Challenged Books

I expected to see some of the title that appeared on the list of the 100 most frequently challenged books (1990-2000), but not all of them. Here's some of the 'duhs' and the unexpected.

No Surprises Here:

1. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
2. Sex by Madonna
3. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
4. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
5. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
6. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen

Huh?! Why would anybody want to ban that book?:

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou [I still haven't figured out why anybody would want to ban such a staple of freedom.]
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain [Isn't that a classic?]
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain [ditto.]
4. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling [I get really emotional when I hear about people burning or banning Harry Potter. I just can't believe anyone would want to deprive kids of all that magic. I love those books.]
5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger [So what if Holden cusses like a seventeen year old boy?! What do you expect?! He's a seventeen year old boy! Would you rather him say "number two" or "darn"? Seriously, no normal teenager can relate to a saint. Euphamizing The Catcher in the Rye is just as bad as burning it.]
6. The Giver by Lois Lowry [Isn't that a kid's book? Didn't I read that in 5th grade?]
7. The Witches by Roald Dahl [This one makes me especially sad. Roald Dahl's work is always so inspiring to kids. I remember my dad reading me his books when I was little and they always the stories always left my mind in such a creative, curious, and just silly state.]
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee [Yeah, there's racism. Yeah, they talk about rape. Does anybody acually believe kids reading about evil characters doing evil things makes them want to be evil too? Right and wrong are pretty clear in this book. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the whole point of To Kill a Mockingbird.]
9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes [Maybe they wanted to ban this book because it's too depressing. No, it probably had something to with the puberty flashbacks. It's funny, doesn't everybody experience puberty at some point? This book is written at a post-puberty level. I'm not aware of any 10 year olds who would enjoy this book. Who are they trying to protect?]
10. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl [Ugh. Again, why would you ban Roald Dahl. If withholding James and the Giant Peach from kids isn't wrong, I'm not sure what is.]
11. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney [I got nothing.]
12. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford [?]