Censorship and Your Freedom to Read

Every year during the last week of September, The American Library Association sponsors Banned Books Week in order to celebrate our freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.  In honor of Banned Books Week, tune in to hear about some of the most frequently challenged books for teens in 2009, along with YA authors’ perspectives on the experience of being censored.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or book seller.

Books featured in this episode include:

• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (Knopf, 1974)
• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler (Candlewick, 2003)
• TTYL by Lauren Myracle (Amulet, 2004)
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown, 2005)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (MTV Books, 1999)
• The Year They Burned the Books by Nancy Garden (Farrar, Straus 1999)
• The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow, 2005)
• Places I Never Meant to Be edited by Judy Blume (Simon & Schuster, 1999)