Banned Books Week 2022 - Books Unite Us...Censorship Divides Us

Now more than ever, my coverage of Banned Books Week is crucial. I've been an advocate of this movement for 15 years, when I learned about it, upon joining the online book community. I began coverage on this blog in 2009 and continued every year after that, in some shape or form. Go here to browse my Banned Books Week content from previous years. 

“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”
- Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

(Read one Texas teacher's story here.)

In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons.

The theme for Banned Books Week 2022 is "Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us." Sharing stories important to us means sharing a part of ourselves. Books reach across boundaries and build connections between readers. Censorship, on the other hand, creates barriers. Banned Books Week is both a reminder of the unifying power of stories and the divisiveness of censorship, and a call to action for readers across the country to push back against censorship attempts in their communities. 

About Book Bans and Challenges

Books are still being banned and challenged today. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.

While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

Read about the history of Banned Books Week.

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1597 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
3. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

I have a lot on my reading plate this month, but I would like to read at least one book that has been banned/challenged. I went with a shorter book, and/or an easier read of poetry (I love Shel Silverstein's books). So, it's either going to be...

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Challenged in 1985 at Cunningham Elementary School in Beloit, Wisc., because it "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them."

Banned by a Florida elementary school in 1993 because it "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence".

Questioned because author Shel Silverstein's career included having drawn cartoons for Playboy, leading some to claim that the book contained "suggestive illustrations."

OR

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Challenged or banned several times since publication for various reasons including: "using God's name in vain," profanity, racial slurs, treatment of the mentally challenged, and violence.

Challenged or banned dozens of times; challenges continue to this day.

Ranked fifth of the top 100 banned or challenged books in America between 2000 and 2009.

Source: ACLU infographic (hover over each book spine to learn its history)

Last, but not least...

Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. Take action and defend the right to read for all Americans.

Join the Movement

Source for all information in this post (unless otherwise noted): ala.org

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