Banned Book Week: 10 Books to Share With Students (Part 3)

This month, people around the country will be celebrating Banned Books Week, an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read by drawing attention to banned or challenged books, and highlighting persecuted individuals.

In school, from September 21-27, celebrate the individual's right to read all books of their choosing by providing students with lists of banned or challenged books. Encourage students to read these books and discover if these books are merited to be banned or challenged.

In celebration of Banned Books Week, EducationWorld has curated a three-part series listing ten banned books with a description and link to Amazon.com. The list is generated from the American Library Association's Banned and Challenged Classics.

1. A Separate Peace by John Knowles: This book, set at a boys' boarding school in England, follows Phineas, a young boy during World War II. This book was challenged because of its graphic language. 
2. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder: This book was challenged for being racially offensive and is Wilder's first book based on her life growing up as an American pioneer. 
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Follow Meg, her brother Charles, and their new friend Calvin as they travel through space looking for their father. A Wrinkle in Time was challenged because it "undermines religious beliefs."
4. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare: Twelfth Night follows the story of Viola and her twin brother Sebastian as they get lost in shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as Cesario, and she and Sebastian and get caught in a heap of confusion. Twelfth Night was challenged because it "encourages homosexuality."
5. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: Follow the story of four families from China as they get together to play mahjong and reflect on their past and attempt to raise their spirits and money. This book was challenged because it "conflicts with values of the community."
6. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein: In this book, follow the story of Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, and more in this whimsical tale. This book was challenged because it was "too dreary and negative." 
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: This book is a science fiction and satire piece following the fantasy of a future place, Utopia, where everyone is controlled and most people are brainwashed. This book was challenged for its "insensitivity, offensive language, racism," and being "sexually explicit."
8. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings follows Frodo, a Hobbit, and other characters from Middle Earth as they try to bring a ring to Mordor for its destruction. This book was challenged as being "anti-Christian" and generally "anti-religious" and "satanic."
9. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: This book is about George and and Lennie as they devise a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack of all their own. Of Mice and Men was banned for its "offensive langauge, racism, and "violence."
10. Forever by Judy Blume: This book deals with teenage sexuality and follows the love story of Katherine and Michael as they fall in love. Forever was challenged for "offensive language and sexual content."

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor