Banned Books

2010-2022: American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and PEN America's Index of School Book Bans

Showing 1 - 20 of 36  There are a total of 381 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Clap when you land"
Star rating for Clap when you land
Average Rating:
2.3 stars
Description:
"Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people . . . In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance -- and Papi's secrets -- the two girls are forced...
Book cover for "The poet X"
Star rating for The poet X
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When Xiomara Batista, who pours all her frustrations and passion into poetry, is invited to join the school slam poetry club, she struggles with her mother's expectations and her need to be heard.
Book cover for "A boy called Bat"
Star rating for A boy called Bat
Series:
Boy called BAT volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When his veterinarian mom brings home a stray baby skunk that needs rehabilitation before it can be placed in a wild animal shelter, Bat, who has austim, resolves to prove that he is up to the challenge of caring for the skunk permanently.
Book cover for "The baby tree"
Star rating for The baby tree
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
After learning that his parents are expecting a baby, a young boy asks several people where babies come from and gets a different answer from each before his parents have a chance to give the right answer. Includes advice on answering questions about reproduction.
Book cover for "Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world"
Star rating for Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world
Description:
When a tornado rips through town, twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family of five is displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm—and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing. Mysteriously, Ivy's drawings begin to reappear in her locker with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity. Ivy thinks—and hopes—that this someone...
Book cover for "The great Gatsby"
Star rating for The great Gatsby
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
Jay Gatsby had once loved beautiful, spoiled Daisy Buchanan, then lost her to a rich boy. Now, mysteriously wealthy, he is ready to risk everything to woo her back. This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of twentieth-century literature, The Great Gatsby. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers. But the first edition contained...
Book cover for "Melissa"
Star rating for Melissa
Author:
Description:
"When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a...

8. Rick

Book cover for "Rick"
Star rating for Rick
Author:
Description:
"Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father's jokes about girls, and his best friend's explicit talk about sex; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves--and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity, which may just be to opt...
Book cover for "The fault in our stars"
Star rating for The fault in our stars
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.
Book cover for "Bronx masquerade"
Star rating for Bronx masquerade
Description:
While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
Book cover for "Red"
Star rating for Red
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he is red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he cannot seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.
Book cover for "House arrest"
Star rating for House arrest
Author:
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Timothy is a good kid who did a bad thing. Now he's under house arrest for a whole year. He has to check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, keep a journal, and stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be. Touching, humorous, and always original, this is a funny book for teens in verse about a good boy's...
Book cover for "Hey, kiddo"
Star rating for Hey, kiddo
Description:
The powerful, unforgettable graphic memoir from Jarrett Krosoczka, about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two unforgettably opinionated grandparents. A National Book Award Finalist! In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father...
Book cover for "A big mooncake for Little Star"
Star rating for A big mooncake for Little Star
Author:
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
Reimagines the cycles of the moon as a mother bakes a Big Moon Cookie and, despite Mama's request to wait, Little Star begins nibbling at it every night.
Book cover for "Julián is a mermaid"
Star rating for Julián is a mermaid
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he's seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for...
Book cover for "The giver"
Star rating for The giver
Author:
Series:
Giver quartet volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Living in a "perfect" world without social ills, a boy approaches the time when he will receive a life assignment from the Elders, but his selection leads him to a mysterious man known as the Giver, who reveals the dark secrets behind the utopian facade.
Book cover for "Fallen angels"
Star rating for Fallen angels
Description:
Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.

18. Monster

Book cover for "Monster"
Star rating for Monster
Average Rating:
2.6 stars
Description:
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
Book cover for "The best man"
Star rating for The best man
Description:
"Archer has four important role models in his life--his dad, his grandfather, his uncle Paul, and his favorite teacher, Mr. McLeod. When Uncle Paul and Mr. McLeod get married, Archer's sixth-grade year becomes one he'll never forget"--

20. Pax

Book cover for "Pax"
Star rating for Pax
Series:
Pax volume 1.
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
"After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back"--Provided by publisher.