This Banned Books Webquest was created by Ms. Lois Parker-Hennion, TZHS Librarian and updated by Ms. Sarah McMane.
Did you know that every year in school districts throughout the United States books are challenged or banned? Books like The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have been taken off the shelves in libraries and schools across America.
The latest targets of the censors are some of Tappan Zee High School’s favorite books, including Tanya Lee Stone’s A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl (removed for drugs, sex); John Green’s Looking for Alaska (also drugs, sex); Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (drugs, homosexuality); Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima (Satanism, offensive language, sex); and Jeff Smith’s Bone series (political viewpoint, racism, violence). Also many books covered in the South Orangetown curriculum have been banned in other school districts (The Bluest Eye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, 13 Reasons Why). In September 2021, the school board of York, Pennsylvania banned several books, including a children’s board book about Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography and CNN’s Sesame Street town hall on racism. Read about the book and the attempt to ban it here.
At the end of this webquest, you will create an attractive, yet informative poster for display in the library and 300s-400s connector hallway to mark Banned Books Week. The purpose of the project is to increase awareness on the issue of censorship and to generate interest in reading. You may work alone or in pairs but we would like to feature as many books as possible. Select a book or author whose work you admire… a book you enjoyed… so it will have more meaning to you.