Freedom to Read Week Guide

Challenged in Canada. Objection: Undisclosed.
Description: From A to Zippity sound, Alligators All Around has made learning the ABCs fun for over fifty years. The combination of Maurice Sendak’s signature humor and artwork creates all-around irresistible alphabet fun.

Genre: Juvenile fiction. Fiction.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: On religious grounds, the parent objected to the theme of homosexual parenting.
Description: At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: In 1997, school trustees in Surrey, B.C., banned the use of children’s story books that depict same-sex parents in the elementary grades.
Description: Asha, an African-Canadian girl whose lesbian mums become an issue for the teacher and the curiosity of classmates, responds with clarity and assuredness that having two mums is no big deal--they are a family. From Goodreads.

Genre: Fiction.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: The complainant said the story “reinforces negative stereotypes about blacks and positive types about whites.”
Description: When a black family moves to an all-white neighborhood, prejudice rears its ugly head as the white adults behave rudely and children's friendships break up.

Genre: Juvenile fiction.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: The complainant said that this fictional children’s book, which has a homosexual theme, was “not a proper role model for children.”
Description: A young boy discusses his divorced father's new living situation, in which the father and his gay roommate share eating, doing chores, playing, loving, and living.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: Depiction of witchcraft. In 2000, a 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’ removal. The parent and the principal had not bothered to read the novels.
Description: Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: Insensitivity and ethnic stereotyping. Patron in BC: “Scenes depicting orientalism, major Asian stereotyping in images and words. Use of exaggerated ‘black face’ characters”. The item was retained.
Description: A compilation of five works of Dr. Seuss, including "Bartholomew and the Oobleck," "If I Ran the Zoo," "The Sneetches and Other Stories," "Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book," and "Horton Hears a Who!"

Challenged in Canada. Objection: The books were said to convey violence and a lack of respect for parental authority.
Description: Loving Hill House, an enormous tourist attraction that is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a thirteen-year headless boy. Duane and Stephanie decide to search for the ghost's head and get the biggest scare of their lives.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: In 2007, Ontario’s Halton Catholic District School Board voted to ban Philip Pullman’s trilogy of fantasy novels—The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass—from its schools. The board objected to “atheist” themes in the British author’s books.
Description: Phillip Pullman’s spellbinding His Dark Materials trilogy has captivated readers for over twenty years and won acclaim at every turn. It will have you questioning everything you know about your world and wondering what really lies just out of reach.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: Cancellation of Author events due to LGBTQ+ content.
Description: Kid Activists tells these childhood stories and more through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. The diverse and inclusive group encompasses Susan B. Anthony, James Baldwin, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Hamilton, Dolores Huerta, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Iqbal Masih, Harvey Milk, Janet Mock, Rosa Parks, Autumn Peltier, Emma Watson, and Malala Yousafzai.

Genre: Juvenile fiction. Fiction.
Challenge in Canada. Objection: The classic children’s book, based on tales of the settlers in the American West, was said to contain several references offensive to Indigenous Peoples. But school superintendent Henry Izatt said: “Stories like this are an important part of our history on this continent. Simply eradicating them from shelves does not seem to be the answer.”
Description: Laura and her family move to Minnesota where they live in a dugout until a new house is built and face misfortunes caused by flood, blizzard, and grasshoppers.

Genre: Juvenile literature.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: Event cancellations due to LGBTQ+ content.
Description: "This work of nonfiction for middle readers examines what -- and why -- gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters celebrate on Pride Day every June"--Title page verso.

"Salma is going to be a big sister! She's determined to be the best sister ever, so she sets out to write the ultimate guidebook to siblinghood. But the more Salma learns about siblings, the more confused she gets, especially since her mama is fighting with her own brother, Khalou Dawood, about who he loves. Can Salma figure out what it means to be a good sister before the baby arrives?"-- Provided by publisher.

Challenged in Canada. Objection: A patron said the book perpetuated negative stereotypes of the Chinese people, language, and culture. Reducing people to a funny character amounted to tokenism and was unacceptable.
Description: In Sleeping Dragons All Around, a girl wakes up in the middle of the night and wants some cake. But to reach the refrigerator, she has to tiptoe past a host of sleeping dragons, like Priscilla in her pink pantaloons, the punk-rock dragon Fagan with his spiky green hair, and Beelzebub (who sleeps in the tub). When she stubs her toe, the dragons wake up, and she has to think fast to befriend them.

Genre: Juvenile literature.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) urged public school boards to deny access to this children’s non-fiction book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to students in the elementary grades. The CJC said that Ellis had provided a flawed historical introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The CJC also said that some children in the book portrayed Israeli soldiers as brutal, expressed ethnic hatred, and glorified suicide bombing. The effect on young student readers, the CJC said, was “toxic.”
Description: Deborah Ellis's enormously popular Breadwinner trilogy recounted the experiences of children living in Afghanistan; now Ellis turns her attention to the young people of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After visiting the region to conduct interviews, she presents their stories here - in their own words. Twelve-year-old Nora, eleven-year-old Mohammad, and many others speak directly about their lives - which prove to be both ordinary and extraordinary: They argue with their siblings. They hate spinach. They have wishes for the future. Yet they have also seen their homes destroyed and families killed.

Genre: Juvenile fiction.
Challenged in Canada. Objection: A parent complained to the Burlington Public Library. The parent described the book as “revolting” and “vile.” The parent objected to depictions of violence and said that the work was age-inappropriate.
Description: Man's best friend indulges in a canine's ultimate fantasy. This unique tale invites readers to share in a dog's intimate thoughts as it eagerly anticipates the delivery of the daily mail -- and it's not the letters this dog is interested in!