Banned Books Discussion

I am against book banning, against authors being told what they can and cannot write about, and against someone else making decisions for me. I firmly believe that parents have the right to say no to books for their children, but I don't believe that parents have the right to say no to other people's children.

During our discussion, we found that many banned books were coming-of-age type stories where a child, teen, or young adult had witnessed or experienced something traumatic and found a way out the other side. Generally, these books were banned for being "too" something. Too sexual. Too racial. Too stereotypical. Too violent. Too real.

My hope is that no matter what you believe or what prefer to read, that you also believe that same right belongs to everyone.

And with that, I'll step down from my soapbox and present you with a list of books that were read by members of the group. Each book was banned, either immediately upon publication, or at some point later in its lifespan.

My hope is that you will read at least one of these books to see if you can figure out why they were banned and also determine why these books might be just the right book for someone despite the elements that put it into the banned pile.

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• A Stone in My Hand by Cathryn Clinton
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• Hop of Pop by Dr. Seuss
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

​Happy reading!