Freedom to Read
February 18-24 is Freedom to Read Week in Canada.
Check out some of these challenged or banned books.
The adventures of Captain Underpants
Pilkey, Dav, 1966- author
1997
When George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking that he is the superhero Captain Underpants, he leads them to the lair of the nefarious Dr. Diaper, where they must defeat his evil robot henchmen.
And Tango makes three
Richardson, Justin, 1963- author.
2015
At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches.
The catcher in the rye
Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David), 1919-2010, author
2019
Holden Caulfield is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.
The diary of a young girl : the definitive edition
Frank, Anne, 1929-1945, author.
2010
A thirteen-year-old Dutch-Jewish girl records her impressions of the two years she and seven others spent hiding from the Nazis before they were discovered and taken to concentration camps. Includes entries previously omitted.
Eleanor & Park
Rowell, Rainbow, author
2014
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-- smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
Fifty shades of grey
James, E. L., author
2012
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview the young, enigmatic entrepreneur Christian Grey she encounters a man who is brilliant, beautiful, and deeply flawed. Lured by her looks, stung by her wit, and challenged by her independent spirit, Grey is determined to make Ana his sexual possession -- and what Grey wants he gets. But can their relationship ever go deeper than that?
George
Gino, Alex, author
2017
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, 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 plan.
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret, 1939- author
2010
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships. She serves in the household of the Commander and his wife, and under the new social order she has only one purpose: once a month, she must lie on her back and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if they are fertile.
The hate u give
Thomas, Angie, author
2017
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline.
Hunger games
Collins, Suzanne, auteur
2009
Dans ce qui reste d'une Amérique dévastée par les cataclysmes, un jeu télévisé sert d'instrument de contrôle à des maîtres impitoyables: douze garçons et douze filles, choisis au hasard dans les douze districts, doivent s'affronter à mort dans une immense arène lors d'une compétition qui dure plusieurs semaines. L'histoire est racontée à travers les yeux de Katniss, redoutable braconnière de seize ans, qui choisit de prendre la place de sa petite soeur dont le nom avait été tiré au sort. Elle devra faire équipe avec le fils d'un boulanger, plus gibier que chasseur.
It's a book
Smith, Lane, author
2010
Two readers compare print to digital media, and learn books are still valuable.
It's perfectly normal : a book about changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health
Harris, Robie H.
2004
Of mice & men
Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968, author.
2016
Savvy George and gentle giant Lennie are drifters, hustling for a living in a string of dead-end jobs. George looks out for Lennie as they move from town to town, running from trouble and dreaming big. A place of their own, a piece of land, a bit of money. But trouble follows Lennie like a shadow, and George has his work cut out to keep him safe.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
2014
Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American ReadOne of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.
