Sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and a variety of other groups, Banned Books Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2007) celebrates the first amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to read and write books that are considered unorthodox or controversial. A banned book is one that has actually been removed from a library or school system, a “challenged” book is the attempt to ban such material.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Gossip Girls (Series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Scary Stories by Walter Dean Myers
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Source: Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association
1. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 546 challenges in 2006. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint,
filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
TONIGHT: AT THE FREE LIBRARY Co-Sponsored by the ACLU,
WXPN’s Gene Shay hosts local artists, musicians, actors, and TV personalities as they celebrate Banned Books Week and support intellectual freedom by reading from their favorite censored volumes.