PAID 112 Section 05: Streese (Spring 2020)

Presents a survey of eleven major book banning incidents, a look at laws regarding bookbanning, interviews with the authors of banned books, and an annotated listing of the fifty most challenged books from 1996 through 2000.

A tool to help librarians, teachers, and young readers become aware of the social issues that are most often at the center of the majority of book challenges for children.

Throughout history, tyrants, totalitarian states, church institutions, and democratic governments alike have banned books that challenged their assumptions or questioned their activities. Political censorship was even applied to ancient Greek dramas during the Nazi occupation in 1942. Political suppression also occurs in the name of "security" and the safeguarding of official secrets, and is often used as a weapon in larger cultural or political battles.

Examines the history and issues surrounding the censorhip of works banned for their religious content, including "The Last Temptation of Christ" by Nikos Kazantzakis, "Children of the Alley" by Naguib Mahfouz, and "The Witches" by Roald Dahl.

Examines the history and issues surrounding more than one hundred works challenged for sexual content, including "Sophie's Choice" by William Styron, "Sex" by Madonna, and "Forever" by Judy Blume.

Examines the history and issues surrounding works banned because they contained language or ideas unacceptable to a religion, state, or moral standard, including "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, "The Giver" by Louis Lowry, and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

Also available in print: Ref E169.12 .A419 1994 v.6-8