Banned Book Week: September 29 - October 6

Across the nation, "Banned Book Week" is being promoted starting today. The Waterloo Public Library has a lot of books that have been challenged or banned in different parts of the country. Some of the titles will be very familiar to many of you. Here are just a few of titles you may, or may not know:


Hollywood vs. America by Michael Medved (302.23 MED) - Film critic Michael Medved writes a scathing report on Hollywood, portraying religion unfavorably, glamorizing violence, and celebrating immorality. It was withdrawn from the Greencastle, IN, High School because of graphic language.

Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher, Ph.D. (305.235 PIP) - Psychiatrist Mary Pipher has worked with teenagers for more than a decade before writing this book about the violence and sexism toward female teenagers. This book was challenged in Richland, WA, high school English classes because it talked about "suicide, illicit sex, violence, and hopelessness."


Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries by Laurel Holliday (+940.5318) - This is anthology of diaries written by children all across Nazi-occupied Europe. This book was only allowed in seventh grade or higher in Columbus, OH, because of reference to sex, abortion, and drug use.


Source for this information: Banned Books by Robert P. Doyle (025.213 DOY)



























c Waterloo Public Library 2007