The Buzz...About Books

Book bans and challenges have been around for a long time, and the first time I encountered it was when I was a teenager. The Harry Potter series was all the rage, and I had recommended it to my friend. My friend mentioned that they were not allowed to read the series because of the supernatural content. It opened my eyes that not everyone has the freedom to read what they want.

The topic of book bans and challenges is everywhere on social media. In early 2023, Toronto Public Library joined the Book Sanctuary Movement and created the Book Sanctuary Collection. The Book Sanctuary Collection comprises 50 books that have been banned, challenged or removed from a library in North America and makes them available to borrow digitally or at any branch.

Here are my recommendations for "a banned or challenged book."

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

This picture book is a beautiful tale of two male penguins at New York's Central Zoo. The two penguins take turns caring for an abandoned egg, and once it hatches, they help raise the chick. The book came out in 2005 and was one of the most banned books in America for five years in a row. Many see the book as promoting homosexuality and not being suitable for children.

Other categories:

• A book that makes you happy
• A book you would recommend to your younger self

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

This first book in the series is about a young boy who finds out he is a wizard and goes to a magical school named Hogwarts. While at the school, he has grand adventures with his two best friends and learns about his destiny. When the book was published in 1998, it was immediately challenged for promoting witchcraft and the occult to children. According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter series is considered one of the most challenged books in the 21st century.

Other categories:

• A book about friendship
• A book told from a child’s point of view
• A book you’ve read more than once

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

This graphic novel memoir by Maia Kobabe, who uses e, em, and eir pronouns, shows the struggles e has in meeting social and family expectations. It is about becoming comfortable in your skin and learning to love and accept themselves. The book started as a way to explain nonbinary and asexuality to eir family but has become a guide for others who feel the same. Published in 2019, it has become the most banned and challenged book in 2021 and 2022. The complaints are mainly about the book's sexually explicit images, portrayals of 2SLGBTQ+ and gender identity.

Other categories:

• A book you would recommend to your younger self
• A non-fiction graphic novel

Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The main protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. The tale centres around her daily life in the Commander's home as she serves him and prays to bear his child. The story also cuts to Offred's past life with her husband and daughter before the creation of Gilead. This book has been challenged and banned throughout the world, most recently in Virginia due to it being considered unacceptable for teens to read. Other reasons for the book being banned are profanity, sexual activity and anti-religious undertones. With all the bans on her book, Margaret Atwood released an unburnable version of The Handmaid's Tale in 2022.

Other categories:

• A book about survival
• A book with multiple timelines

Staff Recommendations

Here are recommendations from TPL staff for this category.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

This One Summer is a graphic novel featuring two teenage friends who do a lot of learning, growing and gaining life experience during the summertime at the cottage they return to each year. The story is beautifully told and illustrated to perfection. Readers will rapture in recognition of the small and large revelations of youth. 

Emily, Librarian

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

This book is a classic story of a young girl navigating puberty, sexuality and religion. It's now a major motion film starring Rachel McAdams.

Jennifer, Public Service Assistant

Dr. Bethune's Children by Xue Yiwei

Written as a series of letters to the late Dr. Bethune, the book is a beautiful and heartbreaking portrait of a generation who lived through some of the most traumatic periods in China's recent history. While I had never heard of Dr. Bethune growing up in Northern British Columbia, when I arrived in China as a student, nearly everyone I met immediately responded to discovering I was Canadian by invoking the mythologized figure of 白求恩 [Dr. Bethune]. This link between China and Canada, though perhaps not as salient for many Canadians, forms a thread that leads the reader through the complexities of finding one's way in a fast-changing and often hostile world, a journey seen through the eyes of a Chinese expat now living in Montreal, a city at the heart of Dr. Bethune's story.

Brittney, Librarian

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

A good and refreshing read. Even though it might pale by comparison to many steamy novels of today, it broke so many rules and taboos back in its day.

Anna, Librarian

Other categories:

• A book written before 1923
• category

Recommendations from the Facebook Group

These are just some of the suggested titles from our Facebook TPL Reading Challenge 2023 discussion group. You can read all of the responses in the original post. You do not need a Facebook account to read the suggestions.

• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
• The Bodies of Others by Naomi Wolf
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• The Wars by Timothy Findley
• I Know Why the Bird Cage Sings by Maya Angelou
• My Uncle Napoleon by Īraj Pizishkzād
• Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman
• Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
• The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction by Tim O'Brien
• Slaughterhouse-five, or, the Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death by Kur Vonnegut
• Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Melissa by Alex Gino
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexia
• Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Wintergirls by Laurie Anderson
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

French Recommendations

If you like to read in French, check out the list of recommended books for Un livre contesté ou banni: suggestions pour le Défi Lecture. There's a mix of books, ebooks and digital audiobooks to try.

What did you read for a banned or challenged book? Do you have other recommendations? Share in the comments below.