Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

in

A small New England town is rocked by the scandal of everyday life in one of the most forgotten popular books of the twentieth century.

Banned

1957 - Tennessee - Knoxville activated a city ordinance that said the City Board of Review could block items deemed obscene. Local booksellers were forbidden to sell it. One newsstand owner challenged the ordinance and it was ruled unconsitutional.

1958

Ireland - Banned until the introduction of the Censorship of Publications Bill in 1967.

Canada - Temporary ban lifted

1959 - Rhode Island - The Rhonde Island Commission to Encourage Morality in Youth bought action against Bantam and three other New York paperback publishers. The Rhode Island Superior Court upheld the decision, which was later reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bantam Boos, Inc, et al, v. Joseph A Sullivan, et al.

Sources

Callahan, Michael. "Peyton Places' Real Victim." Vanity Fair. Retrieved on 2017 Nov 1 from https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/03/peytonplace200603

Doyle, Robert P. "Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read." American Library Association, 2014.

Metalious, Grace. "Peyton Place." Northeastern Univsersity Press. Boston, 1956, 1999.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

in ,
The Handmaid's Tale
By Margaret Atwood

We learn about the Handmaid and her/his tale about the alien artifact that brings water back to the world.

Banned

1990 - California - Challenged as assignment at Rancho Cotati High School in Rohnert Park as "too explicit for students"

1992 - Iowa - Challenged yet retained in Waterloo schools for profanity, sexually explicit material, and "statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled"

1993 - Massachusetts - Removed from Chicopee High School English class reading list for sex and profanity

1998 - Washington - Challenged with six other titles in Richland high school English classes for being "poor-quality literature and stress suicide, illicit sex, violence, and hopelessness."

1999 - Florida - Challenged but retained on advanced placement reading list in Chamberlain High School in Tampa

2000 - Pennsylvania - Upper Moreland School District downgraded the book from "required" to "optional" on the summer reading list for eleventh graders due to "age-inappropriate" subject matter.

2001 - Texas - Challenged but retained in the Dripping Springs senior Advanced Placement English courses as an optional assignment. Sexual encounters in the book upset some parents.

2006 - Texas - A parent complained to Superintendent Ed Lyman of the Judson school district that the book was "sexually explicit and offensive to Christians" and asked it be removed from an Advanced Placement English curriculum. A committee of teachers, students, and parents recommended the book be retained. The superintendent banned the book against the committee's recommendations. The committee appealed to the school board, which overruled the superintendent and retained the book.

2012 - North Carolina - Parents complained the book was "detrimental to Christian values" and the book was banned for "sexually explicit, violently graphic and morally corrupt" and challenged as required reading for Page High School International Baccaluraeate and optional reading in Advance Placement courses at Grimsley High School.

Sources

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

in

It's a bunch of sports related small stories, and Granny Wendy would be mad.

Banned

#44 Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1995 - South Carolina - Challenged in Charleston County for divorce, violence, AIDS, and homosexuality.

1999 - Alaska - Challenged and pulled but retained from Anchorage middle school libraries after a parent complained about lack of respect for parents and God as well as homosexuality and language.

2004 - Iowa - "In the Time I Get" was challenged and retained on the Solon 8th grade language arts class for discussion of AIDS.

Sources

Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA: 2014.

"Dances and Dames" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester

in
When Dad Killed Mom
By Julius Lester

We delve into the lives of two kids being disrupted by their dad shooting their mom in the face and the secrets that get revealed.

Banned

#56 on ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

2002 - Wyoming - Teton County Board of Education voted to ban the book from Jackson Hole Middle School (JHMS) library after a parent's complaint about being unsuitable for age group

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/