Banned Book Week

Well-Mannered Frivolity: I Read Banned Books. Do You?

The link above is to a great post that really kicked off Banned Book week for me.  I re-listed the top 100 banned books below, with the titles in bold being the ones I've personally read.   I was surprised to see so much Stephen King on the list as he's been my favorite author since I was in the 5th grade... but I guess some parents aren't as awesome as mine were!

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz - loved this series when I was in school!  I still remember going to the book store to buy them.
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier -nerd alert here, I was on the Reading Team in high school, and this was one of the books I read for competition.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Forever by Judy Blume
8. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
9. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
10. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - I read this book, but I still don't get the controversy.
11. The Giver by Lois Lowry
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
14. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
15. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine - I read some of these, but by the time they started coming out I thought I was too old for them.
16. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
17. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
18. Sex by Madonna
19. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
20. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson - loved this book, and wasn't it a movie with Jodie Foster?
21. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
22. The Witches by Roald Dahl - such a good book!!!
23. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle - I actually finally read this book for the first time this year. I'm ashamed I didn't read it sooner.
24. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
25. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous - my dad got me this book when I was in grade school.  I might have been too young, as it traumatized me, but it totally stopped me from ever doing drugs.
26. The Goats by Brock Cole
27. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
28. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
29. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
30. Blubber by Judy Blume -
31. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
32. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
33. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
34. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
35. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
36. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - Read this in 7th grade, I still know the opening lines, all the names of the characters, the Stay Gold poem, and whole passages by heart.
39. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
40. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - One of the greatest books of all time.
41. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
42. Deenie by Judy Blume
43. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - I read this for school too, so I don't get the reason for it being on the banned list although it is rather sad. Again, people are crazy!
44. Annie on my Mind, by Nancy Garden
45. Beloved by Toni Morrison
46. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
47. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
48. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling - Any series that gets kids (and adults for that matter) to read must of course be evil and suspect!
49. Cujo, by Stephen King
50. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein - I just don't get why this is on the list at all!
52. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
53. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - I read this book and somehow managed not to turn into a serial killer.
54. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
55. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) - I tread the first book and a half during my whole Anne Rice phase, and yes they are super super dirty, but you could just not let your kids read them.  Just a thought.
56. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
57. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
58. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
59. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
60. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - Is it because God is in the title, or because it deals with periods?  Or both?  Awesome book for any girl to read.
61. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
62. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
63. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
64. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan - After reading this book the total number of teachers I kidnapped and accidentally killed: 0
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
68. Lord of the Flies, by Willam Golding
69. Native Son by Richard Wright
70. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies, by Nancy Friday
71. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
72. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
73. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
76. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
77. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
78. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
79. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
80. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
81. Carrie by Stephen King - I didn't go crazy at prom after having read this book... of course I don't have telekinesis because banned books don't give out supernatural powers.  Pity...
82. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
83. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
84. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
85. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
86. Private Parts by Howard Stern
87. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford - someone has a problem because in one picture of Waldo on a beach a woman's side boob can be seen.  In 2nd grade this kid in my class drew pictures of boobs on all the desks and on every page he ever wrote on, yet he's not on the banned list.
88. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
89. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. Jumper by Steven Gould
95. Christine by Stephen King - Okay, I did try to find a cool murderous car after reading this book, still now luck though.
96. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
97. That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton
98. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
99. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Colli

 Okay, off to work I go, so I might edit this post later since there are some books I didn't comment on.