Sometimes its not that hard to understand why some books have been banned throughout history. The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin had offensive and crude language, James Joyce’s Ulysses was sexually inappropriate, and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita plot included sexual relations with a twelve year old boy. However, there are some  formerly banned books throughout recent history which come as more of a shock and beg the question “why”?

Green Eggs and Ham: Dr. Seuss, 1960

From 1965 through 1991, this sweet children’s rhyme was banned to readers in the People’s Republic of China due to its “portrayal of early Marxism”. The ban was not lifted until after Seuss’s death.

 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Lewis Carrol, 1865

Personally I think the 1951 cartoon movie of this should be banned for its frightening content. But all jokes aside, a province in China in 1931 banned all Lewis Carroll stories as they depicted “anthropomorphised” animals who acted like humans. The adults of this province didn’t want their kids treating animals on the same level as people. I wonder if this province also banned Animal Farm?

 

Animal Farm: George Orwell, 1945

Big surprise here, not. When Orwell first published Animal Farm in 1945, it was immediately banned throughout America for being too critical of Russia. Funny. I bet this wouldn’t have been an issue ten years later. In 2002, the book was banned in the United Arab Emirates because its depictions of talking pigs was against Islamic values. 

 

The Diary of Anne Frank, 1947

So it’s not that surprising that this was banned in Lebanon for its “portrayal of Jews” in a favorable light. Yikes. Weirder yet, it was recently banned in 2010 in a Virginia school because it was too “sexually explicit” and included “homosexual themes”.

 

The Dictionary

That’s right, the Dictionary was banned in 2010 in a California elementary school due to its inappropriate definition of “oral sex”.