Wednesday Whittleings - Banned Children's Books 2018

Welcome to the very first installment of my brand new Wednesday Whittleings! Every Wednesday, I'm going to randomly babble about something children book, writer, author, reading or 'whatever else strikes my mind' related.

This week is the official Banned Books Week! Which means that especially book orientated people are taking this week to reflect, discuss, mention and showcase banned books.

So, are books still banned in the US today? And what about children's books? Surely, nobody would do that anymore. We love freedom, right?

Interestingly enough, books are still being challenged even in the USA. After a little research...which may or may not always be correct (yep, I make mistakes too. Tons of them)...here are several books for audience under 18 which were challenged by school districts recently in the United States. (Photos taken from Goodreads).

Whether or not I personally find the content of these books okay and would happily hand them to my own children isn't the point of this list. I just found it interesting that school districts and parents still try to ban books.

Side note:
Interestingly enough (or probably as most of us already know), banning hasn't stopped these books from being circulated. All of them have enjoyed sales I as an author personally dream of.

Which children books (audiences 18 and under) do you know about which have been banned in recent years?



I'm betting some of you already knew this first one....

Because of the way the theme suicide was handled, this one was banned in several school districts last year. (Young Adult)

School districts claimed this one had to be banned because of the profanity and sexually explicit scenes every year since its release in 2007 (Young Adult)

Who didn't have to read this one in school back in the day? I believe this is one which has been challenged many times since its release in 1960. Last year, due to the 'N' word and violence. (I'm putting this one as Middle Grade since it was given to us in the 6-7 grade)

I've seen this one...and it's sequel... everywhere lately! Who knew that it was challenged last year due to hitting upon themes like drug use, profanity, and was considered simply vulgar. (Young Adult)

This one is for Middle Graders and that topic we all hated...aehm...respected during those classroom discussions. Anyway, this one was said to invite kids to be too open about the topic. (I haven't read it, so I can't say anything more to that). But it reminds me of a similar upset surrounding Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume which came out when I was maybe in the 5th grade. I never read that one either, but I remember the whispers going around...and giggles. (Middle Grade)

This picture book, published in 2006, was banned repeatedly thanks to depictions of families with two moms or two dads. (Picture Book)

Has been constantly under ban attempts in school districts since its release in 2013 and is still being banned by districts this year (2018) thanks to it's profanity and 'pronography'. (Young Adult)