Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I've read eleven of those. Geesh. EDIT: Wait a minute, twelve. Didn't notice Where's Waldo on there. Good lord. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystery Eskimo 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Insane. Do they think shielding kids from books like "To Kill A Mockingbird" is somehow going to help them as people? Reminds me of the Ray Bradbury book, "Fahrenheit 451". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Where's JMA to blame the fundies for this? Seriously, I think I've had about all I can stand from the PC crowd. These folks either need to grow thicker skins or just simply die...whichever is easier for them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lando Griffin 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I loved the Goosebumps books. They came out when I was in fourth grade and they were hugely popular around here. Hell, my fourth grade teacher read a couple of them in class. I wish I still had all my books, but I sold them a long time ago. I had 25+ of them at least. I read Of Mice and Men in 11th grade, and we watched the movie version the last week of school. That's one of the few good things about my school, none of this censorship stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I read Of Mice and Men in the 11th grade as well. Never saw the movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 How are there FIVE Judy Blume books on there? That's absurd. By my count, I've read fifteen of the books on that list...and four of them were actually assigned reading by my school (To Kill A Mockingbird in grade 9, Lord of the Flies in grade 11, Brave New World in Grade 12, and The Handmaid's Tale in my OAC year). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 *tear* God Bless America! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I have no idea what kids in the south/midwest read, because I remember going to a bookstore with a display featuring "books banned in parts of the country" and I had read like all of them in middle school/high school. Ridiculous. Oh, and this can't be blamed on one side of the spectrum. It's both the uptight religious nuts on the right and over-sensitive PC nuts on the left that meet right in the middle on issue like this and share the blame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MD2020 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Isn't it the Religous groups and parent groups and not the PC groups that tries to get most of these banned? I know Religous groups were leading the "Harry Potter is encouraging kids to be witches and warlocks" crusade. I'm sure the Religous groups had similar problems with Goosebumps. I wonder what would happen if a Library put out reference desk copies of The Satanic Bible. That would be interesting to say the least. In my opinion, they're both kind of tied. Yes, the religious groups go after your Harry Potter--OMG Kids are going to be witches!!!--while PC groups go after Huck Finn and such. Both are idiots. This is just as bad as having to take out the word "ocean" because landlocked kids "can't handle the concept of a large body of water". No shit--that's why they're in school. To learn about this stuff. I couldn't handle the concept of, say, algebra, until I fucking learned it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MD2020 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Insane. Do they think shielding kids from books like "To Kill A Mockingbird" is somehow going to help them as people? Reminds me of the Ray Bradbury book, "Fahrenheit 451". I'm sort of (pleasantly) surprised and disappointed that "Fahrenheit 451" isn't on this list. The ironing would be delicious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Well it makes sense. After all Worms > Jews. You witless xenophobe... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 The ironing would be delicious. I bet the irony would be pretty good, too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 The ironing would be delicious. I bet the irony would be pretty good, too Simpson's reference, dude.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Damn, I've read at least 15 of those, and some of them on my own in elementary school. Some were assigned reading in high school, and one was assigned reading for a Lit class I took a couple of years ago. However, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume being on the list cracks me up to no end, and really makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with people. I learned more from that book about being a girl that age than my mom ever bothered to tell me. And Lord knows those videos they showed us in the 5th grade just inspired a "what the hell?" reaction from most of us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravenbomb 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz Man, I remember loving these books. The stories weren't nearly as scary as the illustrations, though, those were messed UP. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling Good, fuck Harry Potter. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford This CAN'T be the same Where's Waldo that I'm thinking of. Is there some kind of missing Where's Waldo book where Waldo is sick of being lost and kills the other people in the picture? Do they think it's secretly telling kids to go get lost from their parents in huge groups of people in weird locations, like haunted houses? Is there ANY explenation on their website? Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen I own one of these books, not this specific one I don't think, and the stuff in it is stuff NO kid would be able to pull off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Years ago when I was in grade school those Choose-your-own-adventure books were big. Basically, you were a character and were on some sort of quest and got to pick your person's actions. I usued to just fly through a book and read all the bad endings. Well anyway, there was this line of books called Wizards, Warriors & You. Each book was a different adventure and you got to pick being, surprise, a wizard or warrior (I was usually the warrior first). Anyway, soon after I started getting these books from some monthly book club my school had, it got banned. End of story... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Eagan469 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Years ago when I was in grade school those Choose-your-own-adventure books were big. Basically, you were a character and were on some sort of quest and got to pick your person's actions. I usued to just fly through a book and read all the bad endings. My school library had a pro-wrestling one. It was pretty intriguing for 4th-grade reading. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JangoFett4Hire 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Is "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" the Judy Blume book that deals with the girls getting her period? And if so, is that why it's being banned? Why is "Blubber" also on the list? Because the girl in the book is picked on for being fat? Who would have thought that Judy Blume would be so controverisal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Years ago when I was in grade school those Choose-your-own-adventure books were big. Basically, you were a character and were on some sort of quest and got to pick your person's actions. I usued to just fly through a book and read all the bad endings. Well anyway, there was this line of books called Wizards, Warriors & You. Each book was a different adventure and you got to pick being, surprise, a wizard or warrior (I was usually the warrior first). Anyway, soon after I started getting these books from some monthly book club my school had, it got banned. End of story... Are you SERIOUS?? I LOVED the Wizard and Warrior books. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford This CAN'T be the same Where's Waldo that I'm thinking of. Is there some kind of missing Where's Waldo book where Waldo is sick of being lost and kills the other people in the picture? Do they think it's secretly telling kids to go get lost from their parents in huge groups of people in weird locations, like haunted houses? Is there ANY explenation on their website? Um, yeah there is and I think it was even mentioned in the thread already. There's a topless woman drawn into the crowd at the beach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle The Witches by Roald Dahl Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell I've read each of those (and am in the process, only 150 more pages, of reading the bolded one). I found nothing offensive about any. And what's with all of the fuss about American Psycho? Snow White is, at times, more violent than the novel, as are many, MANY children's movies and fairy tales. Sure, he axes a guy's head in until the brain oozes from the skull, shoves rusty coathangers into a woman's breasts, and pours acid over a woman's vagina...but these are all done in PARODY. The character of Patrick Bateman is a great one, rivaling Satan in evilness (I've been told that Wuthering Heights's Heathcliff is the most sinister character of all-time, but he doesn't hold ANYTHING to Pat Bateman) and Gene Simmons in his sexual exploits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Why is there a topless woman in a children's picture book? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JMA Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Damn, a lot of those books are considered classics. Book banning is a pretty stupid concept and is the modern day equivalent of book burning. This is America, not Communist China. We have the freedom to read anything we want. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling Forever by Judy Blume Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Giver by Lois Lowry It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck The Color Purple by Alice Walker Sex by Madonna Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Go Ask Alice by Anonymous Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard The Witches by Roald Dahl The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry The Goats by Brock Cole Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane Blubber by Judy Blume Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier Final Exit by Derek Humphry The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Beloved by Toni Morrison The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Pigman by Paul Zindel Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard Deenie by Judy Blume Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole Cujo by Stephen King James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy Ordinary People by Judith Guest American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Crazy Lady by Jane Conly Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher Fade by Robert Cormier Guess What? by Mem Fox The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Lord of the Flies by William Golding Native Son by Richard Wright Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen Jack by A.M. Homes Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle Carrie by Stephen King Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge Family Secrets by Norma Klein Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole The Dead Zone by Stephen King The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Always Running by Luis Rodriguez Private Parts by Howard Stern Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett Running Loose by Chris Crutcher Sex Education by Jenny Davis The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier From http://www.ala.org ---------------------------------- You should HAVE to read Mark Twain (I did in middle school). Some of these books are kinda odd but in reality no book should be banned from a library unless it's about how to do illegal things (pipe bomb making etc) but all those politically correct bastards just want to make sure that you can't read anything that might offend even 1 person. Of coures that person probably doesn't really even care, but they take it upon themselves to protect them. Now are these books no longer available in libraries or bookstores, or what? Can I still own them, just not get them at a Library anymore? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 What grade level are we talking about here? Most of these books (like the Stephen King novels) would probably only be available in high school libraries, but several of those books I remember reading in middle school or earlier. Back in like 5th grade, the Goosebumps series came out and I think I read every single one of them between then and when I started High School, probably at least 50 books. I also came across R.L. Stein's first adult novel, Superstitious, which probably would have been on the list if it was even remotely interesting. Why isn't 1984 on the list? We can't have our kids realizing what the current world is turning into now can we? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Is "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" the Judy Blume book that deals with the girls getting her period? And if so, is that why it's being banned? Why is "Blubber" also on the list? Because the girl in the book is picked on for being fat? Who would have thought that Judy Blume would be so controverisal? Five of her books are among the most challenged, actually, which is just weird to me. I'm guessing Are You There God, It's Me Margaret has been challenged so much (68 tmes I think the ALA site said) is not because of the fact that it's about a girl getting her period, but also because of the sexuality in it. Well, it's hardly sexual, but there is a scene in the basement at a party involving a game of spin the bottle (scandalous, I tell you!), and a scene where Margaret stuffs her bra so that she'll have breasts like her next door neighbor. The game of Spin the Bottle involved the boy and girl (the person spinning and the person the bottle pointed to) going into a closet in the basement and having to stay in there for a certain amount of time, during which they were supposed to kiss each other. I'm guessing it's because of that alone that the book has been challenged so many times, although since some of the books have been challenged because of "sexual education," it might have been challenged for that, too, because Lord knows we don't need 13-year-old girls reading about other girls their age getting their periods and kissing boys for the first time and also dealing with peer pressure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I'm surprised The Chrysalids isn't on here, to be honest. Best book I ever read in high school, but that's the type of book that would get people up in arms. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Five of her books are among the most challenged, actually, which is just weird to me. I'm guessing Are You There God, It's Me Margaret has been challenged so much (68 tmes I think the ALA site said) is not because of the fact that it's about a girl getting her period, but also because of the sexuality in it. Well, it's hardly sexual, but there is a scene in the basement at a party involving a game of spin the bottle (scandalous, I tell you!), and a scene where Margaret stuffs her bra so that she'll have breasts like her next door neighbor. The game of Spin the Bottle involved the boy and girl (the person spinning and the person the bottle pointed to) going into a closet in the basement and having to stay in there for a certain amount of time, during which they were supposed to kiss each other. I'm guessing it's because of that alone that the book has been challenged so many times, although since some of the books have been challenged because of "sexual education," it might have been challenged for that, too, because Lord knows we don't need 13-year-old girls reading about other girls their age getting their periods and kissing boys for the first time and also dealing with peer pressure. It's probably because the name "God" appears in the title. I mean, we can't have such a blatant endorsement of God and/or Jesus in a school anywhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Now are these books no longer available in libraries or bookstores, or what? Can I still own them, just not get them at a Library anymore? You can still find them in any library, bookstore, etc. They were just challenged by particular interests at some point in time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I don't feel the need to defend a book like To Kill A Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men, which we all know are classics. Nor do I feel the need to defend books trying to teach kids about homosexuality, because ignoreing gay people will not make homosexuality go away. I don't think I need to defend sex ed books, because unlike the morons at SNKT I don't think Porn is an appropriate teaching tool. But STEPHEN KING? STEPHEN KING? Stephen King is one of the most influential and gifted writers of the last quarter century, he has become so great he has transcended both the Masters of Literary Horror (Stoker, Shelley, Poe, Lovecraft, Rice etc.) and the horror genre itself. His work is great LITERATURE, and I think one day a book like THE SHINING will become required reading for High School students. Challenging a book like THE DEAD ZONE (which is not only a wonderful tragedy and character study, but is also quite chilling) is an insult to the intelligence of every American mature enough to read his work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
