Banned! From Red Riding Hood to Harry Potter

This is Banned Books Week, an annual, national anti-censorship program sponsored by the American Library Association. "Wielding the Red Pen" is a report from The University of Virginia on children's books that have faced challenges from school boards around the country. Copies of these books may be found using the World Catalog / Amazon search boxes here on BookBag.

Efforts to protect children and young adults have brought the censorship debate into school and public libraries throughout the country. Parents and school boards have subjected children's literature to the closest scrutiny, with the frequent result of challenging concepts, words, and illustrations. Successful objections have resulted in the removal of books from classrooms, library shelves, and reading lists. In other districts, schools have imposed limitations on access by placing books in restricted areas available only to children with parental approval.

Over the years, there has emerged no pattern of where censorship occurs most frequently. The red pen has been wielded as often in the North as in the South, in large school districts as in smaller ones, in rural settings as in urban ones. This case includes only a small sampling of challenged children's books, many drawn from the American Library Association's "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999." Mark Twain once wrote, "In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then He made School Boards." See if you agree... .

1986: A parent in Lambertville, New Jersey, objected to William Steig's The Amazing Bone on the basis that one of the animal characters uses tobacco.

1977: The Illinois Police Association objected to the portrayal of policemen as pigs in Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.

1990, 1998: According to critics, The Five Chinese Brothers includes "racial stereotypes demeaning to Chinese people" and "violent plots to execute five brothers."

1990: Classic children's stories have not escaped censorship. Little Red Riding Hood has been banned because "the presence of a bottle of wine in the young girl's basket condone[s] the use of alcohol."

1992: Judy Blume, possibly the most censored author of young adult literature in the country, writes books for and about teenagers. Their frank depiction of teenage concerns and social behavior invites strong identification from her readership but also strong objections from parents and schools. Specifically, Blubber has been challenged repeatedly because of the book's language and the lack of consequences for the characters that torment a fifth-grade classmate.

1985: Because "it describe[s] families in a derogatory manner and might encourage children to disobey their parents," the Stupids series has been removed from shelves. This book appears as the twenty-seventh most censored book on the American Library Association's "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999."

1992: Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen has been found objectionable because of the nudity of the main character, a young boy, promoting allegations that this nudity might encourage child molestation. In Springfield, Missouri, the book was expurgated by drawing shorts on the nude boy. The American Library Association ranks In the Night Kitchen twenty-first on its list of "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999."

Maurice Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are has been challenged for involving "witchcraft/supernatural elements."

1999: According to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, the Harry Potter series stands as the most challenged book of 1999

because of its "occult themes, violent content, and antifamily bias."

1991: Charged with being "racist" and "extol[ling] the virtues of a European middle-class lifestyle and disparag[ing] the animals and people who have remained in the jungle," The Story of Babar has been labeled Eurocentric by its detractors.

1959: In Montgomery, Alabama, the public library relegated The Rabbits' Wedding to a "reserve" shelf because illustrations showed an "interracial" rabbit couple in which "the buck was black and the doe was white."

New September fiction; banned books week, Sept. 26-Oct. 3

September is a busy month for publishers -- school's back in session, the holidays are nearing, and it's time to release a new season's worth of books hoping to catch the reader's fancy. Here are some new titles for young readers looking for a break from schoolwork -- look for these using the World Catalog / Amazon search boxes here on BookBag.

The Dunderheads, by Paul Fleischman (Candlewick). Fiction. When mean and nasty Miss Breakbone--who is so sadistic that she keeps an electric chair in her classroom--confiscates one student's prized possession, the whole class launches a Mission: Impossible-style caper in retaliation. With Einstein's brains, Wheels' tricked-out bike, Pencil's drawing skills, Spider's agility, and the other students' unique abilities combined, the class becomes an unstoppable force. Anyone who enjoys dramatic action and dry humor should check out this quirkily illustrated and hilarious story.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett Krosoczka (Alfred A. Knopf).Graphic Novel. As if slinging hash in the school cafeteria weren't exciting enough, Lunch Lady has a secret life as a crime-fighting superhero! And she's noticed that something about the new substitute teacher, Mr. Pasteur, just doesn't seem right. But while Lunch Lady is busy investigating Mr. Pasteur, students Hector, Terrence, and Dee are investigating her (the kids have always wondered what Lunch Lady does when she's not doling out her famous French toast sticks). If you like this wacky, action-packed comic, be sure not to miss Lunch Lady's further adventures in Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians.

Highway Robbery, by Kate Thomson (Greenwillow Books). Historical Fiction. On a cold day in 18th-century England, the poor young street urchin who narrates this story agrees to watch a stranger's magnificent horse for a golden guinea. Standing barefoot in an alley and dutifully holding the horse's reins, the boy is approached by many people who want the horse for themselves. Then a soldier in hot pursuit of the infamous robber Dick Turpin tells the boy that the horse he's guarding is actually Black Bess, Turpin's legendary steed. But who is telling the truth? This quick read is full of excitement, danger, and double-dealing and will thrill readers who like to be kept guessing.

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon (Dial Books). Fiction. Danny Dragonbreath, a young dragon who hasn't yet mastered the art of breathing fire, dreams of adventure on the high seas. In reality, he gets picked on for being the only mythical creature at his school and has just received an "F" for his science paper on the ocean. With only one night to rewrite his paper, Danny convinces his best friend to come with him to the Sargasso Sea, where his cousin Edward the sea serpent lives...and where, like it or not, real adventure awaits them. With its generous amount of comic-book style art, Dragonbreath is a fun choice for fans of graphic novels like Babymouse or Sticky Burr.

