Books People Banned Ban Parents Talking Censorship Library

Every fall, the American Library Association celebrates Banned Books Week. It reminds Americans of the importance of free speech. Banned Books Week is about Americans being able to choose what they want to write and read, regardless of whether other people like those ideas. During Banned Books Week, many people read books that have been banned in the past, or books that some people want to ban even now.

Between 2000 and 2005, people tried to ban books from schools and libraries in the United States more than 3,000 times. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling was the most "challenged" book, or the book that people most often wanted to ban during that period of time. The Harry Potter "series" (a group of books with the same characters) was written for children, but it "deals with" (is written about) "magic" (powers that do not exist in real life) and some people think that the books have hidden messages that are inappropriate for children.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier was the second-most challenged book. It is about power and control in a boys' Catholic school. The book is most often challenged because it has sexually "explicit" (with a lot of details) text, violence, and offensive language.

Often books are banned in a school or library when children bring them home and tell their parents about what they are reading. When parents don't like what they hear, some of them go to the "school board" (the leadership group that is responsible for the school) and ask to have the book banned. Most education professionals don't like the idea of banning books, but when enough parents "demand" (say that something must happen) it, they often agree to the idea.