MaxGuides: Banned Books Week: Banned Books at Maxwell Library

Maxwell Library's Banned Books

According to the PEN America there were over 10,000 book challenges during the 2023-2024 school year. Many of the recent challenges come from groups and organizations rather than individuals and target books about race, racism, and books with LGBTQ+ themes. Schools and libraries should ensure that they have current collection development and reconsideration policies in place.

Following is a selected list of books from Maxwell Library's catalog that have been banned or challenged in the United States.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Call Number: HQ76.27.Y68 K63 2019
Publication Date: 2019
The most challenged book of 2022, Kobabe's graphic memoir about coming out as nonbinary has been called "pornographic" for its sexual content.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Call Number: Juv Fic A567177m
ISBN: 9781419705328
Publication Date: 2012
One of the top ten challenged books of 2022 this book was challenged in Greenville, Michigan; and Katy, Texas for it's "vulgar" language and "pornographic" content.
All Boys Aren't Blue by George Johnson
Call Number: Juv Non Fic 306.7660973 J6714683a
Publication Date: 2020
This book which chronicles the life of its black queer author was the second most challenged book of 2022. It has been removed from schools in at least 86 school districts across the country.
Out of Darkness by Hope Ashley Pérez
Call Number: Juv Fic P438136o
Publication Date: 2015
This historical novel centers on the true events of a 1937 gas explosion in New London, Texas that killed hundreds of students and teachers. Challenges to this book typically focus on one excerpt (taken out of context) that describes anal sex.
This is Your Time by Ruby Bridges
Call Number: Juv Non Fic 379.263097 B851849t
Publication Date: 2020
One of the 850 books investigated by Representative Matt Krause of Texas. School librarians were asked to find, catalogue, and provide information on the number of copies and how much was spent on them.
Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
Call Number: Juv Non Fic 306.768 K96257b
Publication Date: 2014
Featuring interviews with transgender teens, this work is frequently targeted as "anti-family" and sexually explicit.
The Hate U Give by by Angie Thomas
Call Number: Juvenile Fiction T454414h
Publication Date: 2017
Belief that the book promoted an anti-police message, as well as drug use, profanity, offensive language are among the reasons this popular young adult title has been targeted.
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes
Call Number: Juv Fic B261218c
Publication Date: 2017
Challenged in York, Pennsylvania (along with hundreds of other books) for fear that they may make students “feel guilty for being white” and that the books create “division and hate". Students protested the censorship.
Class Act by Jerry Craft
Call Number: Juv Fic C885244c
Publication Date: 2020
Katy (Texas) Independent School District invited, disinvited, and then reinvited author Jerry Craft to talk about his book Class Act. Parent complaints that the book taught Critical Race Theory caused the October 2021 event to cancelled. The district reviewed the book, deemed it appropriate, and then rescheduled the event.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Call Number: Juv Non Fic 305.800973 R46348s
Publication Date: 2020
The second most challenged book in 2020 for its anti-racist viewpoint and "because of the author's public statements and because of claims that the book contains 'selective storytelling incidents' and does not encompass racism against all people."
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Call Number: Juv Fic A3845a
Publication Date: 2007
Coming in at number 8 on the most frequently challenged list of 2022, this book has been targeted for its "anti-Christian" viewpoint, references to sex, masturbation, drug use, and profanity. Others have objected to its use because of sexual harassment allegations against the author.
Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah Brannen
Call Number: Picture Books B82163u
Publication Date: 2008
This children's book about a same-sex marriage has been frequently challenged since it was first published. It was recently targeted in Victoria, Texas (along with 43 others) as being inappropriate for children. Almost of the challenged works had LGBTQ themes.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
Call Number: PS3551.L845 H66 1992 - Housed in Special Collections
The Garcia Girls was removed from Johnston (North Carolina) schools in 2007 for sexual content and profane language. The removal launched a district-wide title review in search of other titles to remove.
Maurice: A Novel by E.M. Forester
Call Number: PR6011.O58 M3
ISBN: 0393310329
There is a long history of censorship for books with LGBTQ themes. This work was banned from the Mascenic Regional High School in New Hampshire in 1995 for its homosexual theme. One English teacher was fired for refusing to to remove the book. She was eventually reinstated, but only after she lost a year's pay.
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Call Number: Children's Collection - Picture Books S474i
First published in 1970 Sendak's book has a long history of censorship because pictures in this storybook show a little boy with no clothes. Maxwell Library owns two copies of this title; an unknown person has pasted shorts on the boy in one copy, the other copy retains the original artwork.
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Book Collective
Call Number: HQ1426 .B69 1976
This classic feminist work has been removed from school and public libraries across the country for "promoting homosexuality", and its "pornographic nature."
Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, Kurt
Call Number: PS3572.O5 S55 1971
Vonnegut's book was removed from the Republic, Missouri high school in 2011 because it "contained crude language and adult themes." Also removed was "Twenty Boy Summer" by Sarah Ockler. Challenged, but retained, was "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis fought the ban by giving away 150 copies of "Slaughterhouse" to students at the school. "Slaughterhouse" and "Twenty-Boy" were returned to the library in the fall, but only in a section accessible to parents.
Invisible Man by by Ralph Ellison
Call Number: PS3555.L625 I5
Removed from schools in Randolph County, North Carolina in September 2013 after a parent complaint. Stating it was "hard to read" and had "objectionable language" the board ultimately voted to ban the book.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Call Number: RC265.6.L24 S55 2010
This book tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cervical cancer cells were taken and used for research without her knowledge or consent. Challenged in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2015 by a parent who called it "pornographic".
Beloved by by Toni Morrison
Call Number: PS3563.O8749 B4
Publication Date: 1987
Toni Morrison's works are frequent targets. Beloved has been challenged for its sexual content and violence,

Find a Book

Search for your favorite banned book here!

Or request a free Brooklyn Public Library ecard to get access to their full ebook collection. Available to those between the ages of 13-21 through their Books Unbanned initiative