People need to realize that books such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn are products of their time. You can't censor history, so why not simply try learning from it instead?
The people who are actually complaining about it is not who you think. It's not black people who are offended by the language. Fact is those books are very honest about how things were in those times, it shoves the racism right in your face and you can plainly see the wrong and injustices caused by it. The people who want those books banned are those who want to pretend that that period in American history didn't happen. The same people who love telling blacks that racism no longer exists and they should get over slavery. Those people are uncomfortable with those books and want them banned.
I think it was mainly in christian communities. I remember reading Harry potter when I was a child and my mother complaining to my father about how it's about witchcraft and she heard it wasn't good for children to read, it would corrupt my mind, etc. Many parent/adults were ignorant to what the book was actually about and just went off the sensationalism and misinformation caused by these christian groups and other people who were convinced their children were reading about devil worship. I was never actually banned from reading Harry Potter though, my mother just complained, but I know many children were. Just a case of mass panic due to how popular the book was.
Yes, but none as popular as Harry Potter. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong but the whole internet thing was just kicking off where any and everyone could easily spread false info and people believe it because "they read it online". I'm not even from the states but the whole "harry potter is about devil worship" thing really took off internationally. Parents were legit scared and its popularity had them convinced that the rumors were true. I'm not defending them, I'm just saying the Harry Potter era was perfect for this mass hysteria the book is evil and should be banned thing. Nothing spreads faster than fear. But I feel like once the movies came out and parents saw for themselves what it was actually about the hysteria died down. Lol. Churches were literally warning parents against their children reading those books. wew. funny times.
It’s stupid really, how does a book become banned simply because of mysticism? If anything, fantasy will help evolve a child’s imagination so they can use creativity to solve problems.
Things such as Disney shouldn't be criticized in 2018 for discriminatory things they put in their films in the in the 60s or even earlier. It was a different world. And can someone tell me what is controversial about Harry Potter?
Harry Potter??? Seriously?? Promoting witchcraft? Oh come oooon... At the end of the day just like you said, the books are about love, friendship and choosing what is right, above what is easy. Something is really wrong with people nowadays. Grow up already.
I'd actually laugh at the Harry Potter controversy because it's mostly came from (please pardon my stereotyping) "closed-minded, homophobic, and bigoted bible-thumpers". Why, I grew up in an Anglican Christian family, and they love the Harry Potter series.
I'm two years late, but my dad's a Christian pastor, and we have watched all the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films since Order of the Phoenix in theaters, and I've been reading the books since I was maybe six. So, I definitely laughed, too.
Pretty much what happens is the parents don’t read the books and just hear about them from word of mouth and get a bad image in their head about what they don’t really understand. I remember captain underpants was banned too (not in my school) I never read it but I knew it looked harmless. Just comic books.
This is very true. I remember seeing “reviewers” write about the evils of Harry Potter. Frequently they would take things out of context to build a case. For example, one complaint was that the book promoted drinking blood. Of course the blood drinking was done by Voldemort and was described as an evil act in the book, but they wouldn’t tell people that. If every book is judged by the villains actions, then books promote all sorts of evil.
I always loved reading banned books because I always wanted to know the reasons why these books were banned (although I think that some of the reasons these books were banned are ridiculous, especially regarding the Harry Potter books). Some other noteworthy banned books I like to mention are the Lorax, Scary Stories to tell in the Dark and the Snowy Day.
So I’m working one fine day at work, and this woman happens to hear me talking to another about Harry Potter and begins to tell me that it’s a curse and demonic topic. Since I’m about to be on clock and such a I simply say “to each there own, I’ve simply been with it since the first movie when I was a child” then she went on about how my family are satinets for showing me that at a young age. I walked away, wished her a good day, and haven’t seen her since 😪
Locked Up Gaming you should have said sectumsempra, she wasn't gonna hear you out anyway. What a bitch, she doesn't have to like Harry potter so why did she judge the series, you and your family. But you took I kind approach so I respect that
The Witches even said in the book I had when I was a kid "most women are lovely" can't remember if it was a notice in the book in response to the controversy or in the actual story. But seriously, a story about witches is not sexist
What about Flowers in the Attic series. It’s a young adult book that features with one of the main plot points being incest how is that not controversial.
My question is... how did Harry Potter and James and the giant peach even make it on this list. And the others are just from their own time. When people weren’t AFRAID TO ADMIT THAT IT HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE. Geeze do research and get your facts right. Also some kids were raised by generation X so we ain’t afraid to admit death and loss happens. But why even include one about puberty! Everyone goes through it.
To Kill A Mocking Bird is an amazing book, it's set during the Great Depression, of course there will be racism! But the whole story teaches the reader about empathy
Absolutely, I believe it should be read, did I like reading it in school not really cause all of the white teachers would always try to read page 76. If you know what I’m talking about you know.
"The Witches" dealt with witchcraft and vilified women : lol yeah as if fairy tales by the Brother's Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson didn't do that already!
only those who never read the originals. there are people of many ages who do know about them. I mean, who hasn't read if not heard of Hansel and Gretal!?
