Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Banned Books... You've probably read these!

On the first day of class, when we shared one book that was significant in our childhoods, I said that mine was “Superfudge” by Judy Bloom. A lot of people agreed that this was a significant book in their childhoods as well.
After the discussion last week regarding banned books, I decided to go online and read what some of the censored books are. Many books that I have read, and that I’m sure you have too, were on that list. One of these books was “Superfudge” by Judy Bloom. This was due to "profane, immoral and offensive" content.
I haven’t read this book in a long time, but I do not remember anything being “offensive”, “Immoral” or “profane”. Do you have any idea what this could be referring to?
You might also be interested in knowing some of the other books that were on that list. “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein was censored because it was “considered by opponents to undermine parental, school and religious authority”. “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great” (also by Judy Blume), “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Of Mice and Men”, “Huckleberry Finn”, “Harriet the Spy” and many other seemingly harmless books were on that list. Harriet the spy was said to be “considered ‘dangerous’ because it ‘teaches children to lie, spy, back-talk and curse’”. I thought this was interesting to say the least.
What do you all think of this? I’m sure you’ve read some of these books. Are you surprised they are on this list? Check out this website for more info http://home.nvg.org/~aga/bulletin43.html.

4 comments:

Valerie W. said...

I think your observations do a great job of demonstrating how our evaluations of books have a lot to do with how we imagine "childhood" at a particular moment in history and in particular communities!

I think it is interesting that so many of the examples you chose have to do with power and authority.

Brittney B said...

As I was reading the list of banned books the only one I really remember was "To Kill A Mockingbird." I guess I could see why this book would be banned because I was assigned to read it as a freshman in high school. The topics seem a bit mature for students who are not in middle school or high school since it deals with the court system and crime such as rape which are pretty intense topics for younger readers. Perhaps there is another reason for why the book is banned though.
However, I do not agree that "Harriet the Spy" should be a part of this list. I remember really enjoying that book, and if the reason is because it encourages lying and cheating, then that is ridiculous!

Brittney B said...

As I was reading the list of banned books the only one I really remember was "To Kill A Mockingbird." I guess I could see why this book would be banned because I was assigned to read it as a freshman in high school. The topics seem a bit mature for students who are not in middle school or high school since it deals with the court system and crime such as rape which are pretty intense topics for younger readers. Perhaps there is another reason for why the book is banned though.
However, I do not agree that "Harriet the Spy" should be a part of this list. I remember really enjoying that book, and if the reason is because it encourages lying and cheating, then that is ridiculous!

Kayla G. said...

I can't believe Where the Sidewalk Ends was banned. I loved that book growing up and am planning on having it in my classrooms.

After reading your blog, I decided to research more about banned books and found that the American Library Association has a list of 42 out of the 100 best novels of the 20th century that have been challenged/banned.
http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/piopresskits/bbbwpresskit/bannedchallenged.htm

The list has so many books I remember reading in middle school and high school...The Grapes of Wrath, Brave New World, and The Great Gatsby.

I think it is ridiculous that so many books are banned. It should be the students choice whether they read these books or not (that is, if they mature and older). As far as childrens books go, I believe it is the teacher's and parent's responsibilty to censor what their children are reading.