Name That Book 📕
This coming-of-age novel about Holden Caulfield has been banned for profanity and “undermining family values.
What is the Catcher in the Rye?
This British author’s fantasy series about a young wizard has been banned in several countries — and even some U.S. schools — for “promoting witchcraft.”
What is Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling?
This amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects your right to read, write, speak, and protest peacefully.
What is the First Amendment?
Charlotte’s Web has been banned in some schools because talking animals were said to be “unnatural” and “blasphemous.” This type of reasoning reflects fear of what?
What is challenging traditional or religious beliefs?
This author of The Diary of a Young Girl documented life hiding from the Nazis, and her diary has been banned or challenged in some schools for its “mature content.”
Who is Anne Frank?
This dystopian classic imagines a world where books are outlawed and burned by “firemen.”
What is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This Afghan author’s novel about two boys, betrayal, and redemption was banned in Afghanistan for “offending Islam” and depicting political unrest.
What is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini?
The 1982 Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico ruled that schools cannot remove books from libraries simply because they dislike the ideas in them.
What is the right to access information and ideas?
Books like The Hate U Give and All American Boys have been challenged for “promoting anti-police views.” These challenges often arise when books address this issue.
What is systemic racism and police brutality?
This British-Pakistani author wrote Persepolis, a graphic memoir about growing up during the Iranian Revolution. It’s been banned in several countries for “political and religious content.”
Who is Marjane Satrapi?
This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Toni Morrison has been banned for its depictions of slavery and trauma, yet it’s hailed as one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century.
What is Beloved by Toni Morrison?
This classic novel by George Orwell was banned in the former Soviet Union for its political satire — and also in some U.S. schools for its “political themes.”
What is Animal Farm by George Orwell?
Amnesty International defends this universal right — listed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — which includes freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information.”
What is freedom of expression?
The Bluest Eye and Gender Queer are among the most frequently banned books in the U.S. for depicting or discussing this subject — despite doing so in a humanizing and educational way.
What is sexuality or sexual abuse?
This Nigerian author’s Things Fall Apart was banned in parts of Nigeria and Malaysia for challenging colonial narratives — yet it’s considered a cornerstone of modern African literature.
Who is Chinua Achebe?
A story about racial injustice in the Deep South, this book has been banned for its language and themes of race, yet it continues to teach empathy and courage through Atticus Finch and Scout.
What is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee?
This novel by Salman Rushdie sparked international outrage and was banned in several countries — with a fatwa even issued against its author.
What is The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie?
When a government or institution restricts or removes access to ideas, art, or writing it disapproves of, that’s called this _ the very thing Banned Books Week protests.
What is censorship?
In 1984 and Brave New World, government control and independent thought are central themes — both books have been banned for being too political and “dangerously” encouraging this.
What is critical thinking or rebellion against authority?
Author of The Satanic Verses, this writer faced a fatwa calling for his death after challenging religious and political orthodoxy.
Who is Salman Rushdie?
This graphic memoir was removed from several school libraries for its depictions of war, religion, and womanhood in post-revolutionary Iran.
What is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi?
This Nigerian author’s groundbreaking novel about colonialism, Things Fall Apart, was banned in parts of Malaysia and Nigeria for “challenging authority” and “depicting colonial rule critically.”
What is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe?
Students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,” according to this landmark 1969 Supreme Court case.
What is Tinker v. Des Moines?
Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings have been banned for including racial violence, trauma, and strong language — but their removal erases what essential element of literature?
What is truthful representation of history and lived experience?
This American author’s works, including Beloved and The Bluest Eye, have repeatedly faced censorship in the U.S., yet she continues to write about slavery, trauma, and race with profound honesty.
Who is Toni Morrison?