Banned Books Week

Event date: 

Sunday, September 27, 2020 - 12:00pm to Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 6:00pm

Event address: 

Banned Books Week 2020

 

Banned Books Week 2020, the annual celebration of the freedom to read, will be held September 27 - October 3. This year’s Banned Books Week theme is “Censorship is a Dead End. Find Your Freedom to Read.” Censorship limits exploration and creates barriers to access information.

Charles Brownstein, chair of the Banned Books Week Coalition (BBWC) committee, says, “Banned Books Week gives everyone a chance to celebrate their story. The courageous students, teachers, librarians, and authors who stand up for challenged ideas remind us that intellectual freedom is our birthright. By creating an event for your community, posting online about the freedom to read, or even just reading a banned book, each person has an opportunity to further that right.”

Explore the following pages for listings of banned/challenged books:

 

The American Library Association condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information. Every year, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The lists are based on information from media stories and voluntary reports sent to OIF from communities across the U.S.

The Top 10 lists are only a snapshot of book challenges. Surveys indicate that 82-97% of book challenges – documented requests to remove materials from schools or libraries – remain unreported and receive no media.

 

BBW Challanges 20

The top ten most challenged books of 2019 include:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) By J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator) Cover Image
By J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)
$10.99
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780590353427
Published: Scholastic Paperbacks - October 1st, 1999

Reasons: Banned and forbidden from discussion for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals


George (Scholastic Gold) By Alex Gino Cover Image
$7.99
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780545812573
Published: Scholastic Inc. - April 25th, 2017

Reasons: challenged, banned, restricted, and hidden to avoid controversy; for LGBTQIA+ content and a transgender character; because schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”; for sexual references; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint and “traditional family structure”


Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out By Susan Kuklin Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780763673680
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Candlewick - March 10th, 2015

Reasons: challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, for “its effect on any young people who would read it,” and for concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased


Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (HBO) By Chronicle Books, Marlon Bundo, Jill Twiss (Illustrator) Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781452173801
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Chronicle Books - March 18th, 2018

Reasons: Challenged and vandalized for LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints, for concerns that it is “designed to pollute the morals of its readers,” and for not including a content warning


Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU By Cory Silverberg, Fiona Smyth (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Cory Silverberg, Fiona Smyth (Illustrator)
$25.95
ISBN: 9781609806064
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Triangle Square - July 28th, 2015

Reasons: Challenged, banned, and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content; for discussing gender identity and sex education; and for concerns that the title and illustrations were “inappropriate” 


Prince & Knight By Daniel Haack, Stevie Lewis (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Daniel Haack, Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781499805529
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: little bee books - May 1st, 2018

Reasons: Challenged and restricted for featuring a gay marriage and LGBTQIA+ content; for being “a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children” with the potential to cause confusion, curiosity, and gender dysphoria; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint


I Am Jazz By Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator) Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780803741072
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Dial Books - September 4th, 2014

This autobiographical picture book co-written by the 13-year-old protagonist was challenged because it addresses gender identity.


The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel By Margaret Atwood Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780385490818
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Anchor - March 16th, 1998

Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones”


Drama: A Graphic Novel By Raina Telgemeier, Raina Telgemeier (Illustrator) Cover Image
$10.99
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780545326995
Published: Graphix - September 1st, 2012

Reasons: Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against “family values/morals”


And Tango Makes Three: Book and CD By Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, Henry Cole (Illustrator), Neil Patrick Harris (Read by) Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9781481449946
Availability: In Stock at Our Warehouse - Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little Simon - June 2nd, 2015

Returning after a brief hiatus from the Top Ten Most Challenged list, this ALA Notable Children’s Book, published in 2005, was challenged and labeled because it features a same-sex relationship.