Top 20 Banned Books from 2000-2009

1. Banned Book Week September 24th – October 1st 2011

2. American Library Association's Banned Books Week Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted!

3. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A children’s book about a prince who marries another prince. Some object to the presentation gay relationships in a positive light.

4. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A “favorite of censors since its publication” according to the American Library Association. Uses profanity and portrays events like prostitution, depression, and alienation.

5. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 The 1971 book is about drug abuse and considered a classic of youth literature. Due to frequent and strong references to sex, heavy drug usage, and teen pregnancy this book is considered by some unsuitable to its intended age group.

6. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 This Pulitzer prize winning novel has been challenged and banned over the years because of its explicit sexuality, profanity, violence, and use of drugs.

7. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A young-adult novel that takes a very candid look at two teenagers negotiating a romantic and sexual relationship. Sexually explicit content; not suitable for young girls

8. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 The Bluest Eye presents the story of Pecola, a poor young Black girl who longs to have blonde hair and blue eyes (and white skin). Contains extremely graphic scenes of emotional and physical devastation.

9. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 In general, the debate over Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has centered around the language of the book, which has been objected to on social grounds. Yielding to public pressure, some textbook publishers have substituted "slave" or "servant" for the term that Mark Twain uses in the book, which has been considered derogatory to African Americans. http://classiclit.about.com/od/huckleberryfinnfaqs/f/faq_huck_ban.htm

10. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A series of children’s books about two 4th graders and the superhero they accidentally created by hypnotizing their principal. Banned because it is unsuitable to age group and it encourages kids to disobey authority.

11. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 Encouraged for kids 10 and older, this book presents the concepts of puberty and sexual health in a straight forward way. Banned for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion and being unsuited to age group.

12. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 Fallen Angels is about a soldier deployed in Vietnam. Readers experience first-hand the fear of the soldiers, the horrible combat situations, and the daily fight to survive. Banned for violence, sexuality, and profanity.

13. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 Charlie, our narrator, describes scenes from his life in a series of letters to an anonymous person. This book was banned in the USA for reasons of: homosexuality, sexually explicit, anti-family, offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, drugs and suicide. http://www.banned-books.org.uk/sections/wrong

14. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 The Internet Girls Series, written entirely in instant messaging format, is about three high school girls who talk about their bodies, sex, drinking, doing drugs, playing pranks, applying to college, problems with their parents, and problems with boys. Banned on the grounds of nudity, sexual explicitness, offensive language, drug use, and content unsuited to the intended age group.

15. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A trilogy of young adult fantasy novels that are often accused of an anti-Christian message.

16. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 Three volumes of scary stories collected from folklore and urban legends. Banned for promoting the occult, violence, witchcraft, and for being unsuited for children.

17. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 This 1970 memoir — the first of Maya Angelou's five autobiographical works — angered censors for its graphic depiction of racism and sex, especially the passages in which she recounts being raped by her mother's boyfriend as an 8-year-old child.Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books. 9-20-11 http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838_1844928,00.html

18. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 Tells the story of two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression. Banned because of the use of profanity. Often cited are the use of the Lord's name in vain along with the use of racial slurs.

19. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 And Tango Makes Three is a children’s book about two male penguins who hatch and raise a chick from a mixed penguin couple. It is challenged due to homosexuality.

20. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 The Chocolate War was banned due heavy use of profanity, sexuality, and references to bribery and physical violence.

21. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 A series of books featuring Alice, who is being raised by her father and brother because mother died when she was 5. She is filled with questions and curiosity as she grows up and enters her teenage years. Banned for sexual content.

22. Top 20 Banned Books 2000-2009 The Harry Potter Series Some note that Harry is not a good role model – he lies, breaks rules, and disobeys authority figures. Some people think that the Harry Potter books—especially the later ones—are too dark and scary for children to handle. They promote witchcraft and wizardry. "Harry Potter Banned?." Infoplease.© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 20 Sep. 2011 <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/banned-harry.html>.

23. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN!