' Harriet the Spy' was banned from shelves because its titular character is, well, a spy. A 1969 column in Ladies Home Journal deemed the book 'psychologically damaging for 3- and 4-year-olds.' Mid-1960s: 'Harriet the Spy' by Louise Fitzhugh When the book was finally published in 1963, it was banned because adults found it problematic that Max was punished by being sent to bed without dinner and also bristled at the book's supernatural themes. 'The father may not have been an ordained minister,' said Rothmund, 'but after all things were primitive in those days in the jungle.' Mid-1960s: 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice SendakĪuthor Maurice Sendak had a hard time getting his classic children's book ' Where the Wild Things Are' published, as many editors feared that troublemaker Max's imaginary adventure into a fantasy land was too dark and frightening. Ralph Rothmund, who ran Burroughs' estate, protested that the couple had taken marital vows in the jungle with Jane's father serving as minister. Authorities thought the adventure stories unsuitable for youngsters since there was no evidence that Tarzan and Jane had married before they started cohabiting in the treetops. Here is a look at some of the country's most surprisingly embargoed works through the years: 1961: The 'Tarzan' series by Edgar Rice BurroughĮdgar Rice Burroughs' classic series about a man living in the jungle was pulled from the shelves of a public library in the appropriately named town of Tarzana, California. Recently, publisher Penguin Random House, PEN America and several authors filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district over the removal or restriction of 10 books related to race or sexual identity from school libraries.īut even with the recent increase in complaints, which the ALA says is due in part to the use of book lists created by censorship groups, America has long had a history of book banning, one that stretches to at least the 1960s.

In an analysis of 1,065 book complaints filed in the 2021-2022 school year, The Washington Post found that the majority were filed by 'a minuscule number of hyperactive adults.' Some of the serial complaints came from conservative parent group networks like Moms for Liberty.

A discovery of witches book