Every year the library community celebrates Banned Book Week to bring awareness to the many books that are banned and challenged around the country. Banned Book Week is about freedom, the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.
The librarians at WTBBL have joined together to present the following recommended reading list of books that have a history of being banned and challenged around the world. These books opened up our minds and our imaginations as children, teenagers and adults.
Show that you are free to read and call the library to request one of the recommended books or download a title from BARD!
Danielle, Program Manager
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Based on the diary of a fifteen-year-old girl who turned to drugs because of her feelings of loneliness and rebellion against the world. Though she tries to stop, she dies of an overdose three weeks after her seventeenth birthday. Strong language. For junior and senior high readers. 1971. Braille Book BR010978. Cassette Book RC044179. Digital Book DB044179 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.44179.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda starts high school ostracized after she called the police during a summer drinking party. What everyone doesn't know is that she was raped and the boy still taunts her in school. Eventually, Melinda chooses to confront the pain and tell someone. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 1999. Large Print LP016828. Cassette Book RC049958. D igital Book DB049958 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.49958.
Weetzie Bat: #1 Weetzie Bat Series by Frances Lia Block
When Weetzie discovers that her best friend Dirk is gay, she declares that now they "can duck hunt together"--search for true love. Soon Dirk has his duck and Weetzie has my secret agent lover man, and they all live together in Hollywood, making underground movies, frequenting sushi joints, and taking care of their two little girls--Cherokee and the adopted witch baby. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. For high school and older readers. 1989. Cassette Book RC037026.
Amy, Assistant Program Manager
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
A comic Greek drama devastatingly attacks the absurdity and incongruity war. During the Peloponnesian War, Lysistrata persuades the wives of Athens and Sparta to refuse sexual favors to their husbands until peace is concluded. Descriptions of sex. 1964 edition. Cassette Book RC017877. Digital Book DB017877 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.17877.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
On the Spokane Indian Reservation, fourteen-year-old Junior--beset with physical problems caused by brain damage--transfers to an all-white town school. Called a traitor by his best friend and Tonto by his new classmates, Junior uses humor and wit to bridge the cultural divide. 2007. Braille Book BRW01271. Large Print LP023368. Cassette Book RC065403. Digital Book DB065403 s available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.65403.
I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier
Chilling tale of fourteen-year-old Adam Farmer's desperate search for his father and for a mysterious past that he must not remember if he is to remain alive. Some strong language. For junior and senior high readers. 1977. Braille Book BR014796. Large Print LP021968. Cassette Book RC056032. Digital Book DB056032 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.56032.
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara
A daydreamer and a time waster, young Ken spends his days on his family's Wyoming ranch with his head in the clouds. To his brusque, practical father, the boy is an enigma and a disappointment. Then one day Ken's life is changed when he finds Flicka, a magnificent filly as wild as she is fast. 1941. Braille Book BR001612. Large Print LP000594. Cassette Book RC026642. Digital Book DB026642 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.26642.
Herrick, Adult Services Librarian
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
A poetic comedy from fourteenth-century England. During the annual April pilgrimage to Thomas a Becket's shrine at Canterbury, the travelers stop at the Tabard Inn, where their host suggests a story-telling contest. The jovial tellers of the ribald tales include a friar, summoner, nun's priest, and miller. Braille Book BR012357. Cassette Book RC020461. Digital Book DB020461. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.20461.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Bombardier Yossarian desperately tries to stay alive during World War II. Military rules make it impossible for anyone to achieve the combat quota necessary to quit flying. Yossarian and his buddies concoct ways to avoid the ridiculous orders of their officers. Strong language and descriptions of sex. 1955. Braille Book BR011980. Cassette book RC048063. Digital Book DB048063 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.48063.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
This saga of two California families spans from the post-Civil War era to the end of World War I. The Trasks, a mixture of gentleness and brutality, contrast with the Hamiltons, the author's own forebears, a well-adjusted, more tranquil family. 1952. Large Print LP02169 (abridged). Braille Book BR012565. Cassette Book RC049676. Digital Book DB049676 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.49676.
Eura, Electronic Services, Instruction and Administrative Librarian
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Ultima, an old herb woman, comes to live with Antonio's family in a small New Mexico town. From her he learns about healing and protecting with herbs and magic, and about the pagan legacy that is so bound up with the Hispanic culture of the Southwest. Violence and strong language. 1992. Cassette Book CBA06448.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry, her younger brother Charles Wallace, and her neighbor Calvin are transported to the planet Camazotz as they search for Meg's lost father, a scientist studying time travel. Prequel to A Wind in the Door (RC 41596, BR 7884). Newbery Medal. For grades 5-8. 1962. Braille Book BR009403. Large Print LP005639 and LP021944. Cassette Book RC048972. Digital Book DB048972. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.48972.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Lennie, strong but feeble-minded, and George, his responsible friend, are two itinerant laborers during the depression who dream of owning their own farm. Their hopes are shattered when Lennie accidentally kills the boss's daughter-in-law. Strong language. 1937. Braille book BR08851. Large Print LP012069. Cassette Book RC048515.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Follows two black sisters--Nettie, a missionary, and Celie, raped by her father and married to a cruel man. Nettie's letters do not reach Celie, and Celie's shame is so great that she writes only to God. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Pulitzer Prize. 1982. Braille BR007222 (1982) and BR012265 (1992). Cassette Book RC040883 (El Color Purpura) and RC058842 (English). Digital Book DB058842. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.58842.
David, Volunteer Services and Outreach Coordinator
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
With horrifying implications, a group of English boys are wrecked on a desert island and have to establish their own system of government. For senior high and older readers. 1954. Braille book BR009480 (1954 edition) and BR001595 (1962 edition). Cassette Book RC048388. Digital Book DB048388. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.48388.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
As Christmas vacation begins, Holden Caulfield recounts his feelings and reactions to flunking out of Pencey, his third prep school. Instead of heading straight home, he wanders around New York City. This account of his adventures conveys his dismay at the adult world. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 1945. Braille Book BR011909. Cassette Book RC047480. Digital Book DB047480. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.47480.
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Mickey's dream tumbles him into the night kitchen, where three singing bakers mistake him for milk. Mickey sets them straight and flies to the Milky Way in an airplane made of dough to find milk for the bakers. For grades K-3. A Caldecott Honor Book. 1970. Braille book BR011036 (Print/Braille). Cassette Book RC043615.