Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008

April 22, 5:06 PMSan Diego Parenting ExaminerSondra Santos LaBrie

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This book list, put together by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, is published on the American Library Association website each year. Children's book, And Tango Makes Three, shows up at the top of the list for the third year in a row. What could be more pro-family than two loving adults adopting a young child?

I own a copy of this book. It's on my son's bookshelf and I purchased it for him when it was first released, before all of the hype. And yes, I knew exactly what the story was about before buying it.

As a parent, I believe it is our responsibility to educate our children about diversity and differences in our world from an early age so that when they become adults, they are more open, more accepting and more aware.

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
   Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, violence
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
   Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited to age group
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
    Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I practically grew up in a library, a book slut from a very young age. I even checked out Scary Stories on more than one occasion and can't wait to introduce these same tales to my son when he's old enough to hear them. 

The Kite Runner is on this list so if you haven't read it yet, be warned - there's words and ideas in between the covers that have offended some. Imagine if we banned every book (or idea) that at least one individual found offensive!

My suggestion to you, if you have a book in your hands that you don't like or that offends you, for whatever reason, PUT THE BOOK DOWN. WALK AWAY. But please, please, please recognize that each and every one of us should be allowed the freedom to decide which books to put on our bookshelves and in our hands.