Kids' books most likely to be banned

Wouldn't it be nice to live in the world where, at the slightest suggestion of real-world sex or violence, parents didn't scream bloody murder about inappropriate content in school libraries?

Sadly, despite it being 2011, we don't yet live in a society free of intolerant folks who turn up their nose at a book that features homosexuality or talks frankly about drugs.

I don't know if I've got this right, but I'd like to think that school book banning happens less in Canada than it does in the United States. If anyone has statistics that prove or disprove this, I'd love to see them.

Thanks to tweep @redheadwriting, I spotted this awesome infographic on The Good. While it shows the books most likely to prompt parent complaints in the United States, I think it's still worth a look for Canadian readers.

Please check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

To get a better look, view it in interative mode on The Good Website.

And don't forget to check out our home page to make sure you haven't missed any important parenting news today.

Comments

[Elisa]

This kind of censorship drives me crazy. Denying the range of differences, pain and suffering that exists in the world is irresponsible parenting. We are supposed to help guide our children and help them understand these differences,so they are better prepared to cope. Keeping information from them is a disservice. My suggestion? Read the books your children are reading and then engage them in a discussion about the topics. I'm not suggesting this is easy, but it is part of our (not easy) role as parents.

[Matt]

Thanks for the "SPOILERS" alert for that picture... I'm very happy that you warned me that some endings would be ruined before I clicked for a better look. [/sarcasm]

[Miss Lynx]

I am pleased to say that And Tango Makes Three is one of my son's favourite books. He can't get enough of it, and has even named his stuffed penguin Tango.

[Kara]

I think it's sad and pathetic that a true story about penguins got to be one of the most banned books in the States. It was a TRUE story, and still people had issues with it.

[Mel]

Looking at the list of "challenging issues" for a book, it seems to me that any one of these issues can be found on prime time television. I think it's far better for kids to have a chance to read about these challenging issues, where they don't have 1. the cut and dried glamourization of tv, and 2. the subtle disapproving/approving glances from their parents.

I bet that the parents who are fighting to have these books removed from the libraries are the same ones that feel too threatened to give their teenage children the privacy they need. Books are a safe, gentle way for children to enrich their experiences, and to learn to form their own opinions and personality. AND, they are safe from the outside influences of the media, their friends and yes, their parents.

BTW, I grew up reading everything from Greek mythology to Stephen King, ALL from my local library. I think just about every one of the books I picked up had at least 5 of the "challenging issues" somewhere between the covers.

[Adrienne]

What you're forgetting is that parents still have the right to raise children the way they see fit and the state (so far) must respect that. If these children's books are deemed offensive it's not because of some edict of a library board, but because the board is implementing the will of the COMMUNITY in which it resides. In nearly every community in America, parents reject the idea that activist groups like Egale has an intrinsic "right" to introduce to their children, ADULT themes like homosexuality, crossdressing, sex change operations, polyamoury, premarital sex, STDs. abortion, drugs and other liberal trophies of "enlightenment." In our family responsible parenting means we allow our children to actually have a childhood, free of agendas and ideologies.

If you're really offended by the notion of banning books Brandie, I take it you would not object to daycares and kindergartens ALSO carrying what they had been carrying for at least a century already: Children's bibles or bible storybooks which teach children valuable lessons like the 3 theological virtues of faith, hope, and love; the 4 cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, restraint or temperance; the 10 commandments or the 9 beatitudes of Jesus.

[Ann Hollingworth]

To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye and The Color Purple are classic books. All three of these great stories represent the history, social attitudes and morals of their time. Each stands as a moral compass to help children establish boundaries, to help them question the world and its inequities, and to help them develop critical thinking. Parents who feel these books contain violence, racism and offensive language are right, yes they do. But let's put it in the context of the story and its relevance to learning. How can a child know what the experience of racism is if they cannot read about it. It is through reading about a compelling situation that is emotionally charged, that people can relate to a situation. That is the purpose of books. Would you rather your children live in ignorance? Believe the world doesn't contain these things? Or would you rather not prepare your children, and let them go out and perhaps, unfortunately, experience it first hand with no knowledge of people's cruelty and the difficulties of the world?
These books are teaching your children about what has happened historically. And if children aren't made aware of these things, history will always repeat itself.

