Censorship

ALA has released its list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2005. They are:

• It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris
• Forever by Judy Blume
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
• Detour for Emmy by Marilyn Reynolds
• What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
• Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
• Crazy Lady! by Jane Leslie Conly
• It’s So Amazing! by Robie H. Harris

I've read Forever, The Chocolate War, and Captain Underpants. I've read other books by Chris Crutcher and Sonya Sones. I can truthfully say that there is really nothing here to cause anybody to go off the deep end, although (gasp) some of the issues might cause people to think or something terrible like that.

The subtitle for the first Harris book is "Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health." The subtitle for the last Harris book is "A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families." Guess what: he talks about homosexuality, abortion, religion, and sexual health. So, yes, by all means, keep it out of the hands of the most sexually active and ignorant age group in the country: teens.

The Reynolds and Conly books I'm not familiar with, but judging by the Amazon reviews, I'd say the "problems" are rampant sex in the former, and (total guess here) swearing or the mere presence of alcoholism as subject matter in the second. I'm sure they are the moral equivalent to Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book."

As for Holden Caulfield, he has ruined multiple generations of American teens. Why let him stop now?

sigh...