Library Group Lists Books Raising the Most Objections
2020-10-02
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1The American Library Association (ALA) released its list of the 100 books that have been censored the most in the United States.
2The ALA calls it the list of most "challenged books."
3The list includes books from writers Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, John Green, Harper Lee and Margaret Atwood.
4Sherman Alexie's prize-winning "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" came in at No. 1.
5It was followed by Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" picture books and Jay Asher's young adult novel "Thirteen Reasons Why."
6Parents' criticisms of these book included descriptions of illegal drug use and suicide.
7Offensive language was also one of the reasons.
8A lot of the books on the list show that parents are questioning "books by people of color and books from the LGBTQ community," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone.
9She is the director of the library association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
10Examples include Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," about a Black girl raped by her father; Alex Gino's "George," about a transgender child; and Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell's picture book about two gay penguins, "And Tango Makes Three."
11The list was announced this week as the library association prepares for its yearly Banned Books Week.
12The ALA explains that an attempt to censor a book is a "written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness."
13The list comes from news reports and from documents from libraries and others in the local community.
14The ALA also said that many attempts at censorship are not reported.
15The association does not count the number of times books are removed from a library or from a school reading list.
16The list over the past 10 years includes popular books such as Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
17It also includes newer works, such as Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games."
18"The Hunger Games" has been accused of being anti-family and celebrating violence.
19Others included were Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."
20Most of the books are fiction, but the list also includes such nonfiction works as Jeanette Walls' story about her childhood "The Glass Castle," and "Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl."
21Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp.
22In the book, she wrote about her growing sexual feelings as she and her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II.
23"There are actually two lines of objections to the Anne Frank diary," Caldwell-Stone said.
24One of the criticisms was about Anne's growing interest in a boy.
25The other is that "it was inappropriate for someone 12 years old to learn about the Holocaust.
26It was too much of a downer."
27I'm Susan Shand.
1The American Library Association (ALA) released its list of the 100 books that have been censored the most in the United States. The ALA calls it the list of most "challenged books." The list includes books from writers Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, John Green, Harper Lee and Margaret Atwood. 2Sherman Alexie's prize-winning "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" came in at No. 1. It was followed by Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" picture books and Jay Asher's young adult novel "Thirteen Reasons Why." Parents' criticisms of these book included descriptions of illegal drug use and suicide. Offensive language was also one of the reasons. 3A lot of the books on the list show that parents are questioning "books by people of color and books from the LGBTQ community," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone. She is the director of the library association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. 4Examples include Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," about a Black girl raped by her father; Alex Gino's "George," about a transgender child; and Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell's picture book about two gay penguins, "And Tango Makes Three." 5The list was announced this week as the library association prepares for its yearly Banned Books Week. 6The ALA explains that an attempt to censor a book is a "written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness." The list comes from news reports and from documents from libraries and others in the local community. 7The ALA also said that many attempts at censorship are not reported. The association does not count the number of times books are removed from a library or from a school reading list. 8The list over the past 10 years includes popular books such as Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It also includes newer works, such as Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games." "The Hunger Games" has been accused of being anti-family and celebrating violence. Others included were Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." 9Most of the books are fiction, but the list also includes such nonfiction works as Jeanette Walls' story about her childhood "The Glass Castle," and "Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl." Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp. In the book, she wrote about her growing sexual feelings as she and her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. 10"There are actually two lines of objections to the Anne Frank diary," Caldwell-Stone said. One of the criticisms was about Anne's growing interest in a boy. The other is that "it was inappropriate for someone 12 years old to learn about the Holocaust. It was too much of a downer." 11I'm Susan Shand. 12The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 13________________________________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15censor- v.to examine books, movies and other media to find out if there are things considered offensive, immoral, or harmful to society 16challenged-adj. something that has been challenged or objected to 17underpants- n.the clothe worn closest to the skin underneath pants or shorts 18LGBTQ - adj. acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer 19appropriate- adj. right for some purpose or situation 20transgender- adj. related to people who feel their true nature does not match their sex at birth 21penguins- n. black and white flightless birds that swim and live in the southern half of the world 22fiction- n.written stories about people and events that are not real 23objection- n. a reason for disagreeing with or opposing something 24downer - n.something that is unpleasant or depressing