What's Wrong With a Book About Penguins?

Have you ever heard of Banned Books Week? 

It's a week long "celebration" to increase awareness about banned books and censorship and to encourage the freedom to read. This year it will be taking place September 25th-October 1st. Banned Books Week began in 1982 because of the sudden increase in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. According to the American Library Association (as recorded on the Banned Books Week website), more than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982.

Photo from the American Library Association

Why do books get banned?

There are a myriad of reasons. According to Butler University's Libraries and Center for Academic Technology, these are the most common reasons:

• Racial Issues
• Encouragement of "Damaging" Lifestyles
• Blasphemous Dialog
• Sexual Situations or Dialog
• Violence or Negativity
• Presence of Witchcraft
• Religious Affiliations (unpopular religions)
• Political Bias
• Age Inappropriate

So then it may not surprise you that according to the American Library Association, these are the 10 most frequently challenged books from 2015:

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green- offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James- Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other ("poorly written," "concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it")
3. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings- Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group
4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin- Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other ("wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints")
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon- Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other ("profanity and atheism")
6. The Holy Bible-Religious viewpoint
7. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel- Violence and other ("graphic images")
8. Habibi by Craig Thompson- Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
9. Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter- Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence
10. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan- Homosexuality and other ("condones public displays of affection")

Some of these sound pretty bogus to me. I've actually only read two though, Looking for Alaska and parts of the Holy Bible. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time was on my list to read this summer but I ended up not having time to get to it, so it's coming up next!

You might also be surprised to find some of the most influential works in literature have been challenged in the US. You can find a list of them You can find the full list of books that have been challenged from the Library of Congress's exhibit "Books that Shaped America" here. Some to note are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Catch-22, Fahrenheit 451, The Great Gatsby, In Cold Blood, The Scarlet Letter, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

How can you participate in Banned Books Week?

The Banned Books Week website has a list of activities going on throughout the week on their website! You can find it here. Unfortunately, Iowa isn't on the list, but never fear! There are certainly things going on in your area even if they aren't on the official website! Check your local library or bookstore. University libraries are holding events as well. If you can't find anything there, just find a banned book and celebrate your right to read!

So what's wrong with a book about penguins?

Ok I tempted you with it in the title, so here's your answer. In my opinion, nothing. Check out And Tango Makes Three at your library or buy it this week. It's a lovely book that retells a true story of two male penguins at the New York Central Park Zoo raising a baby chick.