Happy Banned Books Week! Here’s the list of books that were most frequently challenged in 2016! I’ll be posting about the ones I haven’t read this week.
1. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Reasons: LGBT characters, drug use and profanity, sexually explicit with mature themes
2. Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Reasons: LGBT characters, sexually explicit, and offensive political viewpoint
3. George by Alex Gino
Reasons: transgender child, and the “sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels”
4. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Reasons: portrays a transgender child and because of language, sex education, and offensive viewpoints
5. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Reasons: cover has an image of two boys kissing, sexually explicit LGBT content
6. Looking for Alaska by John Green
Reasons: a sexually explicit scene that may lead a student to “sexual experimentation”
7. Big Hard Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction
Reasons: Sexually explicit
8. Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread by Chuck Palahniuk
Reasons: profanity, sexual explicitness, and being “disgusting and all around offensive”
9. Little Bill series by Bill Cosby
Reasons: oh you KNOW why
10. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Reason: offensive language
This year, 50% are books for teens and 30% for children. Fifty percent are illustrated in some way (either graphic novels or picture books).
Get pumped for ~illicit reading~