Banned Books Week: Home

First observed in 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take their democratic freedom to read for granted. The event is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

Busse Library's collection includes a large number of Banned Books.   Below is a small number of those titles.

1. George by Alex Gino
   Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community”
    
2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
   Reasons: Author’s public statements, and claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people
    
3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
   Reasons: Profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now”
    
4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
   Reasons: Thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity
    
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author
    
6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
   Reasons: “Divisive language” and thought to promote anti-police views
    
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
   Reasons: Racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience
    
8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
   Reasons: Racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students
    
9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse
    
10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    Reasons: Profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message