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  • Banned Books Week 2021: Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.
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Banned Books Week 2021: Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.

  • Taelor J.
  • Wednesday, September 29, 2021
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Join Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds to celebrate the ways in which books unite us during Banned Books Week, September 26 – October 2, 2021! The Banned Books Week Coalition is here to support your celebration of reading, with programming ideas, promotional materials, and other resources! Visit https://bannedbooksweek.org/ or follow Banned Books Week on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BannedBooksWeek) to get the latest Banned Books Week and censorship news.

The Banned Books Week Coalition is proud to announce that Jason Reynolds has been named the inaugural Honorary Chair for Banned Books Week 2021. The New York Times bestselling author will headline the annual celebration of the right to read, which takes place September 26 – October 2, 2021.

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Banned Books Week is an annual event which celebrates the freedom to read. The theme of this year’s event is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” The titles for this year’s list includes those that address racism and racial justice, as well as those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content is included as well.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 156 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2020. Of the 273 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books.

 The Top 10 Challenged Books of 2020 are:

 

George BookcoverGeorge by Alex Gino. Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

Stamped BookcoverStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

All American Boys BookcoverAll American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism and because it was thought to promote antipolice views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

Speak BookcoverSpeak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint, it was claimed to be biased against male students, and it included rape and profanity.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian BookcoverThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the author.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

Something Happened in Our Town BookcoverSomething Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote antipolice views.

 

 

 

 

 

To Kill a Mockingbird BookcoverTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

Of Mice and Men BookcoverOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes and their negative effect on students.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bluest Eye BookcoverThe Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.

Find a copy.

Listen.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hate U Give BookcoverThe Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Challenged for profanity, and because it was thought to promote an antipolice message.

Find a copy.

Listen.

Watch.

 

 

 

 

Look for ALA’s Top Challenged Books of 2021 list in April 2022!

 

Author

Taelor J.

Youth Services Specialist

Tags
#BroaderBookshelf
Book Recommendations
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Audience
Parents
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School age children (6-12 years)
6-8 years
9-12 years
Teens (12-18 years)
 10

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