It’s too late to observe Banned Books Week 2005 (Sept. 24-Oct. 1), but it’s not too late to ponder this list of 2004’s most frequently challenged books in school libraries, as documented by the American Library Association: "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers. "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A. Bellesiles. The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. "What My Mother Doesn’t Know" by Sonya Sones. "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak. "King & King" by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.
The total number of formal challenges to school library books was up last year — 547 nationally, compared with 458 in 2003. What’s odd is that 2004 was the first time in the past five years that Harry Potter didn’t make the list. Maybe if Harry and Ron come out as gay lovers in the final book . . . .
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
15 Comments
Steinbeck should be required, not banned.
“Captain Underpants” should be required and not banned.
I can’t believe someone complained about captain underpants! That’s low.Someone must be REALLY uptight to complain about those books.
those books are some of the best books i’ve ever read so the people who are so uptight that thosebooks offended them they need to read the wheel of time series by robert jordan
If you think banning Steinbeck is bad, check this out:
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm
Some of these were favorites of my kids. Some of these were favorites of mine! And many (okay, probably not Madonna’s “Sex”) are books I would not hesitate to put on a required reading list or at least highly suggest that people read to widen their world. I might even rethink Madonna.
For whoever it was that mentioned Huckleberry Finn on the wrong blog, Tom Sawyer IS on the list. I’m laughing that “Where Did I Come From?” is there, too. What would the answer be when the banners are asked that question? From God? That oughta confuse a kid who walks in on mom and dad…
I wonder why “Farenheit 451″ isn’t on the list?
Everybody Poops should be required reading.
Tell me, where else, but in America can such brillance be tolerated? Though Brian and his wife might be challenged in teaching Dav, he managed to get by. See the whole story at: http://www.piley.com/adv-text.php .
Dav Pilkey was born on March 4th, 1966 in Cleveland, OH. His father (David, Sr.) was a steel salesman, and his mother (Barbara) was the organist at a local church. Dav’s older sister (Cindy) was a highly-skilled professional tattletale.
“I don’t remember much about my early childhood, except that I was almost always happy. My parents tell me that I used to laugh in my sleep all the time, even as an infant. When I wasn’t laughing, I kept myself busy by drawing. While the other kids in the neighborhood were outside playing baseball and football, I was inside drawing animals, monsters, and super-hero guys. Life was pretty cool when I was little…and then school started.” — Dav PilkeyDav and Older Sister Cindy”Believe it or not,that thing on herhead is hair!”
Part 2. The Dark Ages: Elementary School…
After setting the school’s all-time record for the amount of time spent in the principal’s office, Dav was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and severe hyperactivity. By the start of first grade, Dav had successfully moved into the role of class clown. He was the undisputed king of funny noises, and held the classroom record for the number of crayons he could stick up his nose at one time (a record he still holds to this day).
Everybody in Dav’s class thought he was pretty funny, except for one person – his teacher!
Dav’s teacher didn’t care for his particular brand of humor, so she began sending him out into the hallway. Before long, Dav was spending so much time in the hall that his teacher moved a little desk out there for him. “Every day before classes began, I would fill up my hallway desk with papers, pencils, and crayons. Then at some point during the day, I would do something really silly or disruptive, and my teacher would snap her fingers, point to the door, and shout, ‘MR. PILKEY—OUT!’” — Dav Pilkey
Part 3. The Kid in the Hall…
In the hallway, Dav would sit down at his desk, take out his art supplies, and start drawing. At first, he drew only pictures, but as time went on Dav began making up stories, too. “I used to staple sheets of paper together and make my own books. I invented a whole bunch of super heroes, including ‘The Amazing Captain Underpants,’ who flew around the city in his underwear giving wedgies to all the bad guys. Everybody in my class thought these comic books were really funny, except for one person – my teacher! I remember one teacher who used to rip up my books and tell me I’d better start taking life more seriously, because I couldn’t spend the rest of my days making silly books. Fortunately, I wasn’t a very good listener.” — Dav Pilkey
Part 4. The Really Dark Ages: High School…
Dav attended a very strict high school, and things just got worse. Dav’s teachers hated his sense of humor, and often discouraged his artistic talents. “One day my principal took me out of class and said to me, ‘I know you think you’re special because you can draw, but let me tell you something: artists are a-dime-a-dozen. You will never make a living as an artist!’ Those words haunted me for many years. How delightful it was to prove him wrong.” — Dav Pilkey
Part 5. Dav Goes to College
In 1984, Dav Pilkey attended Kent State University as an art major. While attending a freshman English class, one of Dav’s professors complimented him on his creative writing skills, and encouraged him to write books. Dav thought this was a novel idea, and began working on his first children’s book.
