banned books week
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
I AM JAZZ by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
Challenge Reasons: Inaccurate, Homosexuality, Sex Education, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited for Age Group
The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for trans kids everywhere. Jazz’s story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James
Challenge Reasons: Nudity, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
Challenge Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Excessive Violence
LORD OF THE FLIES remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
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INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison:
Challenge reason: Strong language
Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X by Malcolm X
Challenge reason: Offensive content
In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement.
ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank:
Challenge reason: Explicit language (anatomical details)
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
BELOVED by Toni Morrison:
Challenge reason: Explicit content
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain:
Challenge reason: Explicit/offensive language
The classic boyhood adventure tale, updated with a new introduction by noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen and a foreword by Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination.
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot:
Challenge reason: Graphic content/descriptions
Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini:
Challenge reason: Explicit content
Since its publication in 2003 Kite Runner has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic of contemporary literature, touching millions of readers, and launching the career of one of America’s most treasured writers.
PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi:
Challenge reason: Objectionable content
Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom–Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon:
Challenge reason: Explicit content and language
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
For more information, visit the Banned Books Week website and the Edelweiss collection
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How Brightly, Signature and Unbound Worlds Celebrate #BannedBooksWeek
September 29, 2017
To mark, celebrate and note the importance of Banned Books Week (September 24 – 30), three of Penguin Random House’s corporate verticals – Brightly, Signature, and Unbound Worlds – feature articles that highlight the ways in which banned books can immeasurably influence, shape and impact our lives.
In the Brightly article, 12 Authors on the Banned Books They’ll Never Forget, Brightly editors asked a range of Penguin Random House writers, including Andrew Clements, Danielle Younge-Ullman, Kate Shatz and Peter Brown Hoffmeister, to share and discuss the banned or challenged book that made a lasting impact on them as young people.
Hoffmeister said, “When Toni Morrison published her first novel, THE BLUEST EYE, she knew she was writing something different, and right from the beginning of my first reading, that difference was apparent. I was a young, hopeful writer and I was reading widely — attempting to learn from the greats — when I came across Morrison’s Dick-and-Jane primer material at the start of the seasonal chapters. Slowly, the Dick-and-Jane paragraphs transformed and I thought, ‘This, this is what a book can do.’
To read the complete Brightly article and learn what books other authors picked and why, click here.
In his Signature article, 16 Quotes from Great Authors for Banned Books Week, Tom Blunt wrote, it’s important to remember what we do when we censor: we not only restrict the freedoms of the present, we commit violence against the freedoms of the past.” Blunt collected “quotes by authors reaching out from the past, in hopes of inspiring us to speak and read freely, confronting our own prejudices as well as others.”
Here are three author quotes:
Judy Blume, in a speech for Virtual Read Out, 2011:
“Censors never go after books unless kids already like them. I don’t even think they know to go after books until they know that children are interested in reading this book, therefore there must be something in it that’s wrong.”
Robert A. Heinlein, TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE: “A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr: “Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”
To see more author quotes and read the complete Signature article, click here.
In his Unbound Worlds article, The 3 Banned Books That Have Immeasurably Shaped My Life, Shawn Speakman discusses Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, The Qu’ran, and Philip Pullman’s THE GOLDEN COMPASS. Speakman writes, “The attempted suppression of thought by some religious leaders is the key to how THE GOLDEN COMPASS shaped my life. Just like with the Quran, I saw Fahrenheit 451 all over again, but it wasn’t one religion trying to outlaw another religion. It was a religion trying to censor not only creativity but carefully-wrought criticism. I saw it all come together then. In their imagined protection of others, book banners crack open a door that could easily lead to Guy Montag’s world. There are, of course, many different groups who attempt to ban books. Their reasons are as varied as they are. Religious extremism and the anti-intellectualism that often precludes it is my proverbial cross to bear in my own writing, so to speak. What is yours?”
