Tuesday 9 July 2013

You have got to be kidding!!...

Classic Children’s Books That Have Been Banned In America

*Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne*
When: 2006
Why: Talking animals are somehow considered an “insult to god,” resulting in this book’s banning throughout random parts of the United States. Several institutions in Turkey and the UK have also banned the book, claiming that the character of Piglet is offensive to Muslims. Other institutions claim that the book revolves around Nazism.

*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl*
When: 1999
Why: The book was banned from an elementary School in Texas because it included the word “ass.

*Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank*
When: 2010
Why: Forget anti-semitism; the 50th Anniversary “Definitive Edition’” was instead banned by a Virginia school because of its “sexual content and homosexual themes.” Additionally, the book was previously banned by several schools in the United States because it was “too depressing.” Most recently, in May of 2013, a Michigan mom tried to get the book banned due to its “pornographic tendencies.”

*Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White*

When: 2006
Why: Similar to Winnie-the-Pooh, this book was banned in Kansas because talking animals are considered an “insult to god.”

*Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll*

When: 1900
Why: Apparently there are references to sexual fantasies and masturbation in this book, resulting in its ban from classrooms in New Hampshire. Since this original banning, the book has been challenged by thousands of other institutions, most famously in the 1960s in fear that it would promote drug use to children.

*Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak*

When: 1963
Why: The book was primarily banned in most southern states immediately following its publication, and it has since been challenged due to the fact that it promotes “witchcraft and supernatural events.”

*Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss*

When: “Until as recently as 1991”
Why: Remember that time when Sam I Am tried to seduce his friend? Me neither. But the book was banned in California on accounts of “homosexual seduction.” It was also banned in China for “early Marxism” from 1965 until Dr. Seuss’ death in 1991.

*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl*

When: 1988
Why: A Colorado library banned the book because it embraced a “poor philosophy of life.” Additionally, since its publication in 1964, the book was under fire for comparing the Oompa Loompas to Africans. The characters’ descriptions were later changed in an edited version in 1988.

*The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum*

When: 1928
Why: All public libraries in Chicago banned the book because of its “ungodly” influence “for depicting women in strong leadership roles.” In 1957, the Detroit Public Library banned the book for having “no value for children of today.”

An article I came across.
I really should go back and read all the books and try to see the reasons that have been brought
up by the persons who deemed these books inappropriate.
Or not!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...