Banned Books Week 2008

Banned Books Week has just ended; here's a list for posterity.

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007”
1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell; 2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier; 3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes; 4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman; 5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain; 6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker; 7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle; 8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou; 9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris; 10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky

The "Most Challenged Books of 21st Century (2000-2005)"
1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; 2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier; 3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; 4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck; 5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou;; 6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers; 7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris; 8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz; 9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey; 10. "Forever" by Judy Blume

The "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000"
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

There's loads more, of course, but we'll just draw a line with the last 18 years.

Aside: Can you believe that Judy Blume is still being targeted--thirty years or more after becoming standard school library fare? Good grief.