Oprah Gizzard Buns*
The American Library Association (ALA) has released a list of the “Ten Most Challenged” books of 2005 (thanks for the news Powells). Challenged books are books that are just that - challenged….usually by parents disturbed with what they find on the shelves of their local library.
I’ve lifted the following from the ALA press release. This saves you the trouble of having to link through to get the goods AND it gives me the added satisfaction of laughing my ass off every time I open up my website and see the following on my screen (Banned titles followed by the challenge):
- “It’s Perfectly Normal†for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion and being unsuited to age group;
- “Forever†by Judy Blume for sexual content and offensive language;
- “The Catcher in the Rye†by J.D. Salinger for sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group;
- “The Chocolate War†by Robert Cormier for sexual content and offensive language;
- “Whale Talk†by Chris Crutcher for racism and offensive language;
- “Detour for Emmy†by Marilyn Reynolds for sexual content;
- “What My Mother Doesn’t Know†by Sonya Sones for sexual content and being unsuited to age group;
- Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence;
- “Crazy Lady!†by Jane Leslie Conly for offensive language; and
- “It’s So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families†by Robie H. Harris for sex education and sexual content.
Seriously? Have you all read/seen these books. They are hilarious. There is talk of poop and all things disgusting (Booger Boy is a character, Professor Poopy Pants another.) Kids eat them up. They love them. They love to read them. They READ!!! Now we could debate the philosophical ramifications of letting your children read and enjoy books that talk about poop and being a crazy kid and causing trouble. But really, why would you? These books flew off of the shelves during my stint as a Bookseller. Call me a low brow reader but I really think, at the age that’s targeted here, that the fact that the kid is reading far exceeds the negative impact of a few poop phrases and other benign topics. I happen to think there are far greater threats to the American child.
I think it would be interesting to travel to your local library and take a look at the shelves. Are these titles there? What were the most challenged books at your branch? Who’s buying the books at your library?
Every library has a local flavor dependent on who is buying, etc. I have a good friend (Hi Jess!) who used to worked in a library when she was a student. She weighed in pretty heavy on the music purchases. This resulted in a primo music selection. It was good stuff.
I think it would be interesting to hear from some of the librarians and library goers in the crowd (and there are a ton, which I found out when I confessed to not returning my library book for elevinity-million years - which, btw, has now been returned).
What has been your experience with challenged books? What is the general philosophy of most library’s? Do political / social leanings in an area influence the content of the library’s shelves?
* My silly name according to Professor Poopy Pants