Books Americans most want banned

Shelf Awareness

The American Library Association released its annual Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom reported that a current analysis of book challenges recorded by the OIF from 2001 to 2013 indicated that attempts to remove books by authors of color and books with themes about issues concerning communities of color are disproportionately challenged and banned.

In 2014, the OIF received 311 reports regarding attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves, with 89% of the 2014 Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books reflecting diverse authors and cultural content. The new list was included in the ALA's State of America's Libraries Report 2014.

The most challenged books last year were:The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The most challenged books last year were:

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
3. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
5. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
6. Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
9. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
10. Drama by Raina Telgemeier