Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska

By John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green 100

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An angsty kid meet some new friends in this heartbreaking tale of whiny smokers cussing a lot.

Banned

2008 - New York - Challenged, but retained for the 11th grade Regents English classes in Depew despite concerns about graphic language and sexual content. The school sent parents a letter requesting permission to use the novel and only 3 students were denied permission.

2012 - Tennessee - Challenged as required reading for Knox County High Schools' Honors and as Advanced Placement outside readings for English II because of "inappropriate language." School Superintendent Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr. said that a parent identified this as an issue and the book was removed from the required reading list. He didn't say whether the book was still in the schools.

2013

Colorado - Parents of Fort Lupton Middle and High School challenged the books use in a 9th grade classrooms for sexual and alcohol content

Tennessee - Banned as required reading for Sumner County schools by the director of schools because of a sex scene that was "a bit much" and  "inappropriate language." The book was retained in the libraries.

2014 - New Jersey - Challenged in the Verona High School curriculum because a parent found the sexual nature of the story inappropriate.

2015 - Wisconsin - Challenged, but retained in the Waukesha South High School despite claims the book is "too racy to read."

2016

Kentucky - Marion County parent complained about book being included on 12th grade english, "calls the novel “filth” and lists his fear that the book would tempt students “to experiment with pornography, sex, drugs, alcohol and profanity.”" The book was removed from circulation until the school committee reached a decision. "Another resident has written to the local paper describing the novel as “mental pornography” and detailing the number of times the “‘f’ word” is used (16) and the the “‘sh’ word” is used (27)."

New Jersey - Challenged, but retained in the Lumberton Township middle school despite a parent questioning its "sexual content."

Sources

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

Guardian - John Green fights back against banning of Looking for Alaska

Guardian - US battle over banning Looking for Alaska continues in Kentucky

Marshall University Libraries - Banned Books - Looking for Alaska

National Coalation Against Censorship - Looking for Alaska Under Fire in Kentucky

NJ.com - N.J. school district bans John Green's 'Looking for Alaska'

Office of Intellectual Freedom Blog - Here and Here

School Library Journal - Ban on John Green’s ‘Looking for Alaska’ Sparks Anger

School Library Journal - John Green Says ‘Looking for Alaska’ Challenged by Colorado Parents

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Two Boys Kissing

By David Levithan

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

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Two boys try to set a world record for kissing after their friend is beaten in this YA novel. One lady tried to get it thrown out of libraries for sexual content.

National Book Award longlist

Stonewall Honor Book

Inspired by true events

Banned

Cover image of two boys kissing - author states that the cover shows what happens in the book and does not lie. When asked if this would discourage LGBT teens from openly reading or checking out the book from libraries, the author conceded this was possible but says that having the book in the library, representing the community, and normalizing the subject is more important.

#5 on the ALA's Top 10 Banned and Challenged of 2016

2014 - Virginia - A parent filed a complaint with Fauqier County Schools to remove the book after reviewing 46 sample pages on Amazon.com and disagreeing with the sexual content (claiming not the homosexual content). The school refused to remove the material from the libraries. On appeal to the school board committee, a unanimous vote allowed the book to stay in the school libraries.

2016 - "condones public displays of affection"

2019 - Iowa - Religious activist Robert Dorr checked out the book and two other from Orange City Public Library and posted a video of himself burning the books. Dorr was convicted of criminal mischief and forced to pay a fine.

Sources

Aviles, Gwen. “Religious activist convicted for burning LGBTQ library books.” NBCnews.com. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019 from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/religious-activist-convicted-burning-lgbtq-library-books-n1040051

Request to Ban ‘Two Boys Kissing’ from Virginia High School Library Denied - School Library Journal

Spotlight on Censorship: ‘Two Boys Kissing’ - Intellectual Freedom Blog

This One Summer Tops ALA’s Top Ten Challenged Books List - Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

TWO BOYS KISSING - Marshall University Libraries

Two Boys Kissing - National Coalition Against Censorship wiki

Two Boys Kissing Stays on Shelves in Virginia School System (For Now) - Comic Boook Legal Defense Fund

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel

I Am Jazz

By Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel

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The autobiography of transgender teen Jazz Jennings, this heartfelt tale is one of acceptance.

Banned

2015 - Wisconsin - The Mount Horeb Primary Center planned a reading of the book to educate the students because of a transitioning student. They sent out a letter advising parents. The Liberty Council, a recognized hate group, sent a letter threatening to sue based on "inappropriate discusion of gender confusion and sexuality" with primary students. The school cancelled the reading. Local parents decided to hold a reading at a local library, attended by the author, with an audience of approximately 600.

#3 Top Ten Challenged of 2015, #4 Top Ten Challenged of 2016

Sources

My trans picture book was challenged – but the answer to hate speech is more speech

I Am Jazz Authors Call Readers to Action for Banned Books Week

I am Jazz Tag - OIF blog

I AM JAZZ - Marshall University Libraries

George by Alex Gino

George

By Alex Gino

George by Alex Gino

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Rule Number 1 of Cheer Club: You don't talk about Cheer Club.