Dav learned about a contest for students who write and illustrate their own books. The winners got their books published! So Dav began creating his first book, World War Won, and entered it in The National Written and Illustrated By…Awards Contest for Students. Within a year, Dav had won the contest and was flying to Kansas City, Missouri to meet the editors and publishers at Landmark Editions, Inc. “It was the most exciting time in my life. I’ll never forget getting off the plane in Kansas City and meeting my new publisher for the first time. I tried to act normal, but I was so excited. It took every bit of self-control I had not to scream, jump up and down, and laugh hysterically… I was going to be an author!” — Dav PilkeyPart 6. From Then ‘Til Now…
Shortly after the publication of World War Won, Dav moved back to Kent, Ohio where he wrote and illustrated many more books. During this time, Dav found a cute stray puppy and named her ‘Little Dog’. She soon became his best friend.
In 1990, Dav dreamed one night that he was supposed to move to Oregon, so a couple of years later, he and Little Dog headed out West. “Moving to Oregon was a great adventure for us, because Little Dog and I had never even seen Oregon before. We kind of felt like the early pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail for the promise of a better life. Of course, the pioneers encountered many hardships along the way,including starvation, disease, and death. The only hardship we encountered along the way was once when we got french fries at Burger King, and they were kind of soggy.” — Dav PilkeyLike true pioneers, Dav and Little Dog overcame this hardship, and settled in Oregon in 1993.
Part 7. Now…
Today Dav lives on an island in Washington. His small condo has lots of windows that look out onto the beautiful waters of Puget Sound. Little Dog is still his best friend. They enjoy taking long walks on the beach, and sometimes they even go kayaking together.Currently, Dav is working hard on a set of epic novels based on the Captain Underpants comic books he wrote in elementary school while sitting out in the hallway.
“When I was a kid making silly books out in the hall, I never dreamed that one day I’d be making silly books for a living. The coolest thing is that I used to get in trouble for being the class clown … and now it’s my job!” — Dav Pikley
What a great adventure. Steven E.—–
Maybe it should be some sort of principle that the more people a book offends, the more necessary it should be for kids to read and discuss with their parents, teachers and classmates.
The story of Dav Pikley and what Jed said makes me realize that our education system is designed to create cookie cutter people…not free thinkers.It is up to teachers and parents to give kids decision making skills so they can go into the world and make their up their own minds about what is in books and on tv.
Ah yes, the Dav Pilkey story and what we’re supposed to take from it. I guess some would take from it that teachers should tolerate class clowns, daydreamers, and just general disruption of the school environment because once in a while one of these kids succeeds wildly. Another good example of this from real life is Jay Leno.
However, school is not and cannot be about individual outcomes, School is about PROBABLE outcomes. On average, people are more satisfied with their lives, their salaries are higher, they are more employable, etc. when they are well educated. This is not to say that one can’t be these things without an education, but probability is against you.
It’s the same idea that corrupts high school and NCAA sports. Kids spend all their time practicing and playing in the hopes of becoming a professional athlete. Some certainly will, but the odds are stacked against you. On average, all these athletes would be better off putting a lot more effort into school than into athletics.
Pick any other activity…being the class clown may land you in the movies or on TV, but it’s more likely that clowning will get you nowhere compared to studying.
I’m certainly not advocating that schools not consider the peculiar talents individual students may have, but those talents need to be managed and directed so the the PROBABLE outcome of the kid’s educational experience is a decent life and lifestyle.
I agree completely with Brian about pursuing probable outcomes. If left to his own devices, my son would only play computer games — I don’t think that will result in him making a reasonable living. He is good at playing guitar, but I don’t think he will eclipse the earnings of even George Harrison.
I think the interesting thing about the Dav Pilkey story is that some people (no douubt, very few) succeed in doing things their way, despite the help offered by the schools.
I disagree with both Brian and Steven E. I think individualism should be promoted. There is an awful lot of competition to be just like everyone else.Most have a better chance of doing what make them happy…because that is what they are best at.What is successful? Do you have to make $150k a year to be considered successful? I don’t think so.
Jana,”Cookie-cutter people” can be mass-produced. Free-thinkers are each one-off!
I think Jed meant to say – “one-of” – Will respond more later. Kinda sound like one of those teachers or evil lunch ladies. Thanks.
Or, maybe a brilliant observation that free thinkers are “One-off”. I wish my unconscious worked that well!
There are two kinds of people in this world…people who are crazyand people that pretend they aren’t crazy