Burning Books

The following is a list of the most challenged books from 1990-2000, according to the ALA (American Library Association). Most people think of these as banned books, but books are actually rarely banned. It's more likely they are challenged, which is an attempted ban. Thankfully most libraries in the U.S. object to pulling titles from their shelves. The little stars indicate which of the top 100 I've read. Take a gander at this list. It's crazy. Some of these are fantastic books.

**1.Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2.Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
**3.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
**4.The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
**5.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
**6.Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
**7.Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
**8.Forever by Judy Blume
**9.Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
**10.Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11.Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
**12.My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
**13.The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
**14.The Giver by Lois Lowry
15.It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
**16.Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
**17.A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
**18.The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19.Sex by Madonna
**20.Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
**21.The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
**22.A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
**23.Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24.Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25.In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26.The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
**27.The Witches by Roald Dahl
28.The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
**29.Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30.The Goats by Brock Cole
31.Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
**32.Blubber by Judy Blume
**33.Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34.Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
**35.We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
**36.Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37.The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
**38.Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
**39.The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40.What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide forParents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
**41.To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
**42.Beloved by Toni Morrison
**43.The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44.The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45.Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
**46.Deenie by Judy Blume
**47.Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48.Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
**49.The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50.Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
**51.A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
**52.Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53.Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54.Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55.Cujo by Stephen King
**56.James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57.The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58.Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59.Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60.American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61.What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide forParents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
**62.Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63.Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64.Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
**65.Fade by Robert Cormier
66.Guess What? by Mem Fox
67.The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
**68.The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69.Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
**70.Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71.Native Son by Richard Wright
72.Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73.Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74.Jack by A.M. Homes
75.Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76.Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
**77.Carrie by Stephen King
**78.Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
**79.On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80.Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81.Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82.Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83.The Dead Zone by Stephen King
**84.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
**85.Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86.Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87.Private Parts by Howard Stern
88.Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
**89.Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90.Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91.Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92.Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93.Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94.The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95.Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
**96.How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97.View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98.The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99.The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100.Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I'll post more on this topic later, as soon as I manage to shake the crazy, crazy thought that people want to take books off of shelves.

"Where they first burn books, they will soon burn men." ~~Heinrich Heine