Harry Potter Tops ALA’s
Most-Challenged Books List
The bestselling Harry Potter series of children’s books by J. K. Rowling tops the list of titles most challenged in 1999, issued January 18 by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. The series was attacked by parents and others concerned about the books’ focus on wizardry and magic.
The other titles on the list, in order of number of challenges, were:
- The “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for offensive language and unsuited to age group.
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, for offensive language and unsuited to age group.
- Blubber by Judy Blume, for offensive language and unsuited to age group.
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, for offensive language and unsuited to age group.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, for offensive language and unsuited to age group.
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, for being too explicit in the book’s portrayal of rape and sexual abuse.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, for sexual content.
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker, for sexual content and offensive language.
- Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, for sexual content and offensive language.
Posted January 31, 2000.
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