1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Forever by Judy Blume
8. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
9. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
10. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
11. The Giver by Lois Lowry
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
14. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
15. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
16. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
17. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
18. Sex by Madonna
19. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
20. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
21. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
22. The Witches by Roald Dahl
23. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
24. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
25. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
26. The Goats by Brock Cole
27. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
28. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
29. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
30. Blubber by Judy Blume
31. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
32. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
33. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
34. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
35. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
36. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
39. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
40. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
41. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
42. Deenie by Judy Blume
43. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
44. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
45. Beloved by Toni Morrison
46. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
47. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
48. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
49. Cujo by Stephen King
50. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
53. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
54. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
55. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
56. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
57. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
58. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
59. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
60. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
61. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
62. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
63. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
64. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
68. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
69. Native Son by Richard Wright
70. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
71. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
72. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
73. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
76. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
77. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
78. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
79. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
80. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
81. Carrie by Stephen King
82. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
83. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
84. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
85. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
86. Private Parts by Howard Stern
87. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
88. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
89. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. Jumper by Steven Gould
95. Christine by Stephen King
96. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
97. That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton
98. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
99. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

¹Out of 5,718 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.

Links to non-ALA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. Neither the American Library Association nor the Office for Intellectual Freedom necessarily endorses the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ALA and OIF do not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.

In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 23-30, 2006), the American Library Association (ALA) compiled the top 10 most challenged books from 2000-2005, with the Harry Potter series of books leading the pack. The 10 most challenged books of the 21st Century (2000-2005) are:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris

8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz

9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

10. "Forever" by Judy Blume

All but three of these books also were in the top 10 of the most challenged books of the 1990s. The ALA reports there were more than 3,000 attempts to remove books from schools and public libraries between 2000 and 2005. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. See also Challenged and Banned Books. See also Harry Potter tops list of most challenged books of 21st Century.

What do you get when you take a witch, her small town librarian psychic/witch grand daughter, add a budding teen medium, a biker gang and set it in the small town of Summerset, Iowa?  You get the new mystery featuring Ophelia Jensen, Witch Hunt.

For those of you who haven’t read a Shirley Damsgaard creation yet let me introduce you to Ophelia Jensen and her grandmother Abby.  They are witches.  No, not the let’s have your children for lunch witches but rather they are descended from a long line of Appalachian “Wise Women” who use herbal lore and are folk magick practitioners. Abby has been trying to train reluctant Ophelia and teach her how to use her gifts in a positive way.

Darci (a co-worker and best friend) approaches Ophelia for help when her visiting cousin is accused of murdering one of the bikers that have been plaguing Summerset. Becca was found holding the bloody knife in the same room as the dead body.  She has no recollection of the murder.

Ophelia undertakes the investigation.  She has to deal with a strangely antagonistic Abby.  In addition, Tink, Ophelia’s foster daughter and a budding teen medium, is having problems that might cast a sinister shadow over the entire investigation.

This is an enjoyable and easy read.  The characters are likeable.  The plot for this fourth Abby and Ophelia adventure was a little convoluted for my tastes.  The tension between Abby and Ophelia didn’t ring quite true to me. 

However, I would place it at s solid 7 on my 10 point scale.  It is a light read that I would recommend for the beach or relaxing around the pool.  Perhaps not the greatest mystery, but fun and quirky characters make this book a winner.

Thomas Perry has delivered another fine thriller with his latest book, Silence.  It centers around an old case of Jack Till, a retired LAPD detective who has set up shop as a PI.  Six years earlier, he had been approached by restaurateur Wendy Harper who was recovering from a brutal beating by an unknown assailant. She thinks the attacker is going to return and kill her. Harper asks Jack to help her disappear.  He teaches us her the trade secrets that law enforcement agencies use to track fugitives and how to avoid easy detection.

Police have charged Harper's ex-boyfriend and business partner, Eric Fuller with her murder.  Knowing that Fuller is innocent, Jack joins the defense team to clear his name. He undertakes the task of trying to find the woman he helped "disappear.

 Meanwhile, the husband and wife "hit team" of Paul and Sylvie Turner have been hired by the person who had initiated the attempt on Harper's life.  It's a race against time to see who will prevail in this suspense filled police procedural.

While not as enjoyable as some of his earlier work (especially his Jane Whitfield novels), Silence is still an excellent example of Thomas Perry's craftmanship.  I enjoyed the characters of Jack Till and Wendy Harper and even the Turners added to my reading pleasure.  I thought the "mystery man" and the motivation of the attempts on Wendy Harper's life was the weakest part of the book.  I would still say it's a good suspense filled read.  I'd place it at a 7-7.5 on my readability scale.

• The Overlook by Michael Connelly began its life as a 16 part serial in the New York Times.  It features L.A. detective, Harry Bosch, in his 13^th adventure.  Fans of Connelly’s will see the flaws in the book immediately.  Primarily, a lack of character development and tying up loose ends.  It is a taut 12 hour investigation that raises questions of national security, terrorism and lack of cooperation between the Feds and local law enforcement agencies.  It is a good read but is not up to Connelly’s usual standards.  I actually had the case fairly well solved at the midpoint of the book.  I would give it a 7.5 – 8 on my grading scale. 
• Free Fire by C. J. Box-  This is the seventh adventure to feature Wyoming Game warden Joe Pickett.  It opens to find the previously terminated Pickett working as foreman on his father-in-law’s ranch.  Gov. Rulon offers to reinstate Pickett to investigate a murder in Yellowstone.  A lawyer using a legal loophole is able to shoot and kill four campers that he said were threatening him.  Rulon wants Pickett to investigate the crime and the background of the victims.  Joe is immersed in a  web of deceit and misdirection that keeps the reader guessing to the end.  It is a great read.  I would give it a 9.
• All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris – This is the seventh Southern Vampire novel to feature telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse.  Pressed into service by the vampire queen of Louisiana, Sookie attends an important Vamp summit to act as a human Geiger counter to detect deceit and danger for the Louisiana contingent.  Sookie soon becomes embroiled in the most dangerous situation she has faced.  Harris has a talent to blend romance, vamps, telepaths, and shape shifters in a thoroughly enjoyable novel.  It might not pass as great literature but it is a great summer read.  I’d recommend that the reader start with the first of the series Dead as a Doornail.  It would be easier to see the players and character development than tring to sink your reading teeth in this one(sorry) without a background.  It receives an 8.5 on my reading scale.