Each year, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the top ten books most frequently challenged as too offensive to appear in a public library. Below is the list for 2007.
For the curious, the ALA received a total of 420 challenges in '07; 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. The ALA doesn't claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges -- research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.
Personally, the inclusion of "...Huck Finn", "Caged Bird..." and "The Color Purple" gives me an uneasy sense that there's an undercurrent of racism in this list. That two Toni Morrison books are frequently included only reinforces that.
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/And_Tango_Makes_Three');"
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onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">And Tango Makes Three
by Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson
Included for the following reasons: "Anti-ethnic, sexism, homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group."
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32 page hardcover
|$11.55
|84 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Chocolate_War');"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Chocolate_War');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0375829873'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier
Included for the following reasons: "Sexually explicit, offensive language, and violence."
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272 page paperback
|$8.95
|375 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/Olives_Ocean');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0060535458'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/Olives_Ocean');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0060535458'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Olive's Ocean
by Kevin Henkes
Included for the following reasons: "Sexually explicit and offensive language."
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240 page paperback
|$6.99
|99 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Golden_Compass');"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Golden_Compass');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/037582345X'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
Included for the following reason: "Religious viewpoint."
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399 page paperback
|$9.56
|1,454 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0553210793'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0553210793'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Included for the following reason: "Racism."
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320 page paperback
|$5.95
|357 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Color_Purple');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0156028352'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Color_Purple');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0156028352'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
Included for the following reasons: "Homosexuality, sexually explicit, and offensive language."
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Color_Purple');"
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300 page paperback
|$11.20
|443 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/ttyl');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0810987880'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/ttyl');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0810987880'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">ttyl
by Lauren Myracle
Included for the following reasons: "Sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group."
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234 page paperback
|$6.95
|121 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/055338001X'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/055338001X'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
Included for the following reason: "Sexually explicit."
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304 page paperback
|$10.20
|304 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/Its_Perfectly_Normal_Changing_Bodies_Growing_Up_Sex_and_Sexual_Health');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763626104'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/Its_Perfectly_Normal_Changing_Bodies_Growing_Up_Sex_and_Sexual_Health');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763626104'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health
by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley
Included for the following reason: "Sexually explicit."
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/Its_Perfectly_Normal_Changing_Bodies_Growing_Up_Sex_and_Sexual_Health');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763626104'; return true;"
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96 page hardcover
|$15.63
|52 reviews
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0671027344'; return true;"
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0671027344'; return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Included for the following reasons: "Homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group."
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onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_10_Most_Banned_Books_of_2007/The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower');"
onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0671027344'; return true;"
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224 page paperback
|$11.20
|1,268 reviews
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