Charlotte's Web by E.B. White Due to themes of death and the fact that the main characters are talking animals, a parent group in Kansas sought to ban the book from their students' school libraries.
Charlotte's Web, that children's story of friendship, respect and devotion, published in 1952 and a favorite of waves of generations of children since then, was banned in 2006 in a school district – on religious grounds. Some parents felt that only humans should have the ability to speak.
The main reasons why The Giver was banned or challenged include the violent content related to euthanasia, suicide, and infanticide, and the sexually suggestive content in the novel.
Like Alice-in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh has been challenged by religious groups because the animal characters can speak and act on the same level as their human counterpart Christopher Robin. As shown in many book challenging cases the idea of talking animals has been cited as an abomination in the site of God.
This wasn't the first time that Charlotte's Web caused controversy as it was also banned at a school in England because the head teacher thought that the book might be offensive to Muslim students.
It's a worthy read, for sure. "Charlotte's Web" is the second long novel that I've read aloud to my 6-year-old daughter ("The One and Only Ivan" being the first). Common sense media recommends this book for children 7 and older, to be sure.
One of California's largest industries at the time was logging. Parents were concerned that teachers were “brainwashing” their children and were fearful the children would start an uprising against the logging industry. Because of this, “The Lorax” was banned in a Laytonville, California public school.
Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham was banned in Maoist China in 1965. What was the reason? Apparently, it portrayed Marxism in a bad light by showing the Sam-I-Am character force his possessions (green eggs and ham) onto someone else.
“It has been banned for being too scary for the targeted age groups, mysticism, sexual inferences, profanity, racism, references to tobacco and alcohol, and claims that it promotes disobedience, drugs, and communism” (bannedbooksweeks.com).
In conclusion, the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Road Dahl, was banned because it was considered racist and because it embraces a poor philosophy of life (Robinson). First, it was banned for the descriptions of the Oompa Loompas being racist.
The Catcher in the Rye has been challenged several times for its “excessive vulgar language, sexual scenes, and things concerning moral issues” (Sova).
The Great Gatsby was challenged and banned for a few reasons: sex, violence, adultery, and language. The affair between Daisy and Gatsby along with Nick's language regarding Jordan Baker make up most of the sex and adultery reasoning behind the challenging and banning of the book.
There were concerns over the violence and increasingly dark tone of the later books but most of the censorship attempts were for religious reasons. It was also banned in some Christian schools in the UK.
What Is the Most Banned Book in America? For all time, the most frequently banned book is 1984 by George Orwell.
Bridge to Terabithia has the dubious distinction of being one of the most frequently banned and/or challenged books in the United States, supposedly because of its references to witchcraft and atheism and a lot of swearing. I have another theory: it's just so completely tragic and heartbreaking.
The Color Purple by Allice Walker has been banned in schools across the United States sine 1984, just two years after the book was published. The book was banned for its sexual content and situations of abuse and domestic violence.
Challenged (1995) at the Stafford County Schools (VA) because the tale contains crude language and encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults.
According to The Banned Books Project at Carnegie Mellon University, A Wrinkle in Time “has been criticized both for being too religious and for being not religious enough.” Its first challenge came from a Florida parents' group, who argued that the book “opposes Christian beliefs and teaches occult practices.” It went ...
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is regularly on the banned books list put out by the American Library Association. It has been banned because of vulgarity, racism, and its treatment of women. The challenges don't seem to go away as time goes on; even in the twenty-first century, the book is still being challenged.
Seuss Enterprises, the owner of the rights to Seuss's works, withdrew Scrambled Eggs Super! and five other books because they "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong".
The book was reprinted and re-released in 1866. By 1884, 100,000 copies had been printed. In 1931, the work was banned in China by the Governor of Huan Province on the grounds that “Animals should not use human language, and…it [is] disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level.”
Brave New World has been a target of book banners since it was first published in 1932 due to some of the main topics it addresses. In 1932 it was banned in Australia and Ireland for language that was believed to go against familial and religious values, and in 1967 it was banned in India for its sexual content.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: Technically not banned for LGBTQ+ themes, The Bell Jar was banned in some high schools at its publication for its rejection of traditional women's gender roles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of its bans happened in the American South for such reasons as that psychologists found it “too dark” and the editors themselves worried that the “unvarnished story of rebellion, fear, punishment, and escape were too much for little children”.
It was awarded the Caldecott Medal, an award for the best illustrations in a children's book. Although it is a great book, it made the banned book list in a few states in the 70s because police officers were depicted as pigs. Despite that unnecessary banning, this is a book loved by many children and adults.