ALA publishes list of Top 11 Most Challenged Books in 2018

Alex Gino’s George (Scholastic) was the most challenged or banned title in US libraries, schools and universities in 2018 for its inclusion of a transgender character, according to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Top 11 Most Challenged Books.

The other books on the list are:

• A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (Jill Twiss, illus by E G Keller, Chronicle) for LGBTQIA+ content, political and religious viewpoints
• ‘Captain Underpants’ series (Dav Pilkey, Scholastic) for including a same-sex couple, perceived as encouraging disruptive behaviour
• The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas, Walker) for profanity, drug use, sexual references, deemed ‘anti-cop’
• Drama (Raina Telgemeier, Scholastic) for LGBTQIA+ characters and themes
• Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher, Puffin) for addressing teen suicide
• This One Summer (Mariko Tamaki, illus by Jillian Tamaki, First Second Books) for profanity, sexual references, certain illustrations
• ‘Skippyjon Jones’ series (Judy Schachner, Putnam) for depicting cultural stereotypes
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie, Andersen Press) for profanity, sexual references, religious viewpoint
• This Day in June (Gayle E Pitman, illus by Kristyna Litten, American Psychological Association) for LGBTQIA+ content.

According to the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, between 82-97% of book challenges remain unreported and receive no media, and therefore aren’t included in its annual survey.

To see more information about why each book was challenged, click here.

Category: Library news International