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It's Hard to Keep a Good Book Banned... Freedom to Read 2023

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. February 19-25, 2023. The following list of books were banned or challenged at schools and libraries across North America, according to the American Library Association, Wikipedia and freedomtoread.ca

Stratford Public Library

81 items

  • 2016—In July, a patron of a public library in Ontario challenged this children’s story book. Objections—The patron described the illustrations in The Travels of Babar as racist and insensitive. The patron demanded the book’s removal from the…
    Book, 1962New York : Random House, c1962. — JP Brunh
  • 2016—In September, a parent of a student in a grade school (K–12) in Alberta challenged this best-selling Canadian novel for adults. The student, however, was not reading the book. Two copies of Three Day Road were affected. Objection—The school…
    Book, 2005Toronto : Viking Canada, 2005. — FIC Boyde
  • 2017—On October 16, a patron in a public library in British Columbia challenged this adult novel. Objections—The patron objected to portrayals of violence and sexually explicit depictions. The patron said that “obscene content [is] not appropriate…
    Book, 2014New York ; Toronto : Gallery Books, 2014. — YA FIC Cutte
  • 2017—In May, a patron of a public library in Ontario challenged this children’s picture book. Objections—The patron thought that the pictures were inappropriate and that the characters were being forced to do something that they did not want to do.…
    Book, 1981Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., c1981. — J FIC VanA
  • 2017—On January 10, a public school teacher commented on this novel for young-adult readers in a school library in Ontario. The teacher objected to the novel’s inclusion on the Ontario Library Association’s list of Red Maple Award winners—that is,…
    Book, 2015New York, NY : Kathy Dawson Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, [2015] — YA FIC Troml
  • 2017—In March, a patron of a public library in Ontario challenged this children’s illustrated story book. Objection—The patron found a joke insensitive and thought it misrepresented the artist’s profession: “What’s the one thing an artist can't…
    Book, 2008Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers, c2008. — JP Touga
  • Bullied Kids Speak Out

    We Survived-- How You Can Too

    Blanco, Jodee, 1964-
    2017—On August 30, a patron of a public library in Edmonton challenged this nonfiction book. Objection—The patron challenged the book’s location in the library. Intended for teen readers, Bullied Kids Speak Out was in this library’s children’s…
    Book, 2015Avon Massachusetts : Adams Media, [2015] — 302.343 Bla
  • 2017—On February 28, a patron of a public library in Edmonton challenged this work of adult fiction. Objection—The patron described the novel as sexually explicit. The patron wanted the library to put a warning label on the book and to lend it only…
    Book, 2014New York ; Toronto : Doubleday, c2014. — FIC Mosle
  • Rise to Greatness

    the History of Canada From the Vikings to the Present

    Black, Conrad
    2017—On August 19, a patron of a public library in Ontario challenged this work of adult non-fiction. Objection—The patron described the book as racist and demanded its removal from all public libraries in Canada. Update—The library resolved the…
    Book, 2014Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, [2014] — 971 Bla
  • 2011 — In Saskatchewan, Chief Dwayne Antoine and members of the band council of the Poundmaker Cree Nation tried to ban a live performance of an adaptation of Antigone on their reserve. Objection — Antigone — which was originally written by…
    Book, 1994New York ; Toronto : A.A. Knopf, c1994. — 882.01 Sopho
  • 2003—A Canadian bookseller wrote to the British publisher of this novel about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy living in an Israeli-occupied area and asked that the firm consider not releasing the book. Objection—The bookseller said the novel,…
    eBook, 2006Chicago, IL : Haymarket Books, 2006. — Online eBook
  • In 1994, in Alberta’s legislature, Victor Doerksen called for the removal of profane, irreligious books from Alberta’s schools. He cited Steinbeck’s novel, which describes the hardships of migrant workers in California during the Great Depression,…
    Book, 2006London : Penguin Group, 2006. — PB Stein
  • In 2013, Persepolis was removed from classrooms in Chicago Public Schools. Objections: Scenes of torture and Islamic content. In 2014, the book was challenged three more times: In Oregon, Illinois and Texas. Persepolis eventually landed at #2 on the…
    Book, 2003New York : Pantheon, c2003. — GN 955.054092 Satra
  • 1997-Three men complained to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission after they saw an anti-gay advertisement published in Saskatoon’s StarPhoenix. The ads, paid for by Hugh Owens, cited four Biblical verses that condemn homosexual conduct and…
    eBook, 2015New York : McClelland & Stewart, 2015. — Online eBook
  • 2007—A patron of the Edmonton Public Library complained about this thriller. In the novel, which is set in 2002, a group of powerful Americans secretly plot to provoke a nuclear attack on the Middle East in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on…
    Book, 2006New York : Warner Books, 2006. — FIC DeMil
  • 2011— The parent of an Ontario high school student complained to the Bluewater District School Board about the use of this novel in Grade 12 English literature classes. Objection — Speaking on behalf of a small delegation of parents, the parent…
    Book, 2014Toronto : Penguin, 2014, c1986. — FIC Findl
  • In 2000, a religious parent in Corner Book, Nfld., complained about the presence of these popular fantasy novels in an elementary school. The parent objected to the depiction of wizardry and magic, and the school principal ordered the books’…
    Book, 2014London : Bloomsbury, 2014, c1997. — J FIC Rowli #001
  • In 1992, an official of the woodworkers’ trade union asked for the removal of this children’s book from elementary school libraries in Sechelt, B.C. He said the book promoted an anti-logging viewpoint. The school board rejected his request. …
    Book, 2006Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers, c2006. — JP Leger
  • Objectors have called this seminal work a “how-to-manual” for crime and decried because of “anti-white statements” present in the book. The book presents the life story of Malcolm Little, also known as Malcolm X, who was a human rights activist and…
    Book, 1999New York : Ballantine Books, 1999. — 320.5