Well, Tapped readers, it looks like I just found my summer reading list. The American Library Association published its annual list of most banned books around the world and No. 1 is And Tango Makes Three. It's a true story about two male penguins adopting an egg, hatching it, and co-parenting.
In writing about why the book was banned most frequently the ALA writes:
The book has appeared on the ALA's Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for the past five years and returns to the number one slot after a brief stay at the number two position in 2009. There have been dozens of attempts to remove And Tango Makes Threefrom school and public library shelves. Those seeking to remove the book have described it as "unsuited for age group," and cited "religious viewpoint" and "homosexuality" as reasons for challenging the book.
The top 10 list ranges from Brave New World by Aldus Huxley to Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. While I have no real objection to those demanding that brooding vampires be banned from children's bookshelves, Morgan Clendaniel, a blogger at Fast Company, points to the irony in having A Brave New World on the list. "Do the people know that they're asking to ban a book about the danger of a society that bans books?" she writes.
But perhaps the book that might either tickle or enrage TAPPED readers the most is No. 9 on the list -- Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. Reasons for its removal include: drugs, offensive language, religious and political viewpoints, and that it's "inaccurate."
