Banned Books week is coming to a close, but I hope you had time to take a look at lists on your own and celebrate the freedom to read and the freedom of expression. Throughout the week, I have shared just some of the many books that have been challenged or banned throughout the country and thanked those who work tirelessly to ensure that we are able to read and express ourselves freely.

To close our Banned Books Week, I’d like to share just 5 of the commonly challenged books:

1. “Animal Farm” by George Orwell
2. “The Diary of a Girl” by Anne Frank
3. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe
4. “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway
5. The Holy Bible

Feel free to express your views in the comments. Again, I hope that you took the time to research other commonly challenged books as we wrap up Banned Books Week. Thanks for reading!

It’s Banned Books Week. From September 24-30, bibliophiles, teachers, librarians, publishers, journalists, and all readers will celebrate the freedom to read and the freedom of expression (for all; even to those who challenge these books), and ultimately shed light on the harms of censorship. On Sunday, I shared 20 books that have been challenged or banned from libraries and schools. “Challenged” means that there has been an effort to remove or restrict these books from readers. I wanted to continue sharing challenged book titles throughout Banned Books Week to shed light on censorship and thank those who work hard to ensure that these books stay in schools, libraries, and on the shelves to help shape the minds of our youth and beyond.

Here are 10 commonly challenged books (in no particular order):

1. “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein
2. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, 1951
3. “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’Engle
4. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
5.  “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
6. “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
7. “Native Son” by Richard Wright
8.  “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey
9. “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Handford
10. “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien

Which titles jump out at you? What are your thoughts on censorship? Share in the comments!

Did you know that today is the start of Banned Books Week? From September 24-30, bibliophiles, teachers, librarians, publishers, journalists, and all readers will celebrate the freedom to read and shed light on the freedom of expression (for all; even those who challenge the books) as well as the harms of censorship. Throughout the week, I wanted to shed light on books that have been challenged or banned from libraries and schools. “Challenged” means that there has been an effort to remove or restrict these books from readers.  After some research, I found that a lot of the books on these lists were books that I have read and owned, thanks to advocacy organizations, teachers, librarians, and other community members who oppose censorship.

Here is the first installment of the most challenged/banned books (in no particular order).

1. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
2. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
3. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
4. “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
5. “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller
6. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
7. “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell
8. “Harry Potter” (series) by J.K. Rowling
9. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville
11. “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman
12. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
13. “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak
14. “Forever” by Judy Blume
15. “His Dark Materials” series by Phillip Pullman
16. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
17. “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson
18. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
19. “Junie B. Jones“ series by Barbara Park
20. “Goosebumps” (series), by R.L. Stine

Which titles jump out at you? What are your thoughts on censorship? Share in the comments!