Banned Books Week is an annual event held during the last week of September. Celebrating the freedom to read, it draws attention to actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. According to the American Library Association, more than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982.

This year we are celebrating Banned Books Week by participating in the #LetterBannedBooks challenge hosted by @thiswritingdesk and @samzawrites via Instagram. The rules are simple: create a hand-lettered and/or illustrated piece that celebrates the book of the day listed here. The 30 books on the list are just a small sample of books that have been challenged.

What’s your favorite banned book? Let us know within the comments section.

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

3. Beloved by Toni Morrison

4. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

7. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

8. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

9. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

10. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

11. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

12. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

13. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

14. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

15. Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

16. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’engle

17. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

18. The Witches by Roald Dahl

19. Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

20. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

21. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

22. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

23. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

24. The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Best Banned Books Gifts

25. 1984 by George Orwell

26. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

27. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

28. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

29. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

30. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Related:

15 Frequently Banned Books Everyone Should Read

Book Banning Is Out Of Control In The USA In 2022

The Top Banned And Challenged Books Of The Last Two Decades

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