A List of My Favorite Banned Books

Now that we know why Banned Books Week is so important, I thought I’d share with you a small fraction of the books I love which have, for one reason or another, become the target of censorship.

All of these books have ended up on a list of banned or challenged books at some point, many of them recently. Wherever possible, I’ve tried to include the reasons given for the censorship attempt (though this is sometimes hard to find, as lots of book challenges go unreported).

You, of course, can decide for yourself whether or not the book is worth reading. That is the whole point: No one else should get to decide for you.

So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are some of my favorites:

1. Holes by Louis Sachar

   One of my favorite books of all time, and one of the few novels I read as a kid that I think still holds up a thousand percent. Banned for depictions of incarceration and violence.

   
   

2. 1984 by George Orwell

   Yes, really. Banned for its social and political themes… including media censorship.

   
   

3. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

   Banned for… being written by Stephen King? This book is a nonfiction account of King’s writing career, not a horror novel, but is still apparently inappropriate for students in Florida.

   
   

4. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

   A picture book about a boy and a tree. Banned for sexist content.

   
   

5. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

   Another classic, so of course someone objects. Banned for sexual content and profanity.

   
   

6. The Giver by Lois Lowry

   Banned for its social critique and for sexuality (which confuses me as there is no sex in this book whatsoever… in fact, the characters in this dystopian society take a pill that suppresses their sexuality. So… I dunno, man.)

   
   

7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

   Banned for profanity and atheism.

   
   

8. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

   A cute picture book based on a true story about penguins in the Central Park Zoo. Repeatedly banned for homosexual content (because the two penguins are both male and raise a baby penguin together. The horror!!!!!)

   
   

9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

   Banned for being too “morbidly depressing” for young people. Which, I mean, okay… It is depressing. But you can pry this tragic masterpiece from my cold dead hands!

If you’re surprised by any of these, you’re not alone… and neither are these books. The list is long, and it’s growing.

There are just too many good ones to list here, but I've included the covers of 50 of my personal favorite banned books in a gallery below for you to browse. I'd recommend each and every one of them.

To learn more about which books are banned and why (or to purchase a copy of your own), you can visit the Banned Books Shop website. They even have an interactive map where you can search a list of banned and challenged books in your area (if you live in the US).

The American Library Association and PEN America both have their own lists of banned books, too.

Are any of your favorites on the list?