Colorado parents burn books
{{date|September 29, 2005}}

[[w:Norwood, Colorado|Norwood, Colorado]] parents recently burned copies of Rudolfo Anaya's ''[[w:Bless Me, Ultima|Bless Me, Ultima]]'' after having them pulled from the area high school's curriculum.  Millie Davis, of the National Council of Teachers of English, said "I'm flabbergasted that something like this would be happening in this day and age".  The Hispanic coming-of-age story is commonly included as part of high school curriculums, and won the Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award.  The novel explores some minority religious views such as [[w:paganism|paganism]].

The Colorado parents who burned the copies claim they "mainly" object to some profanity in the novel.  Rudolfo Anaya, a professor emeritus of English at the [[w:University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico]], said "The book should be judged in its entirety. There is some strong language in strong situations, but there is no flippant use of profanity."

"Bless Me, Ultima" has survived a challenge in New York without being banned, or indeed, burned.  It came in 75th on the [[w:American Library Associations|American Library Association's]] list of the [http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000].  By comparison, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh positions are occupied by Robert Cormier's ''[[w:The Chocolate War|The Chocolate War]]'', Mark Twain's ''[[w:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', John Steinbeck's ''[[w:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', and  J.K. Rowling's ''[[w:Harry Potter|Harry Potter]]'' series, respectively.

== Related News ==

*{{wikinews|title=ALA observes banned book week|date=September 28, 2005}}

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2005/02/01/news/top_stories/news01.txt
|title= Norwood school books banned, destroyed
|author=D. Dion and Margo L. Roberts 
|pub= Telluride Gateway
|date=September 28, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=30740
|title=More book-banning requests filed in 2004
|author=Hillel Italie
|pub=IDSNews
|date= September 2, 2005}}

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[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Colorado]]
[[Category:United States]]
Norwood, Colorado parents recently burned copies of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima after having them pulled from the area high school's curriculum.  Millie Davis, of the National Council of Teachers of English, said "I'm flabbergasted that something like this would be happening in this day and age".  The Hispanic coming-of-age story is commonly included as part of high school curriculums, and won the Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award.  The novel explores some minority religious views such as paganism.

The Colorado parents who burned the copies claim they "mainly" object to some profanity in the novel.  Rudolfo Anaya, a professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico, said "The book should be judged in its entirety. There is some strong language in strong situations, but there is no flippant use of profanity."

"Bless Me, Ultima" has survived a challenge in New York without being banned, or indeed, burned.  It came in 75th on the American Library Association's list of the  100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000.  By comparison, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh positions are occupied by Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and  J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, respectively.

*
Education Colorado United States