American Library Association's Top Ten for 2009

The American Library Association (ALA) has released the 2009 Top Ten List of Most Frequently Challenged Books, as well as the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books for 2000-2009.
Good/Transparency has created an interactive viewer of the 2009 Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged books that is very well done.

The top 10 titles most challenged titles of 2009 were:

TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series) by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

Reasons: Homosexuality

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

The new books to the list are Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer and My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

The titles dropped from the list were:

• His Dark Materials Trilogy (Series) by Philip Pullman


• Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz


• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya


• Gossip Girl (Series) by Cecily von Ziegesar


• Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen


• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini


• Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper

How has the list compiled? According to the ALA,

For nearly 20 years, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has collected reports on book challenges. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness. In 2009, OIF received 460 reports on efforts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.

Read a book from this list for the Banned Book Challenge which runs until June 1. Register today.