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BANNED AND CHALLENGED BOOKLIST
Since 1990, the American Library Association has recorded over 9,600 formal
complaints about library materials. They estimate five times that number
of complaints were handled informally or were unreported. The list below
is drawn from the American Library Association as well as other sources.
If you are interested in learning more about banned and challenged books,
call your library!
Adult Nonfiction
Biography
Adult Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
Children's Nonfiction
Children's Fiction
Adult Nonfiction
The American Heritage Dictionary (423 AME). A dictionary of the English language. Removed from school libraries due to objectionable language.
**Bellesiles, Michael A. Arming America (363.33 BEL) 2003. This book tells how gun ownership in America is a recent trend, not a historical right. Banned for alleged inaccuracies and the author's political viewpoint. The request to have it reclassified as Fiction was denied.
Breton, Laurie. Final Exit (179.7 HUM) 1992. The practicalities of self-deliverance, assisted suicide and the right to die.
Brown, Dee Alexander. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (978.004 BRO) 1970. Written from the Native American perspective, it was banned as "un-American" due to its "slanted" point of view.
Carlin, George. When
Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (818.54
CAR) 2004. Carlin freely talks about
bodily functions and secretions, sexual and otherwise. Challenged at the Chandler,
AZ public library.
Confucius. The Analects of Confucius (181.112 CONFUCIU) 400 BC. The work contains Confucius's thoughts on a wide variety of subjects, including proper personal conduct, family relations, education, and government.
Dante, Alighieri. The Divine Comedy (851.15 DANTE) 1497. Prohibited by church authorities until all copies were delivered to the Inquisition for correction.
Fossey, Dian. Gorillas in the Mist (599.884 FOS) 1983. Hailed by scientists as a remarkable 14-year study of the endangered mountain gorillas, it was censored or banned in schools because of its descriptions of gorilla mating behaviors.
Freud, Sigmund. Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (150.195
FRE) 1969. The Viennese father of psychoanalysis and free association, Freud
hypothesized that the sexual drive (or "libido") lay behind many
unconscious desires.
Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me (301.451 GRIFFIN) 1962. A journalist leaves his privileged Southern white life, darkens his skin and immerses himself in black society until he can no longer stand the racism.
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf (943.085 HITLER) 1943. Adolf Hitler's autobiography that contains his economic, social, and political philosophy, as well as his aims and his methods.
The Holy Bible (220.52 BIB) The Koran (297 ROD). Both books have been removed, banned and burned by civil and religious authorities throughout history.
Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (192.2 LOC) 1955. A theory of knowledge that was forbidden at Oxford University in 1701.
Matthiessen, Peter. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (305.897) 1983. American Indian political awareness and government relations with the Oglala Indians.
Merriam, Eve. The
Inner City Mother Goose (811.54 MER) 1996. Revised
versions of the traditional Mother Goose rhymes with a focus on inner-city
political and social issues. Challenged due to profanity, violence and homosexual
content.
Muhawi, Ibrahim. Speak,
Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales (398.209 SPE) 1989. “Pulled
from all school libraries and destroyed in the Palestinian Authority.”
Stewart, Jon. America
(The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (814.54 STE) 2004.
Award-winning bestseller was banned by the Pascagoula, Mississippi's library
board because it contained an offensive image of the U.S. Supreme Court judges.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves
of Grass (811
WHIT) 1855. A famous collection of poetry, withdrawn for the use of explicit
language.
Biography
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (BIO ANGELOU) 1969. A biography of the award winning African American author suppressed for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group.
Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted (BIO KAYSEN) 1994. In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen was sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls. Challenged for its strong language and vivid descriptions.
Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (BIO FRANK) 1947. A young girl's diary describing the lives of eight people who hide to avoid arrest by the Nazis. Challenged by parents due to sexually explicit passages.
Wolff, Tobias. This Boy's Life: A Memoir (BIO WOLFF) 1989. Rebellious teen Toby is pitted against his overbearing, tyrannical stepfather in this slice-of-life drama set in the 1950s Pacific Northwest.
Adult Fiction
Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima (FIC Anaya). This book's offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexual explicitness, violence and references to the occult have placed it on ALA's Top Ten List of the most frequently challenged books of 2008.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale (FIC ATWOOD) 1998. The United States is portrayed as a religious dictatorship with women’s rights severely restricted. Readers have objected to this book on political grounds.
Auel, Jean M. The Clan of the Cave Bear (FIC AUEL) 1980. A novel about Prehistoric people during a glacial epoch with the female protagonist, Ayla. Challenged for its graphic sexual content.
Barnes, Derrick. The
Making of Dr. Truelove (FIC and YA BARNES) 2006.
In order to win back his girlfriend Roxy, Diego Montgomery invents an alter
ego known as Dr. Truelove and begins an Internet dating advice column.
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange (FIC BURGESS) 1986. Depicts a harrowing journey through a near-future world of decaying cities, murderous adolescents and nightmarish technologies of punishment and crime.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (FIC DOYLE) 1929. English detective and mystery stories, banned for its references to occultism and spiritualism.
Dickey, Eric Jerome. The Other Woman (FIC DICKEY) 2003. Described as "too sexually explicit".
Elllis, Bret Easton. American Psycho (FIC ELLIS) 1991. A young, handsome man with a Harvard education and success on Wall Street has terrible urges for women, greed, and murder.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby (FIC FITZGERALD) 1953. A story about relationships in upper class Long Island, New York was challenged for its language and sexual references.
Gaines, Ernest. A Lesson Before Dying (FIC GAINES) 1993. Sex, violence and profanity have kept this 1999 CNY Reads pick out of some AP English classes.
Grisham, John. A Time to Kill (FIC GRISHAM) 1992. "Challenged, but retained in the Fargo, ND High School advanced English classes, despite complaints about the novel's graphic rape and murder scenes."
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (FIC HADDON) 2002. Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. "The book could pollute young minds."
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22 (FIC HELLER) 1961. A satirical story about world wars, set during World War II.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner (FIC Hosseini). Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day. Challenged for its use of offensive language, sexual explicitness and unsuited to age group.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World (FIC and YA HUXLEY) 1946. The story is a fantastic fiction, with propaganda, brainwashing and violence.
Kazantzakis, Nikos. The Last Temptation of Christ (FIC KAZANTZAKIS) 1960. Jesus is portrayed as human and divine, but subject to all temptations, including sexual ones.
Lawrence, D. H. Lady
Chatterley's Lover (FIC LAWRENCE) 1928. This book
was the object of numerous obscenity trials in both the United Kingdom and
the United States up into the 1960s.
Lee, Harper. To
Kill a Mockingbird (FIC LEE) 1960. A story of two children, Scout and Jem
Finch, and their father, Atticus, a Southern lawyer appointed to defend a Negro
on a rape charge. Challenged because it contains profanity and promotes racial
hatred.
Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind (FIC MITCHELL) 1936. Objections to Scarlett's three marriages and business ethics and the book's offensive language prevented this award winner from appearing on high school reading lists.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye (FIC MORRISON) 1970. Banned due to its sexual content and objectionable language.
Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita (FIC NABOKOV) 1955. Challenged in the Marion Levy Public Library system in Florida as to whether or not passages in it meet the state law's definition of "unsuitable for minors".
Orwell, George. 1984 (FIC ORWELL) 1949. Set in a nightmarish (futuristic) London where the truth doesn’t exist, but “Big Brother” does.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Choke: A Novel (FIC PALAHNIUK) 2001. Described as being "too sexually explicit".
Parsons, Alexander. Leaving
Disneyland (FIC PARSONS) 2001. To find this novel, look in the library's
catalog under African American Prisoners or Drug Traffic or Ex-Convicts or
Washington, D.C. Banned in Carroll County, Maryland schools. No reason given.
Patterson, James. Cradle and All (FIC PATTERSON) 2000. The terrifying forces of
Good and Evil have gathered for a showdown: virginal women are suddenly pregnant without explanation
and the world
is overwhelmed with flood, famine, and disease.
Picoult, Jodi. The Tenth Circle (FIC PICOULT) 2006. Trixie Stone is 14 and in love. A violent act turns her life upside down and reveals her father’s dark former life.
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar (FIC PLATH) 1971. A dark autobiographical fiction about a writing intern at the beginning of her mental decline.
Proulx, Annie. Brokeback
Mountain (FIC PROULX) 2005. It's 1963, a time in the United States when
life was simple, straightforward and the lines between the sexes and sex
roles were crisply drawn and severely delineated. Then Ennis Del Mar and
Jack Twist find themselves working together on Brokeback Mountain.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye (FIC SALINGER) 1951. A story spanning a few days in the life of a cynical New York City teen, who has just been expelled from school. Edgy slang has kept this book on challenged book lists.
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle (FIC SINCLAIR) 1965. Poverty, disease, despair and barbarous working conditions in the slaughter houses of Chicago in 1900.
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men (FIC Steinbeck). Challenged because the book contains "racial slurs, profanity, violence and does not represent traditional values."
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels (FIC SWI) 1909. In fantastic lands, Gulliver meets little people, giants, men who live on a floating island and other creatures.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (FIC Twain). Suppressed on social grounds.
Walker, Alice. The
Color Purple (FIC WALKER) 1982. Pulitzer prize
winning novel about African American family life, challenged due to sexual
and social explicitness and troubling ideas about race relations, God, and
human sexuality.
Winsor, Kathleen. Forever Amber (FIC WINSOR) 1944. Historical fiction suppressed on sexual grounds.
Young Adult Fiction
Blume, Judy. Forever (YA FIC BLUME) 1975. Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.
Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (YA FIC CHBOSKY) 1999. Challenged due to its gay-positive theme.
Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War (YA FIC CORMIER) 1988. A high school freshman experiences consequences of refusing to join in the fund raising drive, angering school bullies. Challenged for sexual content, offensive language and religious viewpoint.
Cormier, Robert. We All Fall Down (YA FIC CORMIER) 1991. As The Avenger searches for the teenage boys who trashed a house in his neighborhood, Buddy, one of the trashers, increases his drinking in order to cope with his parents’ separation and his obsession with the daughter of the owner of the
vandalized house.
Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs (YA FIC CRUTCHER) 1989. Still troubled by his older brother's violent suicide, eighteen-year-old Dillon becomes deeply involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feels she can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her.
Crutcher, Chris. Ironman (YA FIC CRUTCHER) 1995. While training for a triathlon, Bo attends an anger management group at school.
Crutcher, Chris. The Sledding Hill (YA FIC CRUTCHER) 2005. Billy, recently deceased, keeps an eye on his best friend, Eddie, and helps him stand up to a conservative minister and English teacher who is orchestrating a censorship challenge.
Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk (YA FIC CRUTCHER) 2001. Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial adopted teenager, agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of his high school's less popular students. Removed from several high school libraries because of the book's use of profanity.
Elish, Dan. Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth-Grade Basket Case (YA FIC ELISH) 2002. Matt is so envious of his best friend Keith that he wishes things would go badly for him. When Keith's fortune changes, Matt is overcome with guilt. Banned in Carrolll County, Maryland schools.
Go Ask Alice. (YA FIC GO) 1971. A fifteen-year-old drug user chronicles her struggle to escape the drug world. The author remains anonymous.
Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World (YA FIC GOING) 2003. A homeless teen asks Troy to be a drummer in his rock band.
Grimes, Nikki. Bronx Masquerade (YA FIC GRIMES) 2002. While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they’ve written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
Grimes, Nikki. Jazmin’s Notebook (YA FIC GRIMES) 1998. Jazmin, an African-American teenager who lives with her older sister in a small Harlem apartment in the 1960s, finds strength in writing poetry and keeping
a record of the events in her sometimes difficult life. Challenged for its profanity and sexual content.
Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (YA FIC MACKLER) 2003. Fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her. Multi-award-winning story was banned by the Carroll County Superintendent in Westminster, Maryland for its use of profanity and its sexual references.
Mackler, Carolyn. Love and Other Four Letter Words (YA FIC MACKLER) 2002. New friendships, her parents' separation, dating
and mental illness make for a tough time for sixteen-year-old Sammie.
Mackler, Carolyn. Vegan Virgin Valentine (YA FIC MACKLER). Mara has her senior year planned out and her sights set on Yale when her neice, who is only one year younger and opposite in temperament, moves in and disrupts Mara's life.
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels (YA FIC MYERS) 1988. A seventeen-year-old from Harlem experiences a devastating year in 1967 on active duty in Vietnam. Challenged for racism, offensive language and violence.
Myracle, Lauren. L8R, G8R series (YA FIC MYRACLE). Throughout their senior year in high school, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela continue to share "instant messages" with one another about their day-to-day experiences as they consider college, sex, the importance of prom, and the inevitable end of their inseparable trio.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice on the Outside (YA FIC NAYLOR) 1999. Eighth-grader Alice has many questions about sex, relationships, prejudice, and change.
Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die (YA FIC PECK) 1972. A farm boy whose father slaughters pigs for a living, matures early as he learns "doing what's got to be done."
Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. (YA FIC SONES). Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.
Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn't Know (YA FIC SONES). Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she searches for Mr. Right. Included as a "Best Book for Young Adults" by ALA, it has been challenged because it contains foul language and reference to masturbation.
von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl series (YA FIC von Ziegesar). The series about wealthy girls going to private schools in Manhattan and their lives with boys, clothes, parties and friends. Challenged for its offensive language and exually explicit content.
Wersba, Barbara. Whistle Me Home (YA FIC WERSBA) 1997. The author does not shy away from homosexuality and alcoholism in this story of seventeen-year-old Noli who feels as if she has found her soul mate when handsome, sensitive TJ moves to Sag Harbor.
