Surprising Banned Books, 5-9

Our list of surprising banned books continues with the tale of a young Holocaust victim.

5. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

You're probably thinking, "I can see why this book might not be appropriate for youngsters, what with the baffling subject matter -- how do you explain anti-Semitism and the Holocaust to anyone, much less a sixth-grader?" Unfortunately, that's not why a school in Alabama banned this book. Their reasoning? They just felt it was "a real downer."

6. The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Wizards, magic spells, ghosts, and clever kids who outsmart adults -- J. K. Rowling's dizzyingly popular series about a young magician with funny glasses is a treasure trove of "questionable content" for a surprising number of parents and teachers around the world.

7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

No one can deny that Tom Sawyer is a bit of a troublemaker, and you could say the book somewhat glorifies running away from home, but was it really bad enough to ban? Libraries in New York and Colorado banned Mark Twain's adventurous tale soon after the book came out, claiming Tom Sawyer was a protagonist of "questionable character." Tom would probably approve of the controversy.

8. Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman

Sixties political activist Abbie Hoffman was cheeky as usual when naming his guide to governmental overthrow. The book was banned in Canada, and many stores in the United States refused to carry it for fear the title would prompt customers to shoplift. Had they carried the book, it would've been banned for other reasons -- Hoffman describes how to make a pipe bomb, steal credit cards, and grow marijuana.

9. Forever by Judy Blume

Lots of authors tackle touchy topics such as divorce, racism, and death. Judy Blume did, too, only the novels she wrote were for young adults. Blume has always felt the issues that kids deal with on a daily basis are the ones they want to read about. When she published Forever in 1975, parents and teachers everywhere were steaming mad about the story of a girl and her boyfriend who decide to have premarital sex. The book is still being challenged in school libraries today.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen