Banned Book Likely To Return To Classroom & list top 10 most banned books

A panel recommended Friday that a book recently pulled from the classroom at Franklin Central High School be reinstated immediately.

The decision of the panel, which included school officials and a parent, advised Superintendent Walter Bourke to allow 50 juniors in two advanced placement English classes to continue reading "Song of Solomon," a 1977 book by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison.

Bourke is expected to approve the return of the book to the classroom. The offended parent can file an appeal. Students were to be tested on the book in two weeks.

Students were told to return their copies of the book on Wednesday. School Board member Scott Veerkamp said Thursday that he was "appalled" by what he called the book's descriptive sex scenes, profanity, demeaning language and suicide.

"Freely it uses the "f-word," it uses racial slurs … I call it smut and garbage," he said. "Unfortunately, it is indicative of where our society has gotten to that we could read that, let alone that we put it in our school system, and allow youth to read this stuff."

Franklin Central student Lauren Haley said she read the book last year, and doesn't agree with those who think it should be banned.

"It's a great book. It's considered a literary classic. Why would we be reading it in the first place if it wasn't? In my opinion, yes, (they are overreacting)."

Parent Kimberly Reed, whose son has already read the book, said students should be exposed to Morrison's extensive body of work.

"She's a beautiful writer. I commend her. I will always support her," she said. "Anything she has, my son will always be welcome to read."

The book follows an African-American man from birth to adulthood.

Morrison won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Millie Davis of the National Council of Teachers of English called Morrison's novels "modern-day classics."


Most Banned Books
1. “TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs
2. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality
3. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide
4. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
6. “Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
7. “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence
8. “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things,” by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
9. “The Color Purple,” Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
10. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

To Kill A Mockingbird? We nearly did that in English. My teacher decided to go with Animal Farm instead.

To Kill a Mockingbird is truly a classic.

i'm shocked they didnt ban Flowers in the Attic...that book has incest all over it.

a brother and sister getting married..and having kids together

awesome book though.

There's always someone bitching, it's a damn book, let it go. It's not like it'a a nasty magazinr or anything. They go all wrong when it comes to making school a better place for everyone man.

WTF is To Kill A Mocking Bird even on that list?? We read it in school and watched the movie, and there was nothing wrong with, I was offended at all, Yeah I think what happened to the black guy was wrong, but hell that entire situation was just wrong, it doesn't matter who it happened to, it was still wrong, I paid more attention to the corruptness of the courts than to the color of the guy's skin.