Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2004
Out of 547 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom
- The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence - Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers
Reasons: offensive language, racism, violence - Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture, by Michael A. Bellesiles
Reasons: inaccurate, political viewpoint - Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit - What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group, sexually explicit - In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit - King & King, by Linda deHaan
Reason: homosexuality - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group - Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Reasons: offensive language, racism, violence
OIF receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books and compiles this information into lists in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The ALA condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information. For more information on ALA's efforts to condemn censorship, please explore Banned Books Week: Celebrating Your Freedom to Read.
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.
