read all of the books on the ALA's list of 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000

I went to Borders a few weeks ago and read several of the shorter books on the list:
2. Daddy’s Roommate
9. Heather Has Two Mommies
27. The Stupids (I bought and read 3 of the 4)
35. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls : A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Daughters (read through it, not really a “reading book”)
58. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys : A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Sons (read through it, not really a “reading book”)
77. Mommy Laid an Egg

14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl

I loved both of these books. The Giver touched my soul (I followed up with Gathering Blue – not as good) and The Witches made me laugh. I can only imagine that these books are challenged by people with no imagination and boring lives. I certainly intend to read Roald Dahl books to my (unconceived) children and point them to the Lois Lowry section of the library.

Don’t tell me what I can’t read!

I cannot for the life of me figure out why this one would be challenged. All I can discover is it is challenged for “offensive language”. Cause you know, no 11 or 12 year old has ever heard damn, which is about the worst thing I could find.

Vernon Dibbs is one of 5 children being raised by their father after their mother’s death. The Dibbs family lives in a rundown neighborhood in Baltimore. In their neighborhood is a duplex in habited by a retired teacher and an alchoholic with a retarded son. As the story goes on Vernon is tutored by the retired teacher and to repay her helps out the mother and son.

This intense story shows great character development, and insight into types of people many kids may never know. I plan to recommend this book to several of my students.

25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

I have now read this one. It is banned because there are several illustrations of the little boy’s penis. It looks like a finger sticking out between his legs, but it is there none-the-less.

On to more intriging books.

The following is a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000, as recorded by the ALA. I bolded the books I have read – nearly all of them before the age of 16. I have also marked the books I plan to read. There are a few I have NO interest in. I suspect some of the sex and growing up books I haven’t read, and haven’t marked, I will read with/for one of my (as yet unconceived) children. I am sorry haven’t read more than I have, but I am going to change that.

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz-
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite-
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou-
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain-
Of Mice and Men by John SteinbeckHarry Potter (Series) by J.K. RowlingForever by Judy BlumeBridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonAlice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor-
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman-
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier-
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger-
The Giver by Lois Lowry-
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris-
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine-, one or 2
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton PeckThe Color Purple by Alice Walker-
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel – first 3 The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine PatersonA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’EngleGo Ask Alice by Anonymous Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers-
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak-
The Stupids (Series) by Harry AllardThe Witches by Roald Dahl-
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry – most The Goats by Brock ColeKaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane-
Blubber by Judy BlumeKilling Mr. Griffin by Lois DuncanHalloween ABC by Eve Merriam-
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier-
Final Exit by Derek Humphry-
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood-
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George-
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee-
Beloved by Toni MorrisonThe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton-
The Pigman by Paul Zindel-
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard-
Deenie by Judy BlumeFlowers for Algernon by Daniel KeyesAnnie on my Mind by Nancy Garden-
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar-
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz-
A Light in the Attic by Shel SilversteinBrave New World by Aldous Huxley-
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King-
James and the Giant Peach by Roald DahlThe Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest-
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis-
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy BlumeCrazy Lady by Jane Conly-
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher-
Fade by Robert Cormier-
Guess What? by Mem Fox-
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende-
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut-
Lord of the Flies by William GoldingNative Son by Richard Wright-
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen-
Jack by A.M. Homes-
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya-
Where Did I Come From? by Peter MayleCarrie by Stephen King-
Tiger Eyes by Judy BlumeOn My Honor by Marion Dane BauerArizona Kid by Ron Koertge-
Family Secrets by Norma Klein-
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole-
The Dead Zone by Stephen King-
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain-
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison-
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez-
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene-
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman-
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett-
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher-
Sex Education by Jenny Davis-depends
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene-
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas RockwellView from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts-
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder-
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier-