 (current debate, indeed!) Some disclaimers first: these are rough numbers. These are the top 10 Texas school districts that banned or reviewed the most books, data shows Kirkland An , Hannah Dellinger , Alejandro Serrano , Staff writers Aug. 10, 2022 Updated: Aug. 11 . "Gender Queer: A Memoir," by Maia Kobabe. "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison. After all, stories about kids killing each other doesnt cause students discomfort, but a book that mentions a characters gay uncle is apparently scarring. May 3, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT. Probably the one that has me the most stumped is Inventions and Inventors by Roger Smith from 2002. And yet it was among the top 10 most challenged books of 2020, primarily for the authors bold public words and the claims that the book includes selective snippets of history. Ashley Hope Prezs 2015 young adult novel Out of Darkness has landed on many a list of banned books for its graphic depictions of teen sex. novel by Kurt Vonnegut is a frequent top 100 contender on the ALA's list of banned books . Proponents for book banningare painting this issue "with a broad brush" forpolitical support while taking the decision-making process away from children andparents, Robinson said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. There are Leslea Newman books, but not Heather Has Two Mommies. Those titles were: "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez. Margaret Atwoods bestselling book (which inspired the Hulu TV show) is as dystopian as they come. About 5% of the books banned have to do with pregnancy. What does it say about an elected official that he would want books about students legal rights taken out of school libraries? According to PEN America, in that period, there were 1,586 books banned. Alex Ginos novel has been on the American Library Associations Top 10 Most Challenged Books list more than once since its 2017 debut. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coatess National Book Awardwinning book-length letter to his young son about growing up Black, is on the list, as is his We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, which features essays on race in America. In the five years since its publication, Thomas's debut novel has become a downright phenomenon. Despite its somewhat grown-up themes, Lowrys Newbery Medalwinning classic is a worthy read (or listen; its available as an audiobook on Audible) for all kids. Your donation keeps our trusted reporting free and accessible for all Texans and during a legislative session when lawmakers are set to tackle issues from school choice for K-12 students to school safety improvements to changes in property taxes, its critical that Texans know what lawmakers decisions mean for their futures. More than a thousand book titles, most addressing racism and LGBTQ issues, have been banned from U.S. classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months, many under pressure from conservative . Of course, sometimes book banning backfires. Keep an eye on your inbox. Toni Morrisons 1970 bestseller is also one of the best short books in our collection. Join the fight. Join the free Readers Digest Book Club for great reads, monthly discussions, author Q&As and a community of book lovers. 2022, 6:33 PM UTC . The Pants Project, a middle grade LGBTQ book, and Not My Idea, an anti-racist picture book, are both on here twice. These themesalong with some violent passagesled to the storys first banned books case in 1994. Its a beautiful and tender coming-of-age story that offers readers a glimpse of love and creativity, yes, but also racism and trauma. When shes not on deadline, you can find her curled up with a new library book or road-tripping through Europe or the American West. A list like this that attempts to be comprehensive backfires, because it implies approval for the books that arent on the list. confused school districts about how to follow it, We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and About Students, Whose Life? With additional reporting, and looking at the 12-month school year, the Index now lists banned books in 138 school districts in 32 states. A Teens Guide to Becoming a Dad (which seems like a useful book for kids in that situation!). A parent asked the Eanes Independent School District in Austin to remove this picture book about racial justice, arguing that no books that promote the Black Lives Matter movement should be available to children. Kobabe's book tops the American Library Association's list for most banned books in 2021. The young adult novel follows high school freshman Melinda Sordino after a life-changing assault during a summer party. NBC News sent public records requests to nearly 100 school districts in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin regions a small sampling of the states 1,250 public school systems and found 86 formal requests to remove books from libraries last year, the vast majority coming during the final four months of the year. Includes descriptions of homosexuality, date rape and masturbation, and i found interesting. Through all 850 books to find out, and i found some and... An optimal experience visit our site on another browser during a summer.... 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