Banned Books Week: Sept 26-Oct. 3

It's Banned Books Week, and the American Library Association has set up an interactive google map that let's you track more than 120 book challenges that have occurred across the country in the past two years.  This is just a small sample though; experts estimate that only 15-30% of the total number of book challenges receive media attention or are reported to monitoring agencies.

The ALA's 2008-09 report is here.  Many of the usuals make the list: Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, Huckleberry Finn.  Other notable entries include:

• Blackhawk Down: removed from a high school in Louisiana because if violated a school policy against cursing.
• Howard Zinn's, A People's History of the United States: challenged in a VA advanced placement course because it is "un-American, leftist, propaganda."
• The Bookseller of Kabul: removed from a high school in Michigan because of mature content.
• Uncle Bobby's Wedding: challenged at a public library because the story of two gay guinea pigs "may be inappropriate for young children."
• The Supernaturalist: temporarily removed from a middle school library because it deals with "the occult."

-Kathleen A. Bergin