To read Speakman’s complete Unbound Worlds article, click here.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
Hoffmeister said, “When Toni Morrison published her first novel, THE BLUEST EYE, she knew she was writing something different, and right from the beginning of my first reading, that difference was apparent. I was a young, hopeful writer and I was reading widely — attempting to learn from the greats — when I came across Morrison’s Dick-and-Jane primer material at the start of the seasonal chapters. Slowly, the Dick-and-Jane paragraphs transformed and I thought, ‘This, this is what a book can do.’
To read the complete Brightly article and learn what books other authors picked and why, click here.
In his Signature article, 16 Quotes from Great Authors for Banned Books Week, Tom Blunt wrote, it’s important to remember what we do when we censor: we not only restrict the freedoms of the present, we commit violence against the freedoms of the past.” Blunt collected “quotes by authors reaching out from the past, in hopes of inspiring us to speak and read freely, confronting our own prejudices as well as others.”
Here are three author quotes:
Judy Blume, in a speech for Virtual Read Out, 2011:
“Censors never go after books unless kids already like them. I don’t even think they know to go after books until they know that children are interested in reading this book, therefore there must be something in it that’s wrong.”
Robert A. Heinlein, TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE: “A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr: “Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”
To see more author quotes and read the complete Signature article, click here.
In his Unbound Worlds article, The 3 Banned Books That Have Immeasurably Shaped My Life, Shawn Speakman discusses Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, The Qu’ran, and Philip Pullman’s THE GOLDEN COMPASS. Speakman writes, “The attempted suppression of thought by some religious leaders is the key to how THE GOLDEN COMPASS shaped my life. Just like with the Quran, I saw Fahrenheit 451 all over again, but it wasn’t one religion trying to outlaw another religion. It was a religion trying to censor not only creativity but carefully-wrought criticism. I saw it all come together then. In their imagined protection of others, book banners crack open a door that could easily lead to Guy Montag’s world. There are, of course, many different groups who attempt to ban books. Their reasons are as varied as they are. Religious extremism and the anti-intellectualism that often precludes it is my proverbial cross to bear in my own writing, so to speak. What is yours?”
To read Speakman’s complete Unbound Worlds article, click here.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back. Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List: Part 5
September 29, 2017
Throughout Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, we have been highlighting frequently banned and challenged books published by Penguin Random House imprints to help raise awareness of the importance of defending our right to express ourselves and read without censorship or interference. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration. This is the final installment.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
I AM JAZZ by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
Challenge Reasons: Inaccurate, Homosexuality, Sex Education, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited for Age Group
The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for trans kids everywhere. Jazz’s story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James
Challenge Reasons: Nudity, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
Challenge Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Excessive Violence
LORD OF THE FLIES remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List: Part 4
September 28, 2017
Throughout Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will be highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of the importance of defending our right to express ourselves and read without censorship or interference. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank
Challenge Reasons: Rebellion Against Parental Authority, Sexuality
Anne Frank’s THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been a beloved and deeply admired monument to the indestructible nature of the human spirit, read by millions of people and translated into more than fifty-five languages. This definitive edition contains entries about Anne’s burgeoning sexuality and confrontations with her mother that were cut from previous editions.
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot
Challenge Reason: Pornography
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings.
ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor
Challenge Reason: Offensive Language
It takes the events of one turbulent year to show Cassie that having land of their own is the Logan family’s lifeblood. The Logans possess something no one can take away. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. It is also the story of an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank
Challenge Reasons: Rebellion Against Parental Authority, Sexuality
Anne Frank’s THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been a beloved and deeply admired monument to the indestructible nature of the human spirit, read by millions of people and translated into more than fifty-five languages. This definitive edition contains entries about Anne’s burgeoning sexuality and confrontations with her mother that were cut from previous editions.
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot
Challenge Reason: Pornography
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings.
ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor
Challenge Reason: Offensive Language
It takes the events of one turbulent year to show Cassie that having land of their own is the Logan family’s lifeblood. The Logans possess something no one can take away. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. It is also the story of an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back. Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List: Part 3
September 27, 2017
Throughout Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will be highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of the importance of defending our right to express ourselves and read without censorship or interference. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
ADVENTUERES OF HUCKELBERRY FINN by Mark Twain
Challenge Reasons: Racism, Insensitivity, Offensive Language
An incomparable adventure story, it is a vignette of a turbulent, yet hopeful epoch in American history, defining the experience of a nation in voices often satirical, but always authentic. The classic boyhood adventure tale is updated with a new introduction by noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen and a foreword by Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination.
NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami
Challenge Reasons: Drugs, Sexually Explicit
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green
Challenge Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuitable for Age Group
Miles “Pudge” Halter falls in love with the gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. LOOKING FOR ALASKA, #1 bestselling author John Green’s debut novel, brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
ADVENTUERES OF HUCKELBERRY FINN by Mark Twain
Challenge Reasons: Racism, Insensitivity, Offensive Language
An incomparable adventure story, it is a vignette of a turbulent, yet hopeful epoch in American history, defining the experience of a nation in voices often satirical, but always authentic. The classic boyhood adventure tale is updated with a new introduction by noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen and a foreword by Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination.
NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami
Challenge Reasons: Drugs, Sexually Explicit
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green
Challenge Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuitable for Age Group
Miles “Pudge” Halter falls in love with the gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. LOOKING FOR ALASKA, #1 bestselling author John Green’s debut novel, brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back. Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List: Part 2
September 26, 2017
Throughout Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will be highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of the importance of defending our right to express ourselves and read without censorship or interference. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
TWO BOYS KISSING by David Levithan
Challenge Reasons: Homosexuality, Condoning Public Displays of Affection
Based on true events—and narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS— TWO BOYS KISSING follows Harry and Craig, two seventeen-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teens dealing with universal questions of love, identity, and belonging.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
Challenge Reasons: Offensive language, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
THE FREEDOM WRITERS DIARY by Erin Gruwell
Challenge Reasons: Racial slurs, Sexual Content
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
TWO BOYS KISSING by David Levithan
Challenge Reasons: Homosexuality, Condoning Public Displays of Affection
Based on true events—and narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS— TWO BOYS KISSING follows Harry and Craig, two seventeen-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teens dealing with universal questions of love, identity, and belonging.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
Challenge Reasons: Offensive language, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
THE FREEDOM WRITERS DIARY by Erin Gruwell
Challenge Reasons: Racial slurs, Sexual Content
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List: Part 1
September 25, 2017
Penguin Random House is proud to be a leading sponsor of the 35th annual Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, which was founded in 1982 in response to a sudden increase in book challenges. This week, we’re highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of the importance of defending our right to express ourselves and read without censorship or interference. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.
Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)
1984 by George Orwell
Challenge Reason: Pro-Communist
More relevant than ever before, 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable—the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality. The story of one man’s nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale. A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching.
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher
Challenge Reason: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited for Age Group
After Hannah Baker commits suicide, she leaves behind 13 tapes explaining the reasons she decided to end her life. An intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon
Challenge Reason: Offensive Language
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor’s dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 - 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.
1984 by George Orwell
Challenge Reason: Pro-Communist
More relevant than ever before, 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable—the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality. The story of one man’s nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale. A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching.
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher
Challenge Reason: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited for Age Group
After Hannah Baker commits suicide, she leaves behind 13 tapes explaining the reasons she decided to end her life. An intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon
Challenge Reason: Offensive Language
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor’s dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened.
Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 - 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back. Friday Reads: Banned Books
September 21, 2017
Banned Books Week runs next week from September 24 – September 30, 2017 . A celebration of the freedom to read and to heighten awareness for book censorship, Banned Books Week was started in 1982 as a response to a sudden increase in book challenges. For this year’s celebration, the coalition of organizations that sponsors Banned Books Week will emphasize the importance of the First Amendment, which guarantees our inherent right to read. In honor of the occasion, we’re highlighting classic and modern classic novels that have been challenged, along with the reason for the challenge(s). Exercise your right to read!
INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison:
Challenge reason: Strong language
Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X by Malcolm X
Challenge reason: Offensive content
In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement.
ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank:
Challenge reason: Explicit language (anatomical details)
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
BELOVED by Toni Morrison:
Challenge reason: Explicit content
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain:
Challenge reason: Explicit/offensive language
The classic boyhood adventure tale, updated with a new introduction by noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen and a foreword by Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination.
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot:
Challenge reason: Graphic content/descriptions
Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini:
Challenge reason: Explicit content
Since its publication in 2003 Kite Runner has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic of contemporary literature, touching millions of readers, and launching the career of one of America’s most treasured writers.
PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi:
Challenge reason: Objectionable content
Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom–Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon:
Challenge reason: Explicit content and language
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
For more information, visit the Banned Books Week website and the Edelweiss collection
Banned Books Week: Penguin Random House Takes the Lead
September 26, 2016
Penguin Random House is proud to be the leading publisher supporting the American Booksellers for Free Expression and Banned Books Week (September 25 – October 1), during which thousands of libraries, schools, bookstores and community centers across the nation and the world unite to celebrate the freedom to read and exercise our right to do so without interference or censorship.
In supporting the 34th annual Banned Books Week (#BannedBooksWeek), Penguin Random House has rallied participation across all divisions and imprints, with a new dedicated landing page that includes a catalogue highlighting diverse titles. This catalogue was included in 500 Banned Books Week Kits distributed by the ABA to adult and children’s retailers around the country. A full list of frequently challenged YA and Adult books and a sweepstakes to win a personalized banned books box filled with 10 of your favorite banned or challenged books is also included on the site.
Penguin Random House Library Marketing will promote the sweepstakes through designed Banned-Books-themed quote cards shareable on social media. Additionally, their popularBanned Books Quiz from last year—taken by 14,000 people—was updated for 2016. The quiz and sweepstakes will be shared widely via theirTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms.
Random House and Random House Children’s Books will celebrate with promotions via social media and special outreach for educators and librarians. Follow its kids and teen social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), @RHCBEducators on Twitter, and the “Random School House” Facebook page for even more special content. Also, find resources on FirstAidFirstAmendment.com including Censorship Causes Blindness posters, a High School Teacher’s Guide, support for librarians and parents to discuss banned books, Tips for Discussing Banned Books with Teens and more.
Penguin Books and Penguin Young Readers’ will celebrate with exclusive Banned Books Week content, including author selfies and special videos in support of the week’s activities on PenguinTeen.com and its social channels. Educators and librarians are invited to celebrate their freedom to read by noting their favorite banned or challenged book on Penguin Classroom’s social media channels. Check outPenguin and Penguin Classics Twitter, Instagram, andTumblr throughout the week.
We encourage Penguin Random House colleagues to select a Banned Book to read this week and share thoughts about their reading experiences on social media.
All publishers, including Penguin Random House, will thematically explore why diverse books are among the most frequently banned. It is estimated that over half of all banned books are by authors of color, or contain events and issues concerning diverse communities, according to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Penguin Random House Library Marketing will promote the sweepstakes through designed Banned-Books-themed quote cards shareable on social media. Additionally, their popularBanned Books Quiz from last year—taken by 14,000 people—was updated for 2016. The quiz and sweepstakes will be shared widely via theirTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms.
Random House and Random House Children’s Books will celebrate with promotions via social media and special outreach for educators and librarians. Follow its kids and teen social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), @RHCBEducators on Twitter, and the “Random School House” Facebook page for even more special content. Also, find resources on FirstAidFirstAmendment.com including Censorship Causes Blindness posters, a High School Teacher’s Guide, support for librarians and parents to discuss banned books, Tips for Discussing Banned Books with Teens and more.
Penguin Books and Penguin Young Readers’ will celebrate with exclusive Banned Books Week content, including author selfies and special videos in support of the week’s activities on PenguinTeen.com and its social channels. Educators and librarians are invited to celebrate their freedom to read by noting their favorite banned or challenged book on Penguin Classroom’s social media channels. Check outPenguin and Penguin Classics Twitter, Instagram, andTumblr throughout the week.
We encourage Penguin Random House colleagues to select a Banned Book to read this week and share thoughts about their reading experiences on social media.
All publishers, including Penguin Random House, will thematically explore why diverse books are among the most frequently banned. It is estimated that over half of all banned books are by authors of color, or contain events and issues concerning diverse communities, according to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.