Banned Books Week 2010

We're a little late to the party, but Banned Books Week kicked off on September 25th and runs through October 2nd. The event is sponsored by The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, the McCormick Foundation and the Newberry Library.

The Banned Books website has a long list of fun activities you can do to help support this important cause, including reading and sharing some of your fave banned books. I, for one, can't imagine my teen years without access to Judy Blume's FOREVER, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, GO ASK ALICE or any of the many other books that pushed me to become an altogether more well-rounded, thoughtful person. Below are the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009.

1. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
2. AND TANGO MAKES THREE, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, by Stephen Chbosky
4. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee
5. TWILIGHT (series) by Stephenie Meyer
6. CATCHER IN THE RYE, by J.D. Salinger
7. MY SISTER'S KEEPER, by Jodi Picoult
8. THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG, ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler

9. THE COLOR PURPLE, by Alice Walker
10. THE CHOCOLATE WAR, by Robert Cormier