And people say “such and such could never be made today.” We’ve had prudes forever! I’m thankful my mother never stopped me from any content as long as she was aware of the subject matter.
So instead we should just give kids happy books only and so that they always expect everything to be great and always have someone to save them? I read some of these and loved them as a kid, I don't understand why witchcraft even matters that much either like just cause I read it doesn't mean I'm going to become a witch and eat little kids.
Kapples X It's a great idea, don't get me wrong, but Rowling is the most boring writer on the planet. Even if there's humour, there is no life in her work. And technically it's not even her work, she plagiarises all of her ideas. The entire premise of HP is on a book called The Worst Witch (which I think is by Jill Murphy). Also, I've heard that HP was the idea of Rowling's daughter, not Rowling herself. If my mother did such a thing to me (stole one of my ideas and published it) I'd never forgive her. Luckily my mother has morals and is a decent human being.
I've read most of these in school.The perks of being a wallflower is a young adult novel and all the others have the stupidest reasons for being "inappropriate"
The peach became giant due to magic...hence, witchcraft. Personally, it was one of my favorite books as a child, along with his "The Magic Finger" and "The Gift of Magic" by Lois Duncan...oh, and I've been a Christian for most of my 53 years.
What I remember most about when I first read Bridge to Terabithia was how sudden Leslie's death was. There was no build up to it, and we found about it from Jess being told about it. It really caught me off guard, and stuck with me the rest of the book.
Oddly enough, my first thought was from Shrek the Musical. During Fiona's song "I Know It's Today", Fiona, seemingly out of nowhere, sang the lines, "Are you there, God? It's Me Fiona."
How can people be compelled to burn books, they think their doing the right thing but burning books should be illegal since it’s offensive to the writer who worked hard on it.
For my childhood, a controversial book was Limony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events". My parents were okay with it, but when I was visiting my grandparents and one of my uncles, they got mad and took my book from me because it was too depressing for me to read at my age. My dad got it back for me and told me not to read the book around them.
Are you kidding me? The Baudelairs in a series of unfortunate event are actually quite resourceful for their age. Plus Lemony Snicket's writing style introduce me to a lot of expressions, meanings of phrases, and sometimes the occasional recipe
They still made us read The Giver in middle school, I never really found it interesting but boring. Until I started paying attention and then that’s when I found it interesting.
Read most of the books on this list, none of them deserve to be censored. My favourite book is the giver, I read it in elementary school and still read it as an adult, the movie was really bad though.
Oh yeah, those were really controversial. But I don't think the series ever had the same gravitas as the Harry Potter series, To Kill a Mockingbird or Huckleberry Finn, I mean in terms of being popular school reading material. And to be honest, the third book went so far off the rails that it is no where near as popular as the first one.
I can’t stand books like To Kill a Mockingbird being banned. It’s about learning about racism through the eyes of a child. I can understand other books that freely use the n word and have bad racism that’s not challenged, but this is about learning history and what we have in common and what is different from then and today. Including Are you There God it’s Me Margret. Not surprised that a Mississippi school banned the former book for being “uncomfortable”
Just got through reading The Giver. It has some shocking moments to it yes but do I think it should be banned from schools, no! There are moments that bothered me yes and I am in my late 30's. Books like that make you think
A perfect topic for me! 10. Never read it. The Butter Battle was mentioned in Seussical The Musical & that scene in the play confused me. It makes sense now though. 9. Never read it. A remake of this movie recently came out & I still need to see it. 8. Haven’t read this in a long time. Must read it again. 7. I hated this book. It gave me so many nightmares. 6. Saddest book & saddest movie ever! 5, I never knew this was banned. Interesting! 4. I loved her books. I was not a particularly huge fan of this book or Forever because of the content though. 3. I read this book in 9th grade. I thought the message behind it was powerful. 2. I never read Huck Finn... I did read Tom Sawyer though. 1. Huge HP fan here! I disagree with the reasons for why it was banned.
Cheyenne Hayden I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and my mom was worried because she heard about Leslie dying in it. She cautioned me about it but let me read it and see the movie when it came out.
i think people are being 2 sensitive about everything. i think the overprotectiveness is even wrose than back then. it's like u can't say anything to it bcuz their too busy complaining about everything. bcuz their bored. i own to kill a mocking bird, ive read all the dr. suss books and my sister read harry potter. so what's the big deal about those books?
Do you think I’m offended? The short answer is, yes, I am. You see, people are different. They care and show interest for many things. And, if someone “spits” at those things, people react. They just don’t understand how somebody can dislike those things. People stop reacting, when it’s explained to them, why he dislikes those things. This is very complicated, but true.
GD JuryJohn there's a difference between not liking something and trying to ban that something you disagree with so that other people that do enjoy it can't that's what these people were doing to Harry Potter
Oh, I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying that I was offended. Okay, yes, then that what you say, it’s true. I guess all I did, was explaining the basics of offendance.
let's see...so, a donkey finds a magical pebble and turns himself into a rock to protect himself from a lion...his parents freak out and don't find him for a while...then he gets turned back into a donkey......yeah i don't get it either.