[eimari]

The use of the word intolerant is only for the very person who is using it. Because one disagrees with some content of a book is not a sign of intolerance but a sign of people thinking. I have read some of those books and find them to be great teaching tools for children. However I am concerned with the book tango, as it is only to promote homosexuality as a replacement for the family of male/female. Evolution cannot be carried out by a species whose sex act brings no life. The evolutionary process can only be carried out by a healthy organism that is capable of reproducing. To promote lies to children is beyond all understanding. A child is made up of male/female genetics. That child has a right to being raised by a female/male human beings. We have seem the rammifications of messing with mother nature of whom we humans are so intricately connected. Are we willing to put the family in the same plane and wait for the disasters to show them selves in 15 -20 years? Homophobics are people who are so afraid of the homosexual that they are willing to allow them to have their own way at any cost. Should we next have books on adult sex with children and or animals? We better seriously consider what we are doing here in regards to our children. To say that we as a society can just change the family unit after hundreds of thousands of years is arrogance at its worst(PRIDE) This is not a human rights issue, this is an issue of human nature and its survival.

[Lisa Baker]

To be honest Adrienne, religion is not the only way to teach children about faith and love, integrity and respect. You say children should be raised without agendas and ideologies, then you spout Christian ideology? Personally, I'd rather have my children read these books than the bible, cause I know they'll get more out of them.

[Chris]

@elmarl & adrienne. I respect your viewpoints, but also challenge them. Our society has come to accept gays and lesbians and normal, caring people who share the majority of the values of those who are not gay. They have reached acceptance by proving just that. Loving someone of the same sex does not make you any less of a loving parent, just as being diabetic wouldn't make you a lesser cook. Love, compassion, values and acceptance are the very things we all want to teach our children. I am saddened that you feel the way you do, but at the same time I am strengthened by the fact that most people disagree with you - including religious leaders, law makers, educators, police officers and others who hold sway and respect in our communities. Perhaps it is time for you to look at the issue from another angle so you can see why your voice is being overtaken by our society. And allow kids to see that every parent loves the same way, regardless of their sexuality.

[Adrienne]

@Lisa,
There's a huge difference between ideology and a revelation. An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. Revelation, on the other hand, is communication of some truth by God to a rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature. Man has spent a good part of the last 2 centuries trying to supplant revelation with ideology, often with fatal consequences for whole societies (Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler etc)

We seldom realize how much Christianity is incorporated into our lives and thought. Even the most craven Dawkins-loving materialist owes their reason, logic, and education largely to a civilization created by the Catholic Church. By all means, dream whatever dream of independence and freethought you like, but the fact remains that Christianity is foundation of our legal system, higher education, and a large swath of art, science and architecture.

[Samuela]

Brandie, I find your blog to be very hypocritical at times. This post speaks about letting children learn about human sexuality when they are young. Yet in one of your previous posts you reacted negativly to the padded bikini's that a major retailer was selling, with the argument that its sexualizing children to early. You cant have it both ways. either we allow them to become sexualized at a young age through books, padded bikini's and whatever else. Or we shelter them completely.

I am a librarian and I can honestly say that there are books out there that are not appropriate for younger ages. If a parent is adamant that a child should read what they want to read, there is always the public library. That said, there are many cases of children in older grades being forced to read inappropriate books as part of coursework.

[Frances Olimpo]

Awesome post! It's funny how ALL of them are deemed unsuitable for age group. What criteria would they use to measure that? To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favourite novels and I think it works across many age levels because the protagonist is a young girl. All the arrows pointing at Jodi Picoult also make me want to read My Sister's Keeper even more!