Banned Books Week

 
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read
September 25-October 2, 2010

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.  Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. . . .

The Top Ten Ludicrous Reasons To Ban A Book

1. “Encourages children to break dishes so they won’t have to dry them.” (A Light in the Attic , by Shel Silverstien)

2. “It caused a wave of rapes.” ( Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights)

3. “If there is a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it?” ( Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown)

4. “Tarzan was ‘living in sin’ with Jane.” ( Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

5. “It is a real ‘downer.’” ( Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank)

6. “The basket carried by Little Red Riding Hood contained a bottle of wine, which condones the use of alcohol.” ( Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm K. Grimm)

7. “One bunny is white and the other is black and this ‘brainwashes’ readers into accepting miscegenation.”
( The Rabbit’s Wedding, by Garth Williams)

8. “It is a religious book and public funds should not be used to purchase religious books.” ( Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, by Walter A. Elwell, ed.)

9. “A female dog is called a bitch.” ( My Friend Flicka, by Mary O’Hara)

10. “An unofficial version of the story of Noah’s Ark will confuse children.” ( Many Waters, by Madeleine C. L’Engle)