Because the police animals are pigs and pigs is sometimes considered a derogatory term for police offices in the USA (and I think other countries as I recall watching a British film that was a comedy and at the end showed a cartoon showing the police as pigs and my friend who is Romanian asked me why they would do that).
Most of these books I read as a kid either in school or my parents actually gave/recommended to me. I personally enjoyed all of them. And shouldn't kids learn about real world topics at some point in their lives? Sheltering them from the sad yet honest truth isn't good for them as they grow older.
I heard that the Golden Compass and A Series of Unfortunate Events caused some controversies Also I think Alice in Wonderland is banned in some countries
Okay... *inhales* sooooo schools banned Harry potter.. In my school we're allowed to read Stephen king but not Harry potter. And yes some children's books are sometimes dark and uncomfortable to read.. But these books teach good morals and fill a child's mind with imagination. I mean I grew up with some of these books, and they taught me a lot... And these books do sometimes touch on some harsh topics but how does are they supposed to understand.. I mean I believe Dr suess was doing a good thing on writing the story. I mean this is just my opinion...
I had to read a story in middle school about a man murdering another man, cutting up his body, and hiding it under the floor boards. Harry Potters child's play compared to The Telltale Heart. Fuck man in high school I had to read that one story Edgar wrote about mid-evil torture.
I had to read The Giver in 8th grade and my teacher said that we weren’t allowed to laugh or even snicker at the mentions of sex or nudity. She went as far as to say we’d be given detention for laughing...At the time I was too naive to understand any of the weird stuff so I kept my mouth shut. To be honest though. I don’t really like The Giver very much. I preferred the novel 1984 that I read last year for senior year of high school. While that was an adult novel, I felt it was more detailed and interesting.
i am a novelist and if my books ever get banned for any reason that i would deem bullshit, i am laying down a lawsuit on those critics asses. my message to you is this, don't burn it, don't banned it, just don't buy it. sheesh!!!
Also The Breadwinner (which was adapted into an oscar nominated movie) isn't even an honorable mention? for those who don't know the book is about a girl dressing up as a boy to avoid the Taliban in Afghanistan during the late 1990's. I read that in 6th grade and it was messed up and pulls no punches in telling young readers the horrors of terrorism and war. why the hell isn't it on this list? IT IS AIMED AT 12 YEAR OLDS!!!
Ugh, I hate Harry Potter. Imagine being a fantasy writer, writing about wizards, and you're constantly compared to a book you didn't even enjoy, a book you skipped huge chunks of as a child because it was so dull. Harry Potter was a great idea but Rowling really is a terrible writer. I don't care if people disagree with me. Ha! Love overall! Psh! Don't make me laugh. It doesn't have that kind of message in it, it's a load of crap. My stories truly are about love. Everything I write is about love, but real love, not artificial stuff like all the girls Harry wanted to have sex with.
Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can’t read if you don’t like a book or you find it offensive just don’t read it don’t ban it just because you don’t agree with the message that’s being portrayed in that book You can’t have it both ways. If you banned one book because just one person had a problem with them, you have to ban all books I can’t believe I’m writing this but I actually liked what the fox reporter about history 7:46
Adults in a nutshell Excessive violence, nudity and objectification in mainstream media, adds and practically everything : meh Children books that deal with dark and mature themes: going completely nuts
The irony about that one clip with the Fox News guy talking about histories uncomfortable and we shouldn't block ourselves from learning about it. That quote has spoiled with how the GOP is trying to ban anything dealing with racism and its racist past or lgbtq
Could you do top 10 or top 20 classic children’s books? As in second through fourth grade or third through sixth. Or top 10 or 20 children’s books from the 20th century.
When I was 12, I got it into my head to read Tropic of Cancer. My dad kind of looked askance at me but took the book out for me. I didn’t make it through page 3.
I'll admit that I really just don't like To Kill a Mockingbird, but that's just because I found it hard to read and found the main character annoying. But it has a good message overall that I can't deny. My parents, with my father being a pastor, were wary of Harry Potter at first, but after watching the first film years ago (after at least the second had come out, but I think before the third or fourth; can't automatically remember, but I started reading the books in second grade, so my best guess is just before then) they realized it really wasn't promoting witchcraft, and since Order of the Phoenix, we've watched all the other films, including both Fantastic Beasts films, in theaters, with the five main members of my family seeing them up to Deathly Hallows-Part I, and then it just being me and my parents for the next three. I feel like there are times where a line should be drawn with some books, but some of these are attempting to provide a good message, and it's strange that so many want to ban them or challenge them or even burn them without fully understanding them.
Now a days children are way too sheltered exactly why sooo many teens commit suicide. Children need to be exposed to grief and hard situations and parents NEED to guide their children through it teach them how to handle their emotions not guard them from them. My sister was guarded from her emotions my mom caught trying to commit suicide. She was stopped and is now in counseling. Teach your children how to deal with grief teach them life isn’t easy.
Harry Potter for promoting witchcraft? They should grow up. Might as well ban every book. This can be used for everything. Bear hunt: hunting bears. The very hungry caterpillar: obesity
And yet they forced us to read painfully trite books like Adam of the Road and The Catcher in the Rye. At least Lord of the Flies and 1984 were good required readings.
I’m actually surprised that 13 Reasons Why wasn’t even listed on here, but then I remembered that the episode is about controversial children’s books, not teen fiction...so never mind
Scotti Brown I thought I am Jazz, by Jazz Jennings would be on the list, though it's an autobiography that young adults read, it's still banned due to Jazz being a transgender woman.
People who think Harry Potter changes people into witches are stupid. I am Christian and I have not become a witch. Parents should read the book before judging it. I have read the book 15 times already, and I have not tried to stray away from god and join a witch cult.
Why do you guys insist on putting Harry Potter at #1 on every book list? I've watched 3 videos in a row and #1 has been the Harry Potter series every time.
My mom wouldn’t let us watch the HP movies cuz of the whole witchcraft thing (which is funny cuz we grew up watching Hocus Pocus, now that I think about it...). But she grew up in a house where they couldn’t watch the Wizard of Oz (either completely or just on Sunday...but it was only on on Sundays, so they pretty much couldn’t watch it). Now she doesn’t care....I’ve seen at least 2 of them in full (I think), but I don’t really have a desire to watch them...
People need to realize that books such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn are products of their time. You can't censor history, so why not simply try learning from it instead?
it's like they say: those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it
The people who are actually complaining about it is not who you think. It's not black people who are offended by the language. Fact is those books are very honest about how things were in those times, it shoves the racism right in your face and you can plainly see the wrong and injustices caused by it. The people who want those books banned are those who want to pretend that that period in American history didn't happen. The same people who love telling blacks that racism no longer exists and they should get over slavery. Those people are uncomfortable with those books and want them banned.
J. Hypolite those people are idiots
Lauren Brown THANK YOU!
Lauren Brown Well done! Love this comment!
why wouldn't parents want their teenage kids to read a book that talks about puberty? are they not aware that most people hit puberty at that age?🤦♀️
Nive Ashok Because parents freak out about everything. Sex included they’re scared that their kid will be “corrupted” or something.
Ravethecat12 So parents don't want their kids to read about sex, yet they want grandchildren?
Queen Jessamine Pretty much, yeah.
@@mckenzieeliza A lot of parents nowadays are rather stupid if you ask me.
It’s better for the inverse so it wouldn’t be as awkward
Because of witchcraft? Plenty of children's stories had magic in them before Harry Potter
I think it was mainly in christian communities. I remember reading Harry potter when I was a child and my mother complaining to my father about how it's about witchcraft and she heard it wasn't good for children to read, it would corrupt my mind, etc. Many parent/adults were ignorant to what the book was actually about and just went off the sensationalism and misinformation caused by these christian groups and other people who were convinced their children were reading about devil worship. I was never actually banned from reading Harry Potter though, my mother just complained, but I know many children were. Just a case of mass panic due to how popular the book was.
J. Hypolite I know but there's always been magic in children's stories way before Harry Potter
Yes, but none as popular as Harry Potter. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong but the whole internet thing was just kicking off where any and everyone could easily spread false info and people believe it because "they read it online". I'm not even from the states but the whole "harry potter is about devil worship" thing really took off internationally. Parents were legit scared and its popularity had them convinced that the rumors were true. I'm not defending them, I'm just saying the Harry Potter era was perfect for this mass hysteria the book is evil and should be banned thing. Nothing spreads faster than fear. But I feel like once the movies came out and parents saw for themselves what it was actually about the hysteria died down. Lol. Churches were literally warning parents against their children reading those books. wew. funny times.
J. Hypolite None as popular as Harry Potter? Cinderella? Other famous fairy tales and such?
It’s stupid really, how does a book become banned simply because of mysticism? If anything, fantasy will help evolve a child’s imagination so they can use creativity to solve problems.
Things such as Disney shouldn't be criticized in 2018 for discriminatory things they put in their films in the in the 60s or even earlier. It was a different world. And can someone tell me what is controversial about Harry Potter?
I 100000% agree.
The magic is seen as witchcraft. I wasn't allowed to read or watch. And now I just have no desire.
Why are people so offended by witchcraft, people still believe in Witches in the 21st century?
MinerJas Gaming same
There are people who do practice witch craft, but not in the way as most people fear.
We’re still living in an age of fear, superstition and ignorance. All because of Christians.
Harry Potter??? Seriously?? Promoting witchcraft? Oh come oooon... At the end of the day just like you said, the books are about love, friendship and choosing what is right, above what is easy. Something is really wrong with people nowadays. Grow up already.
I'd actually laugh at the Harry Potter controversy because it's mostly came from (please pardon my stereotyping) "closed-minded, homophobic, and bigoted bible-thumpers". Why, I grew up in an Anglican Christian family, and they love the Harry Potter series.
I'm two years late, but my dad's a Christian pastor, and we have watched all the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films since Order of the Phoenix in theaters, and I've been reading the books since I was maybe six. So, I definitely laughed, too.
Pretty much what happens is the parents don’t read the books and just hear about them from word of mouth and get a bad image in their head about what they don’t really understand. I remember captain underpants was banned too (not in my school) I never read it but I knew it looked harmless. Just comic books.
This is very true. I remember seeing “reviewers” write about the evils of Harry Potter. Frequently they would take things out of context to build a case. For example, one complaint was that the book promoted drinking blood. Of course the blood drinking was done by Voldemort and was described as an evil act in the book, but they wouldn’t tell people that. If every book is judged by the villains actions, then books promote all sorts of evil.
I always loved reading banned books because I always wanted to know the reasons why these books were banned (although I think that some of the reasons these books were banned are ridiculous, especially regarding the Harry Potter books). Some other noteworthy banned books I like to mention are the Lorax, Scary Stories to tell in the Dark and the Snowy Day.
If you want to burn a book, BURN TWILIGHT! Are we seriously going to pretend that Jacob falling in love with Bella's baby wasn't creepy?
So I’m working one fine day at work, and this woman happens to hear me talking to another about Harry Potter and begins to tell me that it’s a curse and demonic topic. Since I’m about to be on clock and such a I simply say “to each there own, I’ve simply been with it since the first movie when I was a child” then she went on about how my family are satinets for showing me that at a young age. I walked away, wished her a good day, and haven’t seen her since 😪
What the hell was wrong with her?!?!
Locked Up Gaming you should have said sectumsempra, she wasn't gonna hear you out anyway. What a bitch, she doesn't have to like Harry potter so why did she judge the series, you and your family. But you took I kind approach so I respect that
If I were in your position, I would have told her that unless she has actually read the books herself, she has no right to judge.
The Witches even said in the book I had when I was a kid "most women are lovely" can't remember if it was a notice in the book in response to the controversy or in the actual story.
But seriously, a story about witches is not sexist
It's a medieval superstition of blaming intellectual women for their problems.
Will Lyon ...how?
What about Flowers in the Attic series. It’s a young adult book that features with one of the main plot points being incest how is that not controversial.
LOL, this comment is three years old but my mom read this when she was in high school. I read a bit and I am still disturbed.
-Top 10 Controversial Children's Books-
Top 10 books that overprotective parents didn't like
My question is... how did Harry Potter and James and the giant peach even make it on this list. And the others are just from their own time. When people weren’t AFRAID TO ADMIT THAT IT HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE. Geeze do research and get your facts right. Also some kids were raised by generation X so we ain’t afraid to admit death and loss happens.
But why even include one about puberty! Everyone goes through it.
Ikr, like really?
To Kill A Mocking Bird is an amazing book, it's set during the Great Depression, of course there will be racism! But the whole story teaches the reader about empathy
Absolutely, I believe it should be read, did I like reading it in school not really cause all of the white teachers would always try to read page 76. If you know what I’m talking about you know.
Atticus is one of the greatest people ever.
Just seeing the small clip for "Bridge to Terabithia" has me tearing a little.
"The Witches" dealt with witchcraft and vilified women : lol yeah as if fairy tales by the Brother's Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson didn't do that already!
only those who never read the originals. there are people of many ages who do know about them. I mean, who hasn't read if not heard of Hansel and Gretal!?
Yeah but in The Witches the characters who practised magic were evil. But in fairy tales there are good characters who are magical
I know, but thats beside the point. My point is that the concept of magic villainesses isn't original.
Diana North yeah plus stories about witches aren't sexist
And people say “such and such could never be made today.”
We’ve had prudes forever! I’m thankful my mother never stopped me from any content as long as she was aware of the subject matter.
So instead we should just give kids happy books only and so that they always expect everything to be great and always have someone to save them? I read some of these and loved them as a kid, I don't understand why witchcraft even matters that much either like just cause I read it doesn't mean I'm going to become a witch and eat little kids.
I never liked Harry Potter, but BOOK BURNING?! That is just ridiculous.
Kapples X Oh my god, someone else who doesn't like Harry Potter! Thank goodness! A sane person!
I just never got into it
Kapples X It's a great idea, don't get me wrong, but Rowling is the most boring writer on the planet. Even if there's humour, there is no life in her work. And technically it's not even her work, she plagiarises all of her ideas. The entire premise of HP is on a book called The Worst Witch (which I think is by Jill Murphy). Also, I've heard that HP was the idea of Rowling's daughter, not Rowling herself. If my mother did such a thing to me (stole one of my ideas and published it) I'd never forgive her. Luckily my mother has morals and is a decent human being.
Like I said with a bit more; not a Harry Potter fan, not a Rowling fan. I am done
Same like it's ok, but I find it boring.
When I read Witches, I had nightmares for months. I was only 8 years old, so I guess that was expected.
I've read most of these in school.The perks of being a wallflower is a young adult novel and all the others have the stupidest reasons for being "inappropriate"
I'm surprised that Lord Of The Flies didn't make it, it was banned for a long time and was very controversial.
I see potter ❤️
Holly ludlow right that's what made me watch it
The hell does James & the Giant Peach promote all that?
EmmaCRBsnewstuff I remember them saying “ ass” and smoking cigars... like every other kids book back then
Jared Stewart well in the UK "ass" is a donkey, arse is the swear word lol
The peach became giant due to magic...hence, witchcraft. Personally, it was one of my favorite books as a child, along with his "The Magic Finger" and "The Gift of Magic" by Lois Duncan...oh, and I've been a Christian for most of my 53 years.
I heard it's "sexual" just because miss spider licked her lips lol
Yeah, because I'm sure *everyone* gets turned on "50 Shades of Gray" style when lasagna is ready.
What I remember most about when I first read Bridge to Terabithia was how sudden Leslie's death was. There was no build up to it, and we found about it from Jess being told about it. It really caught me off guard, and stuck with me the rest of the book.
The illustrations in Dr. Suess' books used to creep the shit out of me as a kid. I don't know why but they did. Weird right? 🤘👽
Where The Wild Things Are is a great book. The movie...well, it could have been done better as just an all-CGI animated production.
i tought the catcher in the rye would be in first position!
It's not a children's book. But would definitely make any other banned books list.
I'm suprised they didn't play the Deadpool clip at #4 (Are you there God? It's me Margaret)
Oddly enough, my first thought was from Shrek the Musical. During Fiona's song "I Know It's Today", Fiona, seemingly out of nowhere, sang the lines, "Are you there, God? It's Me Fiona."
How can people be compelled to burn books, they think their doing the right thing but burning books should be illegal since it’s offensive to the writer who worked hard on it.
They made a whole book about burning books.
Joseph Thaete Not that Rowling did hard work bloody stealing everything she wrote from other writers. Ever heard of The Worst Witch?
For my childhood, a controversial book was Limony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events". My parents were okay with it, but when I was visiting my grandparents and one of my uncles, they got mad and took my book from me because it was too depressing for me to read at my age. My dad got it back for me and told me not to read the book around them.
Are you kidding me? The Baudelairs in a series of unfortunate event are actually quite resourceful for their age. Plus Lemony Snicket's writing style introduce me to a lot of expressions, meanings of phrases, and sometimes the occasional recipe
You’re a wizard, Harry.
Harry Potter forever... Always!
ALWAYS
They still made us read The Giver in middle school, I never really found it interesting but boring. Until I started paying attention and then that’s when I found it interesting.
Read most of the books on this list, none of them deserve to be censored. My favourite book is the giver, I read it in elementary school and still read it as an adult, the movie was really bad though.
My childhood....
Mr. X right now I'm reading Stephen king's IT
I'm surprised there's no His Dark Materials on this list.
Oh yeah, those were really controversial. But I don't think the series ever had the same gravitas as the Harry Potter series, To Kill a Mockingbird or Huckleberry Finn, I mean in terms of being popular school reading material. And to be honest, the third book went so far off the rails that it is no where near as popular as the first one.
You guys need to stop putting the number one pick as the clip art
What else could guarantee that people will click on it? ;)
I can’t stand books like To Kill a Mockingbird being banned. It’s about learning about racism through the eyes of a child. I can understand other books that freely use the n word and have bad racism that’s not challenged, but this is about learning history and what we have in common and what is different from then and today. Including Are you There God it’s Me Margret.
Not surprised that a Mississippi school banned the former book for being “uncomfortable”
Just got through reading The Giver. It has some shocking moments to it yes but do I think it should be banned from schools, no! There are moments that bothered me yes and I am in my late 30's. Books like that make you think
A perfect topic for me!
10. Never read it. The Butter Battle was mentioned in Seussical The Musical & that scene in the play confused me. It makes sense now though.
9. Never read it. A remake of this movie recently came out & I still need to see it.
8. Haven’t read this in a long time. Must read it again.
7. I hated this book. It gave me so many nightmares.
6. Saddest book & saddest movie ever!
5, I never knew this was banned. Interesting!
4. I loved her books. I was not a particularly huge fan of this book or Forever because of the content though.
3. I read this book in 9th grade. I thought the message behind it was powerful.
2. I never read Huck Finn... I did read Tom Sawyer though.
1. Huge HP fan here! I disagree with the reasons for why it was banned.
The Giver... I’m still reading it, and I’m near the end so don’t spoil it, but it makes me feel disturbed at times.
DO NOT BURN THE GIFT TO HUMANITY THAT IS HARRY POTTER!
IKR
I didn't realize Bridge to Terabithia was so controversial
The Incredible Fangirl me either, I always assumed that maybe it was because of the fantasy element, not because Leslie died
Cheyenne Hayden I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and my mom was worried because she heard about Leslie dying in it. She cautioned me about it but let me read it and see the movie when it came out.
i think people are being 2 sensitive about everything. i think the overprotectiveness is even wrose than back then. it's like u can't say anything to it bcuz their too busy complaining about everything. bcuz their bored. i own to kill a mocking bird, ive read all the dr. suss books and my sister read harry potter. so what's the big deal about those books?
Harry potter. Really?
Yup, I guess....
