Banned Books Focus: And Tango Makes Three, The Hunger Games, and Eleanor and Park

Brittany, our Community Outreach Supervisor, shared a few of her favorite banned titles below:

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

What more is there to love than two adorable daddy penguins who are in love and raise a cute little baby penguin?! Honestly, I cry every time I read this adorable book, I love it so much!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If you are looking for a strong female protagonist, this series has you covered. I devoured this whole series when I read it and still often think about it!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

This was such a sweet young love story.

Want to know more about these books? Check out descriptions provided by their publishers below.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own. – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun …

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. – Scholastic


Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under. – St Martin’s Griffin