And Tango Makes Three Tops
The American Library Association's
2006 List of Most Challenged Books
March 6, 2007
CHICAGO – Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s
award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," about two
male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin
couple, tops the list of most challenged books in 2006 by
parents and administrators, due to the issues of
homosexuality.
The list also features two books by author Toni Morrison.
"The Bluest Eye" and "Beloved" are on
the list due to sexual content and offensive language.
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a
total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as
a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school,
requesting that materials be removed because of content or
appropriateness. Public libraries, schools and school
libraries report the majority of challenges to OIF.
"The number of challenges reflects only incidents
reported," said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA
Office for Intellectual Freedom. "For each reported
challenge, four or five likely remain unreported."
The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect
a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
- And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and
unsuited to age group.
- "Gossip Girls" series by Cecily Von Ziegesar
for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to
age group, and offensive language.
- "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
for sexual content and offensive language.
- The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round
Things by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content,
anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age
group.
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison for sexual
content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group.
- "Scary Stories" series by Alvin Schwartz for
occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and
insensitivity.
- Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher for
homosexuality and offensive language.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen
Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive
language, and unsuited to age group.
- Beloved by Toni Morrison for offensive
language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group.
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier for
sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
Off the list this year, but on for several years past,
are the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and
The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
For more information on book challenges and censorship,
please visit the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom’s
Banned Books Web site at www.ala.org/bbooks.
The Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with
implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of
intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of
Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to
libraries and library materials. The goal of the office is
to educate librarians and the general public about the
nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.
© American Library Association,
2007. This document may be reprinted and distributed
for non-commercial and educational purposes only, and not
for resale. No
resale use may be made of material on this web site at any
time. All
other rights reserved.
"'And
Tango Makes Three' tops ALA's 2006 list of most challenged
books." 17 Sept. 2007. <http://www.ala.org/
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