- Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group - Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group - Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit - And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit - Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group - Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence - The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit - Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence
I can tell you right now, Captain Underpants and Scary Stories are among the most popular titles to be checked out by the kids in my libraries. I wish we had more copies of both. Do I believe parents have a right to determine if materials are suitable for their own children? Absolutely, I think parents should be doing so. That does not extend to other people's children though. The job of a library and the job of a parent are two entirely different things. The library's job is to make sure materials are available to those who seek access. The parents' job is to set the standards for their own family.
Does that mean I am going to order Fifty Shades of Grey for my elementary school libraries? Of course not. E. L. James did not write the book intending it for children. And though part of my job is weeding the collection of old, worn, hopelessly dated, or now inaccurate non-fiction books and though that is partly subjective I cannot exclude a book simply because I find it personally objectionable.
8 comments:
I could not believe Captain Underpants when my son brought it home...Thought it was inappropriate and in bad taste, but at least he was reading something.
He is now 15 and appears unscathed from reading this crap. he does however wear underpants all the time.
Wait a minute. . . 'religious viewpoint' is right there alongside 'sexually explicit' as a reason to ban a book? Suddenly I feel exhilaratingly dangerous. . . ;)
Captain Underpants was 8M's favorite series, when he was in 1st/2nd grades. Now he's in 6th, and has read the entire Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. So, you know, it didn't work out so bad as all THAT. . .
I've read a third of these books. The Kite Runner? That was a wonderful book.
I generally don't care for books that have a proliferation of offensive language. The Glass Castle?? WTH? One of my fave books, ever! I have no recollection of it having bad language or being sexually explicit. Weird.
I hate the idea of banning books, although of course you have to have some selectiveness about age-appropriateness. But 50 Shades of Grey? Seems like it would go without saying that you wouldn't put misogynistic pornography on the shelves of a school library.
What is it about folks who think they should decided what's best for others?
Censorship, except in the case of national security (and who knows what that is/), is so not right (I hate saying anyone is wrong), unless it is self-censorship.
So I'm not going to tell anyone what I really think.
When my son was in elementary school, he had a brief reading fling with Captain Underpants. I was thrilled that he was reading something.. anything. When a book is popular with kids, that's a blessing.. if you want them to read.
Captain Underpants???? Seriously???? I bought that for my boys years ago from the book club at school!!! It's adorable and it got my boys who were not in the least interested in reading to read!!!
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