"I became a feminist as an alternative to becoming a masochist." - Sally Kempton

100 Most Frequently Challenged Books

This was compiled by the American Library Association, and reflects challenges between the years 1990-2000.  The top of the list reflects the most challenged, counting down.  Those that I have read are marked with a * at the end of the listing.  Those Moira has read are marked with a * at the end of the listing.

(I take it as a challenge to complete the list!)

  • Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
  • Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite *
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou *
  • The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier *
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain * *
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck *
  • Harry Potter (series) by J. K. Rowling * *
  • Forever by Judy Blume
  • Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Patterson * *
  • Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  • Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman *
  • My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger * *
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
  • Goosebumps (series) by R. L. Stein * *
  • A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker * *
  • Sex by Madonna *
  • Earth's Children (series) by Jean Auel * *
  • The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson *
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle * *
  • Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
  • Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
  • In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak *
  • The Stupids (series) by Harry Allard
  • The Witches by Roald Dahl
  • The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
  • Anastasia Krupnik (series) by Lois Lowry
  • The Goats by Brock Cole
  • Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
  • Blubber by Judy Blume
  • Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
  • Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
  • We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
  • Final Exit by Derek Humphrey *
  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood *
  • Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George * *
  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison * *
  • What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls: A Growing Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee * *
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison *
  • The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
  • The Pigman by Paul Zindel
  • Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
  • Deenie by Judy Blume
  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes *
  • Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
  • The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
  • Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
  • A Light in the Attic by Shel Siverstein *
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley *
  • Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) *
  • Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
  • Cujo by Stephen King * *
  • James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
  • The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell *
  • Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
  • Ordinary People by Judith Guest
  • American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
  • What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
  • Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume *
  • Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
  • Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
  • Fade by Robert Cormier
  • Guess What? by Mem Fox
  • The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende *
  • The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney *
  • Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut * *
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding *
  • Native Son by Richard Wright
  • Woman on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
  • Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen
  • Jack by A. M. Holmes
  • Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
  • Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
  • Carrie by Stephen King * *
  • Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
  • On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
  • Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
  • Family Secrets by Norma Klein
  • Mommy Laid an Egg by Babette Cole
  • The Dead Zone by Stephen King * *
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain * *
  • Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison * *
  • Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
  • Private Parts by Howard Stern
  • Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
  • Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene * *
  • Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
  • Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
  • Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
  • Sex Education by Jenny Davis
  • The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
  • Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
  • How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
  • View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
  • The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
  • Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier