Have you been walking on the wild side?

We bet you have- and you might not have even known it!

In celebration of Banned Books Week, we have compiled a list of titles you have probably heard of, but may not have known they were banned at one time or another. (Check out #3!) We still think they are awesome reads though!

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrated in the last week of September every year. It celebrates the freedom to read (which we are all about!). For more info check out their website here.

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Harry, Ron and Hermione have captured hearts all over the world, but  parents and school boards on both sides of the Atlantic have raised issues with the book. They disagree with the  portrayal of death, evil, hatred, and the promotion of the belief in witchcraft.

2. Where’s Wally by Martin Handford: Who doesn’t want to find Wally? In the USA between 1990 and 2000 first publications of Where’s Wally were requested to be banned as one of the scenes contained a group of sunbathers, one of whom appeared to be topless.

3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: This saucy romance between a teenager and a vampire also became a series of films. 2013 saw the title make the list as one of the most requested to be banned in USA schools with complaints of ‘explicit content’ and that it ‘contradicted religious beliefs’.

4. The Witches by Roald Dahl: This title (which most of us here at the QBD Blog read as children) has been frequently challenged in US libraries and schools because of the focus on witchcraft,  the feeling that it devalues the lives of children and – for some feminists- the negative portrayal of women.

5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: Based on the friendship between two boys in Afghanistan this book has been banned on parts of the US for sexual content (it contains a rape scene). The film based on this novel was also banned in Afghanistan as they felt it depicted ethnic groups in a bad light.

6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: This best-selling book turned film was banned in Lebanon because it contains the insulting suggestion that Christ had a child with Mary Magdalene, contradicting the beliefs of Christianity. It has also been banned as it portrays the Catholic Church as demonising women.

7. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank: Published posthumously this diary of a Jewish teenager who hid from the Nazis with her family in WWII has been banned in some schools in the USA because it is seen to be depressing.

8. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky: This coming-of-age story has been withdrawn from some libraries across the USA. It regularly makes the American Library Association’s top 10 most challenged books list for reasons of explicit sexual content, and homosexuality.

So check out a banned book today and make up your own mind! You may be pleasantly surprised…