Explicit Instant Message Novel Tops List Of Challenged Books
Earlier this week the American Library Association released its list of the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009. Topping the list was Lauren Myracle's young adult series ttyl, a trilogy of books that are written entirely in IMs. ttyl and its sequels, ttfn and l8r g8r, have been deemed sexually explicit and unsuitable for the intended age group. Complaints were also filed about books' nudity, offensive language and drug use. Last year the series was #3 on the ALA list.
The number one book on last year's list, gay penguin story And Tango Makes Three, fell to number two this year.
The only other book to appear on both this year's and last year's lists is Stephen Chbosky's ever-popular The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a novel dealing with homosexuality, sex, drugs, and suicide. This year it moved up from #6 to #3 on the list.
The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom reports that there were some 460 challenges nationwide last year, a decrease of about ten percent from the previous year. In order to be challenged, someone needs to request in writing its removal from a school or public library, and the librarian needs to file an official request for removal, which gets forwarded to the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. It's estimated that only about 20-25 percent of challenges are actually counted each year; librarians may ignore complaints, or verbal challenges may go uncounted; unfortunately, however, it's also possible that librarians might simply remove a title from circulation so as to avoid controversy and unnecessary paperwork.
“Even though not every book will be right for every reader, the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely are core American values,” said Barbara Jones, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Protecting one of our most fundamental rights – the freedom to read – means respecting each other’s differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves what they and their families read.”
New entries to the list include Stephenie Meyer's wildly popular Twlight series (#5), which some consider too sexually explicit, and Jodi Picoult's popular My Sister's Keeper, which includes homosexuality, sex, swearing, drugs and violence. This year also marked the return of two books that are nearly half a century old: Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird (#4) has been accused of racism and foul language, and JD Salinger's Catcher In The Rye (#6) is considered too sexually explicit for some parents. Alice Walker's The Color Purple (#9) and Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War (#10) both returned to the list after a year away.
The OIF also updated its list of the 100 most banned books of the century (so far), which is still topped by the Harry Potter series.
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Tango rules
I hadn't heard of the ttyl series before now, but having recently picked up And Tango Makes Three from the library for my son, I find it just mind-boggling that so many people want it banned. I can only assume that the vast majority of them have never read it...
I know, some people are hateful enough to have fits over any mention whatsoever of alternative family structures, and I suppose there's not much that can be done about that. But if anyone is actually under the impression that the book's got anything to do with sex, queer or otherwise, they're way off base. It's a very sweet, innocent little book about fluffy baby penguins, for heaven's sake. If it's got a flaw at all, it' that it's almost saccharine sweet.
And my son, who's a few months away from turning three, absolutely loves it. It's the first book he always wants now, every time I read to him, and he has started referring to all baby penguins collectively as "Baby TANGOS!" Definitely need to buy a copy of our own.
Sadly, the reason why I checked out this particular book from the library was that it was that it was about the only queer-positive kids' book I could find, even on interlibrary loan, where not all the copies were listed as "missing". :-(