[bksvol-discuss] Re: Banned Books Week
- From: "Jamie Yates, CPhT" <mirxtech@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2010 05:11:12 -0400
Here's what I've got so far on the 2009-2010 books
These are the ones not in the collection
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/2010banned.pdf
Banned books not in the collection:
Boyle, T. Coraghessan
The Tortilla Curtain
Viking
Challenged on the Santa Rosa, Calif. High
School reading list (2010). A review committee
approved the continued use of the book with the
following guidelines: "The teacher must appropriately
prepare students for parts of the book that may be
considered provocative; limit the book to juniors and
seniors; should a parent object to the book, board
policy is currently in place that allows a student to
be excused from the book assignment, and provides
for an alternative assignment without penalty to the
student." Source: Mar. 2010, pp. 55-56.
Brown, Marc Tolon
Buster's Sugartime
Little
Challenged, but retained at the Union, Okla. district
elementary school libraries (2009) despite a parent's
complaint that the book features two same-sex
couples and their children. Source: Mar. 2010,
pp. 53-54.
Comfort, Alex
Joy of Sex
Crown; Simon & Schuster
Restricted minors' access in the Topeka and
Shawnee County, Kans. Public Library (2009)
because the organization Kansans for Common
Sense contended that the material is "harmful
to minors under state law." Later the board voted
6-3 in favor of adopting a staff recommendation
to keep the books where they are currently located
on the shelves in the library's Health Information
Neighborhood section. Source: May 2009,
pp. 77-78; July 2009, p. 139.
Drill, Esther
Deal with It! A Whole New
Approach to Your Body, Brain,
and Life as a gURL
Pocket Books
Challenged at the West Bend, Wis. Community
Memorial Library (2009) as being "pornographic
and worse than an R-rated movie." The library
board unanimously voted 9-0 to maintain, "without
removing, relocating, labeling, or otherwise restricting
access," the books in the young adult category at the
West Bend Community Memorial Library. The vote
was a rejection of a four-month campaign conducted
by the citizen's group West Bend Citizens for Safe
Libraries to move fi ction and nonfi ction books with
sexually explicit passages from the young adult section
to the adult section and label them as containing
sexual material. Source: May 2009, pp. 80-81;
Sept. 2009, pp. 169-70.
Crutcher, Chris
Deadline
Greenwillow Books
Withdrawn from classroom use and the approved
curriculum at the Montgomery County, Ky. High
School (2009), but available at the high school
library and student book club. Some parents have
complained about fi ve novels containing foul
language and covering topics -- including sex,
child abuse, suicide, and drug abuse -- unsuited
for discussion in coed high school classes. They also
contend that the books don't provide the intellectual
challenge and rigor that students need in college
preparatory classes. The titles appeared on
suggested book lists compiled by the Young Adult
Library Services Association, a division of the
American Library Association, for twelve- to
eighteen-year-olds who are "reluctant readers."
The superintendent removed the book because
it wasn't on the pre-approved curriculum list and
couldn't be added by teachers in the middle of a
school year without permission. Source: Jan. 2010,
pp. 16-17; Mar. 2010, p. 56.
Dubberley, Emily
Sex for Busy People: The Art of
the Quickie for Lovers on the Go
Simon & Schuster
Restricted minors' access in the Topeka and
Shawnee County, Kans. Public Library (2009)
because the organization Kansans for Common
Sense contended that the material is "harmful
to minors under state law." Later the board voted
6-3 in favor of adopting a staff recommendation
to keep the books where they are currently located
on the shelves in the library's Health Information
Neighborhood section. Source: May 2009,
pp. 77-78; July 2009, p. 139.
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting
by in America
Holt
Challenged at the Easton, Penn. School District
(2010), but retained despite a parent's claim the
book promotes "economic fallacies" and socialist
ideas, as well as advocating the use of illegal drugs
and belittling Christians. Source: May 2010, p. 107.
Hemingway, Ernest
Hills Like White Elephants:
A Short Story: The Complete Short
Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Scribner
Pulled from a Litchfi eld, N.H. Campbell High School
elective course classroom (2009) after parents
voiced their concerns about a short-stories unit
called "Love/Gender/Family Unit" that dealt with
subject matters including abortion, cannibalism,
homosexuality, and drug use. The parents said
the stories promoted bad behavior and a "political
agenda" and they shouldn't be incorporated into
classroom teachings. The Campbell High School
English curriculum adviser eventually resigned.
