BANNED BOOK WEEK | STORYBOOK COVE

09/18/2022 - 9:30am to 09/24/2022 - 7:30pm

Banned Book Week Books Unite Us. Banned Books Divide Us.

September 18 − September 24, 2022

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community; librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types, in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

CHECK OUT OUR DISPLAY OF "BANNED" BOOKS in the Store and on our Instagram account and below!

How Many Banned Books have you read?

Melissa (previously published as GEORGE) (Paperback)

By Alex Gino

$7.99

ISBN: 9781338843415

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Scholastic Press - April 19th, 2022

All American Boys (Paperback)

By Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely

$12.99

ISBN: 9781481463348

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books - August 29th, 2017

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning (Hardcover)

By Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi

$18.99

ISBN: 9780316453691

Availability: Not in Store - Usually Ships in 2-7 Days from Warehouse

Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - March 10th, 2020

Speak (Paperback)

By Laurie Halse Anderson

$10.99

ISBN: 9780312674397

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Square Fish - May 10th, 2011

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (National Book Award Winner) (Paperback)

By Sherman Alexie

$16.99

ISBN: 9780316013697

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - April 1st, 2009

To Kill a Mockingbird (Paperback)

By Harper Lee

$16.99

ISBN: 9780060935467

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Perennial Modern Classics - July 5th, 2005

Of Mice and Men (Paperback)

By John Steinbeck

$13.00

ISBN: 9780140177398

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Penguin Books - September 1st, 1993

The Bluest Eye (Vintage International) (Paperback)

By Toni Morrison

$14.95

ISBN: 9780307278449

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Vintage - May 8th, 2007

The Hate U Give: A Printz Honor Winner (Paperback)

By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by)

$14.99

ISBN: 9780062498540

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Balzer + Bray - May 3rd, 2022

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel (Paperback)

By Garth Stein

$16.99

ISBN: 9780061537967

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Paperbacks - May 22nd, 2018

Black Boy (Paperback)

By Richard Wright, John Edgar Wideman (Foreword by), Malcolm Wright (Afterword by)

$15.99

ISBN: 9780061130243

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Perennial Modern Classics - March 27th, 2007

The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel (Paperback)

By Margaret Atwood

$17.00

ISBN: 9780385490818

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Anchor - March 16th, 1998

Drama: A Graphic Novel (Paperback)

By Raina Telgemeier, Raina Telgemeier (Illustrator)

$10.99
No longer available from Storybook Cove

ISBN: 9780545326995

Published: Graphix - September 1st, 2012

The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition (Paperback)

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

$17.00

ISBN: 9780743273565

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Scribner - September 30th, 2004

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Mass Market)

By Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey (Foreword by)

$7.99

ISBN: 9780345514400

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Ballantine Books - April 21st, 2009

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (Paperback)

By J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)

$10.99

ISBN: 9780590353427

Availability: Not in Store - Usually Ships in 2-7 Days from Warehouse

Published: Scholastic Paperbacks - October 1st, 1999

The Kite Runner (Paperback)

By Khaled Hosseini

$17.00

ISBN: 9781594631931

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Riverhead Books - March 5th, 2013

1984 (Paperback)

By George Orwell

$17.00

ISBN: 9780452262935

Availability: Not in Store - Usually Ships in 2-7 Days from Warehouse

Published: Berkley - April 1st, 1983

The Giver: A Newbery Award Winner (Giver Quartet #1) (Paperback)

By Lois Lowry

$9.99

ISBN: 9780544336261

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Clarion Books - July 1st, 2014

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Paperback)

By Stephen Chbosky

$15.99

ISBN: 9781451696196

Availability: Not in Store - Usually Ships in 2-7 Days from Warehouse

Published: MTV Books - August 14th, 2012

Lord of the Flies (Paperback)

By William Golding, Lois Lowry (Afterword by), Jennifer Buehler (Contributions by)

$11.00

ISBN: 9780399501487

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Penguin Books - December 16th, 2003

Brave New World (Paperback)

By Aldous Huxley

$15.99

ISBN: 9780060850524

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Perennial Modern Classics - October 17th, 2006

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WHY WERE THESE BOOKS BANNED?!

The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2019-2021. Of the 1600+ books that were targeted, here are the most challenged that appeared on the top 10 list of each year, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
Melissa (previously published as GEORGE) by Alex Gino
Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now”.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
Reasons: Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller
Reasons: challenged and vandalized for LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints, for concerns that it is “designed to pollute the morals of its readers,” and for not including a content warning
Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth
Reasons: challenged, banned, and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content; for discussing gender identity and sex education; and for concerns that the title and illustrations were “inappropriate”
Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis
Reasons: challenged and restricted for featuring a gay marriage and LGBTQIA+ content; for being “a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children” with the potential to cause confusion, curiosity, and gender dysphoria; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint
I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
Reasons: challenged and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content, for a transgender character, and for confronting a topic that is “sensitive, controversial, and politically charged”
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones”
Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
Reasons: challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against “family values/morals”
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Reasons: banned and forbidden from discussion for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals
And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson illustrated by Henry Cole
Reason: challenged and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content