Banned Books Week

In case you were unaware, today begins Banned Books Week. (Which should probably be named Anti-Banned Books Week, but leave that aside for now.) Details are on the ALA's website, including all sorts of events.

If you can't make it to an event, but still want to celebrate, one of the best ways is to read a Banned Book -- since that's precisely what the people banning books want to stop. And so, below, I've popped in a list (from that very website) of the most challenged titles from last year. It's a good place to start.

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
3. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes
4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
9. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky