Banned Books
Title: And Tango Makes Three
Author: Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Release Date: 2005
Format/Age: Picture Book - Elementary Age
Plot Summary: This is a true story of two male chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo named Roy and Silo. The two penguins were the best of friends, and did everything together. They ended up making a nest and tried to hatch a rock, so the zookeepers gave them an egg from another penguin couple who had two and couldn't take care of both. Roy and Silo took turns sitting on the egg and it eventually hatched, and the little female penguin was named Tango - because, it takes two to tango.
Why was it banned? Parents at elementary schools complained about the book because it featured homosexuality in animals and the concept of homosexual parenting and the book was removed from many schools on these grounds.
Ok, so I don't really see the problem with this one. It is a true story after all, and would be helpful to show to kids living with same-sex parents to show them a similar situation. This book has won many awards and is well written, with beautiful illustrations. While I understand the concern of very religious and anti-homosexual adults I think this is a bit extreme for an animal story.
Title: Forever...
Author: Judy Blume
Release Date: 1975
Format/Age: Chapter Book - Young Adult (Senior High)
Plot Summary: This story is about two high school seniors, Katherine and Micheal, who fall in love at a New Year's Eve party. As they move forward in their relationship, they understand that physical intimacy is common and complicated - Micheal has been sexually active, Katherine has not. After their first time, the couple is convinced that their love will be forever. Later that summer, when they go to different states for summer jobs, they learn of the limitations of their relationship and move on.
Why was it banned? This book has been banned from many senior high schools because of the subject matter, basically: detailed descriptions of intercourse, the use of a birth control pill by Katherine, and the hinted homosexuality of another character. Parents were concerned over the effect that reading this book would have upon their children.
Ok, I understand the concern for this one due to the time when it was produced - as this was a time when sex before marriage was considered very taboo. The parents did not want their kids acting in the same way. Although I must say, I did not find the descriptions of intercourse very graphic, and the hinted homosexuality could be interpreted in many ways. This book has a very good story, and is a good lesson to those thinking that love will last forever. So, the ban makes sense for it's time, but is less relevant today.
For a comparison, these are some books that were banned, but the bans have since been lifted:
Title: Green Eggs and Ham
Author: Dr. Seuss
Release Date: 1960
Format/Age: Children's Picture Book - Early Elementary
Plot Summary: A character named Sam-I-Am wants his friend to try a plate of green eggs and ham in many different locations. His friend refuses until he actually tries them, where he learns that he really likes them and will eat them in all of the different locations mentioned.
Why was it banned? It was banned for a while in the USA for homosexual themes (apparently green eggs and ham could be a naughty reference) and in China because of it's portrayal of 'early Marxism'.
Ok, in all honesty, I think this one is a bit ridiculous. The book had a grand total of 50 unique words, and no child could have possibly caught any homosexual or Marxist references - or if they did, they wouldn't understand them anyways. It's a cute little book about trying new things, end of story.
Title: Where's Waldo?
Author: Martin Handford
Release Date: 1987
Format/Age: Children's Picture Book - Elementary
Plot Summary: This book has no plot, it contains a series of scenes where readers must find Waldo - a fellow dressed in a stylish red and white striped shirt, puff ball hat and glasses.
Why was it banned? In the original version, many people have found inappropriate hidden imagery inside the scenes, the most famous being the topless sunbather, but also: gay lovers, people holding up the 'rocker sign' (aka the 'Hail Satan'), children opening a tent while a man inside is changing (in the image he is nude), and many more. There are other controversial scenes in the other books as well.
Ok, considering the whole goal of these books is to find Waldo, it's amazing that other people were able to find all of these things. They must have literally been taking a magnifying glass to the book in order to locate these - the breast in the beach image in question is 1/16th of an inch large. The images were later censored so that they were more appropriate and people could go and find Waldo with less distractions.
Title: Dictionary
Edition: Most have been banned or challenged at some point - no matter the author or title.
Why was it banned? Many parents at various schools have complained about the definitions of sexual terms being 'too explicit' and have had the books removed from shelves. One of the main terms that resulted in the most recent challenge was the definition for 'oral sex'.
Are you kidding me? The dictionary? Honestly, if kids are actively looking for these terms, I think we have a larger problem. This is probably the safest way for them to explore this topic, by getting correct definitions without slang and from an approved source. I don't even know how to respond to this one.
Want to find more banned or challenged books? Check out the links below!
These are the top 100 challenged/banned books between 2000 and 2009, provided by the American Library Association. This site also has links to past top 100 lists as well as other lists as well - such as banned/challenged classics, and statistics.
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009
This is a selection of banned books on GoodReads.com. Including the most controversial books of all time and past years banned books lists. This site also includes lists of books banned only in certain states, books that shouldn't have been banned and many more.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/banned
No comments:
Post a Comment