Yes, it’s that time of year again when a spotlight is shone on the problem of censorship in United States libraries and bookstores. (In other words, books banned by prudes who are out to “protect the children.”) To quote the Banned Books Week Web site:
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, there were 307 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2013, and many more go unreported.
The ten most challenged books of 2013 include Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy (sex and violence), Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants (the new #1 banned book!), and Jeff Smith’s fantasy graphic novel series Bone (violence and…racism? Are you kidding me?!) For more information on this annual event, just click on Captain Underpants up there.
Banned Books Week 2014 is happening right now, September 21–27. How are you celebrating it?