GD JuryJohn I'm a Christian and I have no idea why people get so offended at everything
Do you think I’m offended? The short answer is, yes, I am. You see, people are different. They care and show interest for many things. And, if someone “spits” at those things, people react. They just don’t understand how somebody can dislike those things. People stop reacting, when it’s explained to them, why he dislikes those things.
This is very complicated, but true.
GD JuryJohn there's a difference between not liking something and trying to ban that something you disagree with so that other people that do enjoy it can't that's what these people were doing to Harry Potter
Oh, I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying that I was offended. Okay, yes, then that what you say, it’s true. I guess all I did, was explaining the basics of offendance.
What about Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot by Dav Pilkey? One of the characters in that book was revealed to be GAY!
How is Sylvester and the Magic Pebble controversial?
let's see...so, a donkey finds a magical pebble and turns himself into a rock to protect himself from a lion...his parents freak out and don't find him for a while...then he gets turned back into a donkey......yeah i don't get it either.
Because the police animals are pigs and pigs is sometimes considered a derogatory term for police offices in the USA (and I think other countries as I recall watching a British film that was a comedy and at the end showed a cartoon showing the police as pigs and my friend who is Romanian asked me why they would do that).
Probably because of magical pebble?
Oh it's been so long since I read that book
I remember that book, “Hello God….”. I read it when I was a kid, and found it more educational than what my parents taught me.
Are we thinking about the same James and the giant peach? Because the one I know contains no trace of these things
Most of these books I read as a kid either in school or my parents actually gave/recommended to me. I personally enjoyed all of them. And shouldn't kids learn about real world topics at some point in their lives? Sheltering them from the sad yet honest truth isn't good for them as they grow older.
*sees thumbnail*
Me: wtf this is my baby Harry Potter is perfect in my eyes especially Draco Malfoy
🙄🙄🙄 why someone would consider Harry Potter controversial is beyond me
I heard that the Golden Compass and A Series of Unfortunate Events caused some controversies
Also I think Alice in Wonderland is banned in some countries
I was relieved that Geronimo Stilton was not in this list I loved
the franchise!
Well, why would it be?
GD JuryJohn idk but my gut told me
Ah, you listen to your guts. It’s a good place to listen, but not very trustworthy.
I got in an argument with a guy at school because he said Harry Potter should be banned for bs reasons, let’s just say he has one less tooth!
Okay... *inhales* sooooo schools banned Harry potter.. In my school we're allowed to read Stephen king but not Harry potter. And yes some children's books are sometimes dark and uncomfortable to read.. But these books teach good morals and fill a child's mind with imagination. I mean I grew up with some of these books, and they taught me a lot... And these books do sometimes touch on some harsh topics but how does are they supposed to understand.. I mean I believe Dr suess was doing a good thing on writing the story. I mean this is just my opinion...
Harry Potter always has to be the thumbnail for controversial book listings
I had to read a story in middle school about a man murdering another man, cutting up his body, and hiding it under the floor boards. Harry Potters child's play compared to The Telltale Heart. Fuck man in high school I had to read that one story Edgar wrote about mid-evil torture.
Top ten most scariest children’s books, please.
I didn’t like Bridge to Terebithia because of the death. I still don’t
WHERE IS SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
I had to read The Giver in 8th grade and my teacher said that we weren’t allowed to laugh or even snicker at the mentions of sex or nudity. She went as far as to say we’d be given detention for laughing...At the time I was too naive to understand any of the weird stuff so I kept my mouth shut. To be honest though. I don’t really like The Giver very much. I preferred the novel 1984 that I read last year for senior year of high school. While that was an adult novel, I felt it was more detailed and interesting.
I remember Scary Stories to tell in the Dark was banned by my school
i am a novelist and if my books ever get banned for any reason that i would deem bullshit, i am laying down a lawsuit on those critics asses. my message to you is this, don't burn it, don't banned it, just don't buy it. sheesh!!!
Also The Breadwinner (which was adapted into an oscar nominated movie) isn't even an honorable mention? for those who don't know the book is about a girl dressing up as a boy to avoid the Taliban in Afghanistan during the late 1990's. I read that in 6th grade and it was messed up and pulls no punches in telling young readers the horrors of terrorism and war. why the hell isn't it on this list? IT IS AIMED AT 12 YEAR OLDS!!!
Ugh, I hate Harry Potter. Imagine being a fantasy writer, writing about wizards, and you're constantly compared to a book you didn't even enjoy, a book you skipped huge chunks of as a child because it was so dull. Harry Potter was a great idea but Rowling really is a terrible writer. I don't care if people disagree with me.
Ha! Love overall! Psh! Don't make me laugh. It doesn't have that kind of message in it, it's a load of crap. My stories truly are about love. Everything I write is about love, but real love, not artificial stuff like all the girls Harry wanted to have sex with.
I love James and the Giant Peach
I had it read to me when I was a child, and I still think it comes off like a weird head trip.
VicGeorge2K6 awesome.my favorite character is the spider
I dunno how the hell it promotes all the things they said
EmmaCRBsnewstuff I don't get it either.
Mine is “A Monster Calls”. Bloody depressing.