The Locked Garden, by Gloria Whelan (HarperCollins). Historical Fiction. At the dawn of the 20th century, Verna and her younger sister Carlie move with their psychiatrist father and stern aunt Maude to a house on the grounds of an asylum for the mentally ill. The sisters are still mourning the loss of their mother, who died of typhoid fever two years earlier, when a young woman suffering from depression comes to live with them and serve as their maid. Verna is certain that mystery abounds at the asylum and is determined to have an adventure...but she'll have to get past Aunt Maude first. Readers who enjoy strong period details and family dramas will be enchanted by The Locked Garden.

Banned Books Week continues

From the Kansas State Collegian, Shelton Burch writes that Banned Books Week is a good way to introduce young readers to complex ideas. A careful discussion of books once banned can explore concepts that may seem unpopular or even inappropriate now. A broader topic with school-age children might be how to approach differences of opinion, or cultural and historical points of view. (The recent New York Times article about Tintin Au Congo in the previous post on BookBag is a good example.) For a list of books that have been banned, visit the American Library Association. Burch writes:

Students and faculty of the Department of English are reading America’s most debated books this week for American Library Association’s Banned Books Week.

Every year, starting on the last Monday of September, libraries and other literature-based organizations celebrate the right to express themselves, even if that expression is against what is popular or generally respected, according to the American Library Association’s Web site.

Naomi Wood, associate professor of English, said the list encompasses about every genre of literature available to the public.

“Chances are that if you’ve ever enjoyed a book, it’s probably on the list,” she said.

Wood said the idea behind Banned Books Week is that at some point or another, parents of a student in kindergarten through 12th grade saw their child reading a book and called the material within the book “inappropriate,” often asking the school to ban the book.

An example is the idea of Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was banned for its portrayal of blacks in the early 1900s. Wood said she sees this as limiting students from viewing American culture in its completion.

“If your child is reading a book like that, present them with a book that shows a more modern example rather than banning it,” Wood said. “By just denying that part of history existed, you actually cause more problems.”

September 26-October 3 is banned books week

September 26-October 3 is Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries, and since 1982 more than a thousand books (including many children's titles) have been challenged. The New York Times printed a story focusing on one recent challenge to a 79-year-old book, Tintin au Congo, by the French illustrator Hergé. Ruby Washington of The New York Times wrote about the Brooklyn Public Library's response to one patron's reaction to the book's illustrations. For a list of banned books visit the American Library Association.

The cartoonist Hergé is popular again, as is his adventurous reporter Tintin, who will be featured in a Steven Spielberg movie due out in 2011.But if you go to the Brooklyn Public Library seeking a copy of “Tintin au Congo,” Hergé’s second book in a series, prepare to make an appointment and wait days to see the book.

“It’s not for the public,” a librarian in the children’s room said this month when a patron asked to see it. The book, published 79 years ago, was moved in 2007 from the public area of the library to a back room where it is held under lock and key.

The move came after a patron objected, as others have, to the way Africans are depicted in the book. “The content is racially offensive to black people,’’ a librarian wrote on Form 286, also kmown as a Request for Reconsideration of Library Material.

In particular, the patron took issue with illustrations that she felt had the Africans “looking like monkeys,’’ but other elements of the book have also drawn criticism over the years — from the broken French that the natives speak to their general simple-mindedness.

Libraries often have policies that allow patrons to complain about content they find objectionable. New York City libraries have received almost two dozen written objections since 2005. But the book about Tintin (pronounced Tantan in his native Brussels) was the only challenged item to have been removed from the shelves, library officials said.

The objection was reviewed by a panel, in keeping with the library’s policy. It determined the book no longer belonged on the open stacks, but rather should be tucked away in the Hunt Collection, which are kept in a vault-like room accessible only to staff members.

“This is a special collection of historic children’s literature that is available for viewing by appointment only,” the library said in a letter explaining its decision.

The American Library Association said it knows of up to 700 formal book challenges a year in the United States, but it acknowledged that its tallies are incomplete. In general, librarians are trained to tackle any complaints about books with a polite demeanor. But they are also instructed to stand firm in defending the book’s presence in the library.

On the rare occasions when a formal objection is upheld by library officials, a book may be removed or put in a less accessible area; that way, the challenged item remains in the library’s collection, although it is harder to find.

“You do walk a fine line, making sure your materials are accessible, while being respectful of community standards,’’ said Alice Knapp, a former president of the Connecticut Library Association.

Public school libraries also face these quandaries. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, for example, found 102 formal challenges in 43 school districts during the 2007-8 school year. Twenty-seven books were banned, including Kay Thompson’s “Eloise in Paris,’’ whose heroine visits a museum with nude artwork.

For fans of Hergé (a k a Georges Remi), who created Tintin in 1929 and died in 1983 with the last story unfinished, the tempest is nothing new. The Tintin stories, loved for the main character’s derring-do and the exotic locales, have also been criticized for material that offends racial, ethnic and religious groups. In response, Hergé revised many illustrations, though vestiges remain.

In Tintin’s Congo adventure, recent versions have revised panels in which the hero had lectured the natives on their colonial ties to Belgium. Now he teaches them arithmetic.