The top 10 books of 2006 have been announced; and “And tango makes three” tops the list. If you haven’t read it, it is extremely cute. If you are having a baby soon (and I know you to the extent that I might send you a gift), you may be getting this as your gift, so watch out. So after looking at the list, reading this article and thinking about the fact that banned book week starts today, I thought it would be good to see how many of the 100 most challenged books of 1990-2000 I had read. Below you will find the list. Books in bold are ones I remember having read. Books in bold italics are ones that I remember as being life altering, one of my favorites, or having a huge impact. Overall, I would say that many of the best books I have ever read are on this list. Many other favorites can be found on other banned lists.
Finally, if you are looking for a book to read, let me suggest any of the following:
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000
- Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
- Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
- Forever by Judy Blume
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
- My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
- Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
- A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Sex by Madonna
- Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
- The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
- The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
- The Witches by Roald Dahl
- The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
- Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
- The Goats by Brock Cole
- Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
- Blubber by Judy Blume
- Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
- Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
- We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
- Final Exit by Derek Humphry
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- The Pigman by Paul Zindel
- Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
- Deenie by Judy Blume
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
- The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
- Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
- A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
- Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
- Cujo by Stephen King
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
- Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
- Ordinary People by Judith Guest
- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
- What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
- Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
- Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
- Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
- Fade by Robert Cormier
- Guess What? by Mem Fox
- The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
- The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
- Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
- Jack by A.M. Homes
- Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
- Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
- Carrie by Stephen King
- Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
- On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
- Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
- Family Secrets by Norma Klein
- Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
- The Dead Zone by Stephen King
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
- Private Parts by Howard Stern
- Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
- Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
- Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
- Sex Education by Jenny Davis
- The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
- Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
- How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
- View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
- The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
- Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Musings from inside, outside, and underneath 
While I *love* “And Tango Makes Three,” I have to say, it’s really a preschool or older book.
Noah’s attention span is just waaaaaaay to short. Plus he’s only just starting to be able to read paper books without tearing the pages. Board books are still his favorites — they’re easier, and he can chew on them once he’s done reading.
Very true. It really is a(n adorable) book for older kids. That said, I don’t really know any of those (my sister’s kids not included), so I am into library building for the future.
Library building for the future — that’s a great way to think about it!
Holy. Cow. That is a long list. You lost me at #11. *L*
I actually love to read but I it’s very late and all those books kind of blow me away.
I have three daddies, that would make a great book to read, huh?
I don’t actually love all the books on the list. Although many of them are really good. But, for instance, I don’t like Stephen King. That said, other people should have the right to read him. Liza has a great post up here about just that right: http://lizawashere.com/2007/10/02/banned-books-week/
To Kill a Mockingbird is a life altering book and movie. A richly detailed book on southern living, the pace of life, racial attitudes and the antics of two children who remind me of my elder sister and I so much. Atticus set an ideal or me of a man holding true to beliefs despite what the populus may feel otherwise. Mary Anne loved ‘A wrinkle in Time’. A book that makes you think out of the box and beyond our 3 dimensional world.
Clare — Did you notice how many of these books were on the “Battle of the Books” lists over the 3 years that you participated in that event? It is a good sign that you were encouraged by those lists to read those books – many of which became favorites at the time. I bought our first Harry Potter book when I read that people were trying to have it banned from the schools.
I agree To Kill a Mockingbird is very powerful. I am pretty sure we read it in AP Lit and watched the movie. I had already read the book (a consistent problem with my awful AP lit teacher as she hated it when we “got ahead”), but I hadn’t seen the movie.
Mom, I did notice how many were on the Battle of the Books list. I also noticed, when I was going through boxes and getting rid of stuff 3 years ago how many of the battle of the books books I couldn’t bear to part with. They are taking up a hefty chunk of space in my storage unit!
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[…] of year again: Banned Book Week. Last year, I managed to blog twice when I wrote Bookworm and Fourty-Three Percent, about And Tango Makes Three and how many of the 100 most contested books of the decade that I have […]