In honor of this year’s annual Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 2), readers are encouraged to celebrate the significance of the First Amendment and the freedom to read. Banned Books Week sheds light on the issue of censorship and the benefits of free and open access to information. It’s also a time to acknowledge the books that have been challenged or banned from schools, public libraries and bookstores across the nation, in an attempt to censor explicit content and unpopular viewpoints from readers. Most books are challenged by parents because of sexually explicit material that they find unsuited for the age group. Although some books have been banned or restricted in the past, most books are merely challenged and remain in current library collections. There’s a litany of books that have been challenged during the last 20 years and continue to face disapproval among parents, schools and organizations who want these books pulled from the shelves. Despite repeated challenges and some restrictions, these books have made a comeback in many educational settings and libraries because of their educational, social and literary importance to society. Here are 10 banned books that made a comeback:

• And Tango Makes Three
  And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, is a children’s book based on the true story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who formed a couple and raised an egg together at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Although the book has won several awards, it’s also stirred many challenges during today’s same-sex marriage, homosexuality and adoption debates. It is the fourth most challenged book of the decade, and the No. 1 most challenged book for three consecutive years. And Tango Makes Three has been challenged for anti-ethnic, anti-family and homosexuality reasons, as well as having a religious viewpoint and unsuitable to the age group.
• To Kill A Mockingbird
  To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a classic modern American literature novel and Pulitzer Prize winner that has been cited as a major contributor to the success of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. To Kill A Mockingbird became the fourth most challenged book in 2009 for offensive language, racism and being unsuited to its age group. Despite its most recent challenge, To Kill A Mockingbird is still widely read in public schools and libraries across the country.
• Go Ask Alice
  Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks), is about the life of a troubled teen who becomes addicted to drugs and has many explicit adult experiences throughout her spiraling tale. Although Go Ask Alice is presented as a story against drug use, its heavy drug references and explicit content has caused much controversy around the book. The novel was listed as No. 23 on the list of 100 most frequently challenged books of the 1990s, and made it into the top ten challenged books of 2001 and 2003 for drugs, offensive language and sexually explicit content.
• Of Mice and Men
  Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a novella about two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California. Of Mice and Men is required reading in many high schools, but it’s also one of the most challenged books of the 21st century and the fifth most challenged book of the decade. It has been challenged for offensive language, racism and violence and unsuited to the intended age group.
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, is an autobiography of the African American writer’s early life, as she overcomes racism, trauma and becoming a mother at 17 years old. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was a New York Times best-seller for two years and it has been used in high schools and universities around the country for years. However, some schools and libraries have repeatedly challenged the book for its offensive language, racism, homosexuality and sexually explicit content that is considered unsuited to the age group, making it the sixth most challenged book of the decade.
• Harry Potter (series)
  Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling, is the series of seven fantasy novels that tell the story of young wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The series chronicles the adolescent wizards’ lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where they learn magical skills needed in the wizarding world. The Harry Potter series are incredibly popular worldwide, selling more than 400 million copies and receiving critical acclaim. In addition to its success, the series has also received a great deal of backlash and criticism for promoting witchcraft and using death as a major theme in the children’s literature series. Due to its controversy and numerous challenges by classrooms and school libraries, the Harry Potter (series) tops the chart as the No. 1 most challenged book of the decade.
• Catcher in the Rye
  Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is one of the most popular and widely read books in the world, with an estimated 250,000 copies sold each year. The novel’s protagonist and teenage icon, Holden Caulfield, continues to speak to its adolescent readers, but the beloved novel has also been at the center of literary challenges and a frequent target of censors. Catcher in the Rye was banned in many schools for offensive language, sexually explicit content and being unsuitable to the age group.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is the story of an autistic high school freshman who goes by the alias of “Charlie,” in which he writes a series of letters to an anonymous person telling them about the different experiences in his life, including introversion, drug use, teenage sexuality and abuse. The novel received a great deal of criticism for its use of drugs, homosexuality, suicide, religious viewpoint, anti-family, sexually explicit material and being unsuited to the intended age group. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been repeatedly challenged by schools and libraries, making it on the ALA’s top 10 most frequently challenged books list for four years in a row, and it was No. 10 on the most challenged books of the decade list.
• The Color Purple
  The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is an epistolary novel about a black female’s life during the 1930s in rural Georgia. The main character, Celie, is a poor uneducated black woman who overcomes abuse, rape and racism to later find independence. The Color Purple was a critically acclaimed novel, earning the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. It was also adapted into a successful film and musical. Despite its success and popularity, The Color Purple also faced much criticism for its use of violence, offensive language, homosexuality and sexually explicit content that was unsuited for the intended age group. The novel has been challenged by schools and libraries across America, making it the 17th most frequently challenged book of the decade, and No. 9 on the most frequently challenged books of 2009.
• The Chocolate War
  The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, is a young adult novel about freshman, Jerry Renault, as he challenges his private Catholic preparatory high school’s malicious secret society, which uses intimidation and manipulation to control the student body. The Chocolate War was well-received by critics, and it has been considered one of the best young adult novels of all time. However, the novel’s offensive language, nudity, violence and sexually explicit content have made it the target for several challenges by schools and libraries for years. The Chocolate War is the third most challenged book of the decade, appearing six times on the ALA’s 2001-2009 lists of most frequently challenged books.