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Banned Books Awareness: Catcher in the Rye

January 23, 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro 0

Within two weeks of its 1951 release, J.D. Salinger’s novel rocketed to Number 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. The book- which explores three days in the life of a troubled 16-year-old boy- has been a “favorite of censors” ever since its publication. In 1960, school administrators at […]

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Banned Books Awareness: The Dictionary

January 17, 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro 0

Both the Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Dictionaries have been banned in various schools. The Merriam-Webster 10th edition was banned in a California elementary school in January, 2010 for its definition of oral sex. The complaint of one parent was enough to incite a witch hunt by Oak Meadows Elementary […]

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Banned Books Awareness: Judy Blume

January 9, 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro 0

Did you know that virtually everything written by Judy Blume has been banned? “Forever”, “Blubber”, “Deenie” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” are among her most controversial novels. Though light in tone, many of Blume’s books deal with very real and very difficult issues for children, including friendship, […]

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Banned Books Awareness: Fahrenheit 451

January 2, 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro 0

The first book I have chosen, apropos enough, is Ray Bradbury’s classic, Fahrenheit 451. This classic tells the story of a not-so-distant future in which intellectual thought and books are illegal. So-called “firemen” are charged with the duty of setting fire to books and the places in which they reside. […]