Adrian Spencer Elizalde Agree like what kid would read a lonely, mind-buggling (is that a word haha) story so depressing
Oh my god - yes!
That book, though beautiful, scars deeply.
It's spelled Boggling
It was an *amazing* book, I can’t deny that, but I do agree that the message behind the tree monster and Connor’s nightmares give me the chills.
The problems with controversial books is not the book him-self. It’s the person who read the book and decide to make it controversial.
Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can and can’t read if you don’t like a book or you find it offensive just don’t read it don’t ban it just because you don’t agree with the message that’s being portrayed in that book You can’t have it both ways. If you banned one book because just one person had a problem with them, you have to ban all books I can’t believe I’m writing this but I actually liked what the fox reporter about history 7:46
Ok..... But who the hell butters their toast upside down!?!?!?!?
Adults in a nutshell
Excessive violence, nudity and objectification in mainstream media, adds and practically everything : meh
Children books that deal with dark and mature themes: going completely nuts
The irony about that one clip with the Fox News guy talking about histories uncomfortable and we shouldn't block ourselves from learning about it. That quote has spoiled with how the GOP is trying to ban anything dealing with racism and its racist past or lgbtq
I had alot of Judy Blume books as a kid & i loved them :)
James and the Giant Peach freaked me out as a kid. And The Giver? The movie also didn't involve the murder of babies like in the book.
Could you do top 10 or top 20 classic children’s books? As in second through fourth grade or third through sixth. Or top 10 or 20 children’s books from the 20th century.
When I was 12, I got it into my head to read Tropic of Cancer. My dad kind of looked askance at me but took the book out for me. I didn’t make it through page 3.
I'll admit that I really just don't like To Kill a Mockingbird, but that's just because I found it hard to read and found the main character annoying. But it has a good message overall that I can't deny. My parents, with my father being a pastor, were wary of Harry Potter at first, but after watching the first film years ago (after at least the second had come out, but I think before the third or fourth; can't automatically remember, but I started reading the books in second grade, so my best guess is just before then) they realized it really wasn't promoting witchcraft, and since Order of the Phoenix, we've watched all the other films, including both Fantastic Beasts films, in theaters, with the five main members of my family seeing them up to Deathly Hallows-Part I, and then it just being me and my parents for the next three. I feel like there are times where a line should be drawn with some books, but some of these are attempting to provide a good message, and it's strange that so many want to ban them or challenge them or even burn them without fully understanding them.
6:01 I can see a Mr Incredible figure at the left
I really hated Bridge to Teribithia. My class was forced to read it over the summer. We even had to watch the movie and I balled forever
Now a days children are way too sheltered exactly why sooo many teens commit suicide. Children need to be exposed to grief and hard situations and parents NEED to guide their children through it teach them how to handle their emotions not guard them from them. My sister was guarded from her emotions my mom caught trying to commit suicide. She was stopped and is now in counseling. Teach your children how to deal with grief teach them life isn’t easy.
Harry Potter for promoting witchcraft? They should grow up. Might as well ban every book. This can be used for everything. Bear hunt: hunting bears. The very hungry caterpillar: obesity
We read The Witches with my sister when we were young and we weren't as scared of it as of The little vampire
the contreversial ones are the best ones
The Giver was my favorite book as a kid!
I still don’t like Witches, it’s too scary, but when I was little, I loved it.
I’m just gonna guess that people who want to banned books never either never read them or don’t understand the concept.
When it showed the Harry Potter books being burned I had a small heart Attack I am so mad! Harry Potter is my life❤️
Harry Potter is not one of the best selling pieces of fiction of all time: it is the BEST SELLING book series in the history of literature.
And yet they forced us to read painfully trite books like Adam of the Road and The Catcher in the Rye. At least Lord of the Flies and 1984 were good required readings.
I’m actually surprised that 13 Reasons Why wasn’t even listed on here, but then I remembered that the episode is about controversial children’s books, not teen fiction...so never mind
Scotti Brown I thought I am Jazz, by Jazz Jennings would be on the list, though it's an autobiography that young adults read, it's still banned due to Jazz being a transgender woman.
Where the wild things are was AMAZING all of my family got a copy of it in preschool.
People who think Harry Potter changes people into witches are stupid. I am Christian and I have not become a witch. Parents should read the book before judging it. I have read the book 15 times already, and I have not tried to stray away from god and join a witch cult.
Every time i see someone burning a book, i want to toss them in the fire instead....
Hey, I liked James and the Giant Peach 🍑 I don’t care if you complain against it.
I like James And The Giant Peach.
Why do you guys insist on putting Harry Potter at #1 on every book list? I've watched 3 videos in a row and #1 has been the Harry Potter series every time.
My mom wouldn’t let us watch the HP movies cuz of the whole witchcraft thing (which is funny cuz we grew up watching Hocus Pocus, now that I think about it...). But she grew up in a house where they couldn’t watch the Wizard of Oz (either completely or just on Sunday...but it was only on on Sundays, so they pretty much couldn’t watch it). Now she doesn’t care....I’ve seen at least 2 of them in full (I think), but I don’t really have a desire to watch them...