Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books-2010

An entry from the Office for Intellectual Freedom's Blog:

The Office for Intellectual Freedom has released its Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books list of 2010, as part of ALA’s State of America’s Library report during National Library Week.

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

And Tango Makes Three is an award-winning children’s book about the true story of two male Emperor Penguins hatching and parenting a baby chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo. The book has appeared on the ALA’s Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for the past five years and returns to the number one slot after a brief stay at the number two position in 2009 behind Lauren Myracle’s Internet girl series ttyl, ttfn, and l8r g8r. There have been dozens of attempts to remove And Tango Makes Three from school and public library shelves. Those seeking to remove the book have described it as ”unsuited for age group,” and cited “religious viewpoint” and “homosexuality” as reasons for challenging the book.
OIF recorded a total of 348 challenges in 2010. For every challenge reported to OIF, however, we estimate that there are 4 or 5 challenges that go unreported. We continue to monitor challenge situations across the country, providing information and assistance to librarians and teachers facing attempts to remove or restrict materials in schools and libraries. The good news is that, thanks to the dedication of countless individuals, materials do remain accessible to users in a majority of cases. OIF thanks you for your work and commitment to defending the freedom to read! Check out our challenges to library materials page for more information on how to report a challenge and get support from the Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Banned Books Week will be held September 24 through October 1, 2011.