Spanish Librarian Rita Wilson's Favorite Banned Book
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One Hundred Years of Solitude by Call Number: JPL PQ8180.17 .A73 C513 1970ISBN: 0060883286Publication Date: 2006Challenged for being "Obscene. Profane language. Sexually explicit. Violent. Sacrilegious. Trash being passed off as literature."
Overview
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. ("About," 2017, ¶ 1).
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Banned Books Week Coalition 2017This link provides an overview to the 2017 Banned Books Week as well as additional links to assist you.
Banned Books Week in the News
These are just some of the incidents across the United States from 2015 and 2016.
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Sen. Chase: Librarians should be ‘dismissed’ Librarians push back in controversial book fight June 29, 2016In Chesterfield County, VA, Senator Chase and librarians are fighting about several books' placement in libraries.
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John Romano: Banning a book is the real obscenity in this case May 25, 2016Columnist John Romano gives his opinion on the attempt to ban The Perks of Being a Wallflower at the Pasco Middle School.
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Va. legislature: Give parents veto over sexually charged school books, March 1, 2016The Virginia Senate voted March 1 to give parents veto power over sexually explicit materials in school, following a charged debate that dipped into the Bible, mentioned transgender bathrooms, and got one senator called out by his colleagues for reading explicit passages.
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Student protests graphic novels by Gaiman and Bechdel as 'garbage,' Sept. 5, 2015“A community college student in San Bernardino County [California] is protesting the inclusion of four books in a graphic novels course because she's offended by their violent and sexual content.”
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Neil Gaiman: 'my parents didn’t have any kind of rules about what I couldn’t read' Aug. 29, 2015"Here, the author of Coraline and The Graveyard Book talks about controversial books in libraries, censorship threats to graphic novels and why freedom of speech is not the freedom to harass."
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Duke Students Debate Fun Home Summer Reading Selection, Aug. 24, 2015In Durham, NC, some incoming freshmen to Duke University have opted not to read the required summer reading Fun Home.
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Dropped assignment raises questions about book banning, Aug. 7, 2015In Tallahassee, FL, "A principal's ad-hoc decision to pull a summer reading assignment after a handful of parents slammed the book's content and language is calling into question Leon County Schools' censorship bylaws."
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How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise, July 19, 2015In Tucson, AZ, "Legislators in Arizona decided to prohibit a culturally relevant course, so teachers pushed back and started a nationwide movement."
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Petition to ban new books prompts new debate on censorship in Duval County, July 18, 2015In Jacksonville, FL, "two elementary books, set in Afghanistan and Iraq, are creating a social media stir in Jacksonville and have re-energized the age-old debate on literary censorship."
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Teacher who read gay-themed fairy tale in class resigns after protest, June 16, 2015"A North Carolina elementary school teacher has resigned after his decision to read a gay-themed children's book to his third-grade class led to controversy in the small town of Efland."
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Parents want Of Mice and Men, Kite Runner removed from high schools, May 5, 2015"The critically acclaimed novels are the targets of challenges in two cities: Of Mice and Men in Coeur d'Alene, ID, and The Kite Runner in Asheville, NC."
Here is an update - the challenge did not pass in Idaho - June 2, 2015 - LA Times -
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men survives censorship attempt in Idaho -
The most banned and challenged books of 2014, April 13, 2015"A memoir by a sexual assault survivor, a science fiction comic book and a children's book about gay penguins were among the 10 most frequently banned or challenged books in the United States last year, according to the American Library Association."
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Book removed from Sheehan High School curriculum following 1 parent’s complaint, March 24, 2015In Wallingford, CT, A parent's complaint about The Perks of Being a Wallflower led the school board to remove the book from Sheehan High School's curriculum.
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One HPISD Parent Is Still Trying To Ban The Working Poor, Jan. 15, 2015In Highland Park, TX, "last fall, Highland Park ISD superintendent Dawson Orr suspended seven books following parent complaints," but one parent is upset that The Working Poor is still in the AP curriculum.
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Nassau County parents outraged about school library books with explicit content, Aug. 16, 2016In Nassau County, FL, two parents are not only calling for the ban of two popular teen books, Lauren Myracle’s TTYL and TTFN, from school libraries, but are also blaming the titles for "what’s wrong with children today."
Event Ideas
The links below should provide you with some ideas of ways to celebrate or participate in Banned Books Week.
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Banned Books Week Virtual Read-OutSome libraries and schools have Read-Outs of banned books. If your library or school does not, never fear! You can participate in a virtual Read-Out! Follow the directions located here to find out more.
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Banned Books Week Happenings Across the US in 2017Want to know how others across the U.S. are celebrating Banned Books Week? Here is a list of how some are celebrating.
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First Amendment Film FestivalLinking the theoretical to the visual is a good way to make the abstract more concrete. The films and documentaries that ALA suggests are age appropriate for high schoolers and college students.
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Activity Ideas for Banned Books WeekMost of these ideas are aimed at you, as an individual, versus you, the educator. Ideas might be adapted to fit upper-level classrooms as well.
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Display Ideas for Banned Books WeekThe display ideas that the ALA suggests are for all age levels. The displays could be appropriate for in classrooms and in school libraries depending on age level and space.
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Top 10 Things to Do with a Banned TextThis blog post is old, from 2010, but lots of great and relevant thoughts in it.