Source: Sept. 2009, p. 154.
Harding, Kat
Lesbian Kama Sutra
Thomas Dunne Books
Restricted minors' access in the Topeka and
Shawnee County, Kans. Public Library (2009)
because the organization Kansans for Common
Sense contended that the material is "harmful
to minors under state law." Later the board
voted 6-3 in favor of adopting a staff
recommendation to keep the books where
they are currently located on the shelves in the
library's Health Information Neighborhood section.
Source: May 2009, pp. 77-78; July 2009, p. 139.
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Farrar
Banned from the curriculum in Puerto Rican public
high schools (2009) along with four other books
because of coarse language. Written by one of Latin
America's most prominent contemporary writers, the
novel contains a brief romantic encounter beneath a
crucifi x. It is a scene that prompted Mexico's former
interior secretary to try to have the book dropped from
a reading list at his daughter's private school, without
success. Fuentes said that the attempt boosted sales
of the book. The other titles banned were: Antologia
personal, by Jose Luis Gonzalez; Mejor te lo cuento:
antologia personal, 1978-2005, by Juan Antonio
Ramos; Reunion de espejos, by Jose Luis Vega; and
El entierro de Cortijo: 6 de octubre de 1982, by Edgardo
Rodriguez Julia. Source: Nov. 2009, p. 204.
Hartinger, Brent
Geography Club
HarperTempest
Challenged at the West Bend, Wis. Community
Memorial Library (2009) as being "obscene or
child pornography" in a section designated "Young
Adults." The library board unanimously voted 9-0
to maintain, "without removing, relocating, labeling,
or otherwise restricting access," the books in the
young adult category at the West Bend Community
Memorial Library. The vote was a rejection of
a four-month campaign conducted by the citizen's
group West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries to move
fi ction and nonfi ction books with sexually explicit
passages from the young adult section to the adult
section and label them as containing sexual material.
Source: May 2009, pp. 80-81; Sept. 2009,
pp. 169-70.
Garrison, Eric Marlowe
Mastering Multiple Position Sex
Quiver
Challenged, but retained at the Pataskala, Ohio
Public Library (2009). The library determined to
implement a new juvenile library card. A parent or
guardian will be able to sign off on the card, thereby
restricting his or her child's borrowing rights to
juvenile materials. Source: Jan. 2010, pp. 12-13;
Mar. 2010, p. 53.
King, Stephen
Survivor Type: A Short Story
from Skeleton Crew
Signet
Pulled from a Litchfi eld, N.H. Campbell High School
elective course classroom (2009) after parents voiced
their concerns about a short-stories unit called "Love/
Gender/Family Unit" that dealt with subject matters
including abortion, cannibalism, homosexuality, and
drug use. The parents said the stories promoted bad
behavior and a "political agenda" and they shouldn't be
incorporated into classroom teachings. The Campbell
High School English curriculum adviser eventually
resigned. Source: Sept. 2009, p. 154.
Martin, Michael
Kurt Cobain
Capstone Press
Removed from all elementary and middle Farmington,
Minn. school libraries (2009) because the book was
"very dark and violent and made references to the use
of Ritalin as being a precursor to the use of illicit drugs.
It also covered topics such as mental illness
and suicide." Source: Jan. 2010, p. 11.
McDonald, Brian
In the Middle of the Night:
The Shocking True Story of
a Family Killed in Cold Blood
St. Martin
Challenged at the Cheshire, Conn. Public Library
(2009). McDonald's book revisits 2007, when Joshua
Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes allegedly invaded the
Cheshire home of Dr. William Petit, beating him with
a baseball bat and raping, torturing, and murdering his
wife and two daughters. Complainants want the book
kept off the library shelves until the men accused of
the crime have been tried. Source: Jan. 2010, pp. 7-8;
Mar. 2010, p. 51.
Klausen, Jytte
The Cartoons That Shook the World
Yale University Press
Yale University Press in New Haven, Conn. (2009)
removed twelve cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad
from an upcoming book about how they caused
outrage across the Muslim world, citing fears of
violence. A Danish newspaper originally published
the cartoons -- including one depicting Muhammad
wearing a bomb-shaped turban -- in 2005. Other
Western publications reprinted them. The following
year, the cartoons triggered massive protests from
Morocco to Indonesia. Rioters torched Danish and
other Western diplomatic missions. Some Muslim
countries boycotted Danish products. Islamic law
generally opposes any depiction of the prophet,
even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.
Source: Nov. 2009, pp. 204-7.
Lippman, Laura
The Crack Cocaine Diet: A Short
Story from Hardly Knew Her
Avon
Pulled from a Litchfi eld, N.H. Campbell High School
elective course classroom (2009) after parents voiced
their concerns about a short-stories unit called "Love/
Gender/Family Unit" that dealt with subject matters
including abortion, cannibalism, homosexuality, and
drug use. The parents said the stories promoted bad
behavior and a "political agenda" and they shouldn't be
incorporated into classroom teachings. The Campbell
High School English curriculum said the short story
was not intended to glorify bad behavior, rather, it
was chosen for its tone and point of view and to show
the often devastating consequences of drug use. The
English curriculum adviser eventually resigned.
Source: Sept. 2009, p. 154.
Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary
Merriam-Webster
Pulled from the Menifee, Calif. Union School District
(2010) because a parent complained when a child
came across the term "oral sex." Offi cials said
the district is forming a committee to consider
a permanent classroom ban of the dictionary.
Source: Mar. 2010, p. 55.
Myracle, Lauren
ttyl
Amulet Books
Challenged, but retained at the John Muir Middle
School library in Wausau, Wis. (2009) despite a
parent's request that the book be removed because
of sexually explicit content. The author said, "The
book's dialogue about sex and alcohol is frank but
the characters criticize those who engage in those
behaviors." Retained in the Ponus Ridge Middle
School library in Norwalk, Conn. (2010). While many
critics decry its style as "grammatically incorrect,"
most who take exception point to its foul language,
sexual content, and questionable sexual behavior.
It is the fi rst book written entirely in the format of
instant messaging -- the title itself is a shorthand
reference to "talk to you later." Source: July 2009,
p. 140; May 2010, p. 127.
Moore, Alan
The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen: Black Dossier
America's Best Comics
Challenged at the Jessamine County Public Library in
Nicolasville, Ky. (2009). A petition with 950 signatures
was presented to the board to overturn its collection
policy. The petition specifi cally asked for the removal
of four works on the grounds that they "offended me
in that they depict sexual acts and/or describe such
acts in a way that in my opinion are contrary to the
Jessamine County public opinion" of what should be
in a public, taxpayer-supported collection. The petition
concluded the works constituted a public safety issue
in that they encourage sexual predators. In addition
to Moore's graphic novel, the other works challenged
were Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk, Choke, a DVD based
on a novel by Palahniuk; and the DVD Ron White:
You Can't Fix Stupid. The graphic novel eventually
got two employees fi red for breaching library policies,
the library director was threatened with physical
harm, and the book was recataloged, along with
other graphic novels with mature trends, to a separate
but unrestricted graphic novels section of the library.
Source: Jan. 2010, pp. 8-9; Mar. 2010, p. 52.
Sedaris, David
I Like Guys: A Short Story
from Naked
Back Bay Books
Pulled from a Litchfi eld, N.H. Campbell High School
elective course classroom (2009) after parents
voiced their concerns about a short-stories unit
called "Love/Gender/Family Unit" that dealt with
subject matters including abortion, cannibalism,
homosexuality, and drug use. The parents said the
stories promoted bad behavior and a "political agenda"
and they shouldn't be incorporated into classroom
teachings. The Campbell High School English
curriculum adviser said the short story was selected
not only for its tone and style, but also its message
of respect and acceptance, not for advocating
homosexuality. The English curriculum adviser
eventually resigned. Source: Sept. 2009, p. 154.
Schrag, Ariel, ed.
Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen
Comics from an Unpleasant Age
Viking
Pulled from the school library collections at two
Sioux Falls, S.Dak. public middle schools (2009).
The book is the work of sixteen cartoonists who
recreated true tales from their middle-school years.
The book's major themes are bullying and boy-girl
awkwardness. Masturbation and marijuana show
up in passing, and several of the vignettes include
words most parents wouldn't want to hear from
their children. Source: Jan. 2010, p. 13.
--
Jamie in Michigan
Currently Reading: The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews
Earn cash for answering trivia questions every 3 hours:
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See everything I've read this year at: www.michiganrxtech.com/books.html
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