Yep, Lawrence. Dragonwings (YA FIC YEP) 1975. A young Chinese boy in the early 1900s joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine.
Children’s Nonfiction
Cole, Babette. Mommy Laid an Egg! (J 649.65 COL) 1993. Two children explain to their parents, using their own drawings, where babies come from.
Harris, Robie. It's Perfectly Normal (J 613.907 HARRIS) 1994. A book about changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health.
Peters, Lisa Westberg. Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story (J 576.8 PET). Relates the evolution of the family of mankind, from single cells in the sea to human beings with "big brains that wonder who we are." Considered one-sided. It only contains the scientific theory of evolution.
Schwartz, Alvin. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat (J 001.9 SCH) 1974. Addresses superstitions about love and marriage, money, ailments, the weather, and death.
Willhoite, Michael. Daddy's Roommate (J E 306.738 WIL) 1990. A young boy discusses his divorced father's new living situation, in which the father and his gay roommate share chores, playing, loving, and living.
Children’s Fiction
Bannerman, Helen. The Story of Little Black Sambo (J E BANNERMAN) 2003. A retelling of the well-known tale in which a little black boy finally outwits the succession of tigers that want to eat him. It spells out why the story fell into disfavor.
Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (J FIC BLUME) 1970. Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems with her own private God.
**Carr, Jan. Dark Day, Light Night (J E CARR) 1994. Manda's Aunt Ruby helps her to deal with some angry feelings by making lists of all the things that they like in the world. Some adults feel the story has too much violence.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (J FIC CARROLL) 1900. By falling down a rabbit hole, Alice experiences unusual adventures with a variety of nonsensical characters. Story contains expletives, sexual fantasies and derogatory characterizations of a teacher and religion.
Colfer, Eoin. The Supernaturalist. (J and YA FIC COLFER). In futuristic Satelite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming Parasites that are invisible to most humans.
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (J FIC DAHL) 1964. Five children visit a mysterious chocolate factory. The tour brings out the best and worst in them. This book was challenged for supporting a poor philosophy of life.
Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach (J FIC DAHL) 1961. One more of Dahl's classic tales that has been challenged by parents for its violence toward adults and encouragement of children to lead "unhealthy lifestyles."
**Deedy, Carmen Ayer. The Library Dragon (J E DEEDY) 1994. Miss Lotta Scales is a dragon who believes her job is to protect books from children, but when she realizes that books are meant to be read, the dragon turns into Miss Lotty, librarian and storyteller. The parent objected to frequent references to fire.
Harper, Charise. Flashcards of My Life (J FIC HARPER). Emily's life in junior high school and at home is revealed as she uses the journaling flashcards her Aunt Chester sent as a birthday gift to help sort through changing friendships, possible boyfriends, and her mother's obsession with nutty desserts. Sexually explicit and unsuited to the age group.
Kotzwinkle, William, and Glenn Murray. Walter the Farting Dog (J E KOTZWINKLE) 2001. Challenged, but retained in the West Salem, Wisconsin Elementary School despite the book's use of the word "fart" and "farting" 24 times. A real child pleaser when read aloud.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver (J and YA FIC LOWRY) 1993. A young boy from a seemingly utopian world is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life. Considered "lewd" and "twisted" by some.
Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia (J FIC PATERSON) 1977. A ten-year-old boy becomes friends with a newcomer who meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.
Patron, Susan. The Higher Power of Lucky (J FIC PATRON) 2006. Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away. Challenged due to an attention grabbing phrase in the first chapter.
Pilkey, Dav. Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (J FIC PILKEY) 2001. Captain Underpants saves the world and the school from the evil talking toilets and the Turbo Toilet 2000. Challenged for offensive language and modeling bad behavior.
Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The
Amber Spyglass) (J and YA Fic Pullman) 1995-2000. In book one, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far
North. Banned in some Catholic schools in Canada and Wisconsin and public schools in Michigan.
Richardson, Justin and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three (J E RICHARDSON) 2005. At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins take turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches. "Homosexual undertones."
Rockwell, Thomas. How to Eat Fried Worms (J FIC ROCKWELL) 1973. Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter series, Volumes 1-7 (J FIC ROWLING) 1999-2007. Banned for its mysticism, paganism and going against a parent's religious beliefs.
Sendak, Maurice. In the Night Kitchen (PICTURE BOOK SENDAK) 1970. A little boy's dream-fantasy in which he helps three fat bakers get milk for their cake batter. Challenged for nudity and offensive language.
Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (J FIC TWAIN) 1918. Suppressed on social grounds.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie (J FIC WILDER) 1953. Cited and banned for numerous derogatory statements about Native Americans.
** Challenged in the City of Syracuse
Last updated: March 18, 2010