Censorship
The practice of holding back
material that is considered
morally, politically, or otherwise
objectionable.
Free Write
#1. Think about a time when you were
censored. How were you censored?
Why were you censored? What affect
did it have on you?
3-4 sentence response
First Amendment
• Gives a constitutional right to free
speech
• Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting
an Establishment of Religion, or
Prohibiting the Free Exercise Thereof; or
Abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of
the Press; or the Right of the People
Peaceably to Assemble, and To Petition
the Government for a Redress of
Grievances
Does censorship affect
our constitutional right to
free speech?
Yes? No?
Write 3-4 sentences and
explain your reasoning.
Books experience
censorship through...
1. Challenges: an attempt to remove or
restrict materials based upon the
objections of a person or group.
2. Banning: the removal of those
materials.
Books are challenged
to...
Protect others, specifically children,
from difficult ideas and information.
Top 3 reasons:
1) “Sexually explicit”
2) Contains “offensive language”
3) “Unsuited to age group”
How is the List of Most Challenged Books Tabulated?
1. The American Library Association (ALA) collects information
from two sources: newspapers and reports submitted by
individuals,
2. All challenges are compiled into a database.
• Reports of challenges culled from newspapers across the country
are compiled in the bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom
• Challenges reported to the ALA by individuals are kept confidential.
• In these cases, ALA will release only the title of the book being
challenged, the state and the type of institution (school, public
library). The name of the institution and its town will not be
disclosed.
Who challenges books?
• Parents (6,130)
• Patron (1,450)
• Administrator (1,059)
• Board Member/Teacher (608)
• Religiously affiliated members (265)
My thoughts
Why might these certain groups be
challenging the material in different
books?
* Write a two sentence response.
Be prepared to share! *
Commonly
challenged books
between 2000-2010
• Be thinking about which books you have
read/heard about. All of these books
are commonly taught to/read by
teenage students.
The Adventure of Huckleberry
Finn - Mark Twain
• Follows a young boy
on his adventures with
a slave named Jim.
Huck and Jim run away
after being upset in
their current situation
and float down the
Mississipi, meeting
interesting people
along the way.
Reasons…
Racism
Why Huck Finn Was
Censored:
• CBS News Debate
Stephen Colbert's verdict
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Set in post-apocalyptic North America, this series
follows a teenage girl through her struggles to
survive when placed in a government sanctioned
fight to the death. Filled with suspense, love, and
tears.
Reasons…
Sexually explicit
Violence
Unsuitable for age group
#5, 2010
Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
A parent’s decision to
publish their daughter’s
diary after her tragic death.
Reasons…
explicit language using
street terms for sex
talk of worms eating
body parts
Blasphemy
life of drugs and sex
dying from an overdose
#6, 2003; #8, 2001
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
• A coming of age series. Follows a teenage
orphan and his friends throughout their
adventures to defeat evil in the magical wizarding
world. Filled with suspense, action, friendship,
love, and desperation to succeed in the face of
immense danger.
Reasons…
Anti family
Satanic/Occult
Violence
Religious viewpoint
#1, 2001-2002
#2 - 2003
The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-time Indian - Sherman Alexie
Arnold Spirit, Jr., or "Junior", is a
budding cartoonist. Detailing Arnold's
life on the Spokane Indian Reservation
and his decision, upon encouragement
from a reservation high school
teacher, to go to an all-white high
school in the off-reservation town of
Reardan, Washington, the novel deals
with issues such as racism, poverty,
and the following of tradition.
Reasons: Reasons: offensive language,
racism, sex education, sexually explicit,
unsuited to age group, and violence
#2, 2010
Twilight Series - Stephanie Meyer
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, The Twilight Saga capture the
struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. In a world
where humans connect with vampires and werewolves.
Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
#5, 2009
The book is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male
Chinstrap Penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo who for six years
formed a couple. This book aims to send the reader the message that
it is okay to be in, or know someone who has, a “non-traditional”
family.
Reasons…
Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint,
Unsuited to age group.
#1 – 2010, 2008,
2007, 2006
#2 - 2009
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Through the young eyes of
Scout and Jem Finch, Harper
Lee explores with rich humor
and unswerving honesty the
irrationality of adult attitudes
toward race and class in the
Deep South of the 1930’s. The
conscience of a town steeped in
prejudice, violence, and
hypocrisy is pricked by the
stamina and quiet heroism of
one man’s struggle for justice.
Reasons:
Offensive language
Racism
Unsuited to age group
#4, 2009
TTYL series - Lauren Myracle
The book follows the friendship
of three fifteen year old girls as
they face the teenage drama of
their sophomore year in high
school. The girls face and
discuss, via instant messenger,
manipulative classmates,
cheating boyfriends, and flirty
teachers.
Reasons…
Sexually Explicit
Offensive Language
Unsuited to Age Group
#1 – 2009; #3 – 2008; #7 - 2007
•
My Sister’s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
Anna was genetically engineered to be
a perfect match for her cancer-ridden
older sister. Since birth, the 13 year old
has donated platelets, blood, her
umbilical cord,and bone marrow as part
of her family’s struggle to lengthen
Kate’s life. Anna is now being
considered as a kidney donor in a lastditch effort to save here 16 year old
sister. As the story opens up, Anna has
hired a lawyer to represent her in a
medical emancipation suit to allow here
to have control over her own body.
• Reasons:
• Homosexuality
• Offensive language
• Religious viewpoint
• Sexism
• Sexually explicit
• Unsuited to age group
• Violence
#7, 2009
Gossip Girl series - Cecily von
Ziegesar
• Narrated by the
omniscient yet unseen
blogger "Gossip Girl",
revolves around the
lives and romances
amongst the privileged
teenagers at the
Constance Billard
School for Girls, an
elite private school in
New York City's Upper
East Side.
Reasons…
Offensive
Language
Sexually
explicit
Unsuited to
age group
#2, 2006;
#7, 2008
The Perks of Being a
Wallflower
Stephen
Chobsky
•A novel based on a boy teetering on
Reasons…
• Homosexuality
• Sexually Explicit
• Suicide
• Offensive Language
the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a
freshman and while he’s the not the
biggest geek, he isn’t Mr. popularity
either. He’s a wallflower—shy and
introspective. We learn about him
•
Unsuited
to
Age
Group
through letters he writes to an
unknown person. Charlie encounters
the same struggles that many kids
face in high school—how to make
friends, the intensity of a crush, family
tensions, a first relationship, exploring
sexuality, experimenting with drugs,
but he must also deal with his best
friends’ recent suicide.
#3, 2009; #6, 2008; #10, 2007;
#8, 2006
Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers
Follows a black
teenager through his
struggles after joining
the Army during the
Vietnam War.
Reasons…
Racism
Violence
Offensive Language