Banned

Banned or censored for containing transgender characters and "sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels."

Family Research Council (and other Christian groups) claim the book will confuse kids about gender issues.

Sources

Christian groups slam transgender book 'George,' saying it will only confuse kids

Goodreads - George by Alex Gino

Spotlight on Censorship: ‘George’

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

By Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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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.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

This One Summer

By Mariko Tamaki

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

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A book that in no way follows the plot of Three Men and a Baby (which is crazy) but was banned from a bunch of places.

Banned

General attack as a Caldecott Honor as the book is targeted at 12 and up and Caldecott books are targeted lower.

#1 on the ALA Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016 for including "LGBT characters, drug use, and profanity, and it was considered sexually explicit with mature themes."

2016

Minnesota - Henning schools removed the book from the K-12 library; restored to 10-12 grades with parental permission

Florida - Seminole County schools removed the book from elementry schools and reviewed the book in high school library where it was retained

Sources

ALA. "Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016" http://www.ala.org/bbooks/NLW-Top10 Retrieved 2017April26

CBC Books. "This One Summer removed from 3 Florida high schools" http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/02/this-one-summer-removed-from-florida-high-schools.html Retrieved 2017April26

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. "Case Study: This One Summer" http://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-this-one-summer/ Retrieved 2017April26

Diaz, Shelley. "“This One Summer” Restored to Henning, MN, School District Library, with Restrictions" School Library Journal. http://www.slj.com/2016/06/censorship/this-one-summer-restored-to-henning-mn-school-district-library-with-restrictions/ Retrieved 2017April26

Flood, Alison. "Minnesota school's ban on graphic novel draws free-speech protests" Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/25/minnesota-schools-ban-on-graphic-novel-this-one-summer-mariko-and-jillian-tamaki-protests Retrieved 2017April26

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: A Novel

By Kurt Vonnegut

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut

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Books are banned in Nazi hotels and then we sorta get into the book.

Banned

1972 - Ohio - Strongsville School board voted it out with Cat's Cradle, overturned 1976 by SSB vs Minarcini by the US District Court

Sources

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/

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Cat's Cradle: A Novel

By Kurt Vonnegut

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

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The world is ending with the water freezing over and the library is getting sued as we continue with Kurt Vonnegut month!

Banned

1972 - Ohio - Strongsville School Board voted to be withdrawn from the school libraries. Overturned in 1976 by U.S. District Court in Minarcini Vs Strongsville City School District

1982 - New Hampshire - Challenged at Merrimack High School

Sources

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/

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions: A Novel

By Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

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Vonnegut month continues with a tale of man machines and the library has a story about a machine who tried to assimilate a man for reasons.

Banned

1995 - Illinois - Challenged at Monmouth School District library as "pornographic trash"

Sources

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/

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels)

By Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

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A banned book unstuck in time and how the library kept its forest despite mutant dogs. #godwearspants or #godalmightypees

Banned

1972 - Michigan - Rochester banned for containing and making reference to "religious matters"

1973 - North Dakota - Challenged at many communities, but burned in Drake

1975 - New York - Banned in Levittown

1979 - Ohio - Banned in North Jackson

1982 - Florida - Banned in Lakeland for "explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language."

1984 - Wisconsin - Barred for purchase in Rancine by an administrative assistant for instructional services

1985 - Kentucky - Challenged in Owensboro for language a secont with an image depicting beastiality, a reference to Magic Fingers on a bed, and the line "The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the fly of God Almighty."

1986 - Wisconsin - Restricted in Racine to parental permission at the flour Racine Unified District high schools for "language, depictions of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women."

1987

Georgia - challenged in Fitzgerald for profanity and sexual reference

Kentucky - challenged in LaRue County for language and "deviant sexual behavior"

1988 - Louisiana - challenged in a Baton Rouge high school library as "vulgar and offensive"

1989 - Michigan - challenged in Monroe high schools for language and portrayal of women

1996 - Texas - challenged in Round Rock high school for being too violent

1998 - Virginia - banned in Prince William County high schools for profanity and sex

2000 - Rhode Island - Removed from Coventry high school reading list after a parent complained of language, violence and sex

2006 - Illinois - A school board member in Arlington Heights, elected on a platform to bring Christian values to board decision making, raised a controversy about several books based on excerpts of the books she found on the Internet

2007 - Michigan - Challenged in Livingston County at Howell High School for strong sexual content by the organization Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE). LOVE asked law enforcement to review the book for distributing sexually explicit conduct to minors. The county prosecutor said the book was not criminally liable, containing content of an artistic, literary, or political nature.

2010 - Missouri - Removed and later returned from Republic high schools, available only to parents. Teachers cannot acquire or read aloud from it. A resident said it taught principles contrary to the Bible.

Source

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/