Banned Books

There's been a lot of talk about banned books in our house recently. One of the books that Ian chose for his 8th graders this year has been met with quite a bit of concern from the parents at his school. The book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. At first I was sure all the fuss was for nothing, so I starting reading the book. (I thought perhaps I had read it in school myself but as I'm making my way through it, it doesn't seem at all familiar.) Now that I have passed the controversial pages, I have to admit - I can see why some of the parents were upset. But I can also see why Ian chose this book. She has a unique, beautiful voice.



When Ian was working on the letter that he would eventually send to all the 8th grade parents explaining his choice, he had me look over it. In the letter, he included a section about banned books, as Why the Caged Bird Sings has been on the list for many years. When I was reading it, I literally stopped and turned to him to say, "People still ban books? I thought that was just for the 60s." So then I was curious about other books that had that distinction. I was amazed at what I found - and how many of them I had read in school myself!

Here's a quick survey of some of the books on the Top 100 Most Frequently Banned Books from 2000-2009, in no particular order:

Of Mice and Men
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (#14 - who could object to this book?!)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Harry Potter (this was the #1 most commonly banned book - that surprised me!)
A Time To Kill 
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Bridge to Terabithia
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird

And Ian's book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, coming in at #6.

But I guess I should mention that he also taught To Kill A Mockingbird, which was #21.
Curious about the whole list? Check it out here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

So then I was curious about books that were commonly banned before 2000. If books that used to be banned were now commonly read in school, might the same thing happen to the books from recently banned lists?

Here's a few of the top ten most frequently banned books:

1. Brave New World - I didn't read this in school, but I read it afterwards out of curiosity, as my teacher in school said that Brave New World was sort of the opposite side of the mirror to 1984. If 1984 is a story about the things we hate and how they can kill us, Brave New World is about how the things we love can also destroy us.

2. The Grapes of Wrath - I did read this in school and I have to say, I wasn't a fan. But not because of anything controversial; I think I'm not a Steinbeck fan.

4. Slaughter House Five - I was surprised this was on the list! I know it's disturbing but that's history, right?

8. American Psycho - I haven't read this, or seen the movie. What say you? Should it be banned?

If you want the full list of the Top Ten Most Banned Books of All Time, check it out here: http://www.shortlist.com/home/10-banned-books

Very interesting stuff, at least to us. For now, it seems that the meetings and phone calls and emails have settled down and Ian is back to the business of teaching. And I'm squeezing in moments to read, so I can know more about his life (and also use my brain a little bit more than I have in recent months. I have to confess that all I've read recently, aside from the Bible and some spiritual formation books, is Teen Literature. But it's just so entertaining!)

Anyway, happy reading to you, whatever you might be reading as well, banned or not.