In the children’s book King & King, a queen decides to find a mate for her lonely prince so he can rule the kingdom. One princess arrives to meet him, but the prince only has eyes for her brother, and the two men fall in love. Aiming to normalize same-sex attraction and demonstrate the diversity of humans, King & King has made the American Library Association’s “Most Challenged Books” of 2004 list. Two other books containing homosexual themes and references also made the list as part of the ALA-sponsored Banned Books Week.

“The whole premise behind focusing one week of the year on this issue of banned books is to draw the country’s attention to the fact that the freedom to read is a very basic freedom in a democratic society and something that we shouldn’t take for granted,” said ALA president-elect Leslie Burger.

The list, compiled by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, is comprised of the 10 books that drew the most complaints in libraries and schools across the U.S. Of those, three were cited for homosexual themes and content – the highest number in a decade. They are: King & King by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War topped the list after it raised complaints from parents and others concerned about its sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint and violence.

Banned Books Week occurs during the last week in September each year to give visibility to the censorship of books throughout history. Observed since 1982, the annual event seeks to demonstrate that the freedom of reading is crucial. Many libraries and bookstores sponsored events and put up displays speaking out against book censorship throughout the country.

“The San Diego Public Library system has not seen any specific protest to any books containing homosexual subject matter,” said Arian Collins, San Diego Public Library’s media relations manager, noting San Diego libraries had exhibits in about a dozen libraries publicizing Banned Books Week.

“We think it’s important to recognize that not every book is right for every person,” he said. “The freedom to choose what we want to read and what we can read is right for everyone. Reading, speaking, thinking, expressing yourselves freely are core American values.”

According to Collins, the San Diego Public Library has not pulled a book or publication due to a complaint.

“We take every complaint seriously and we review each thing we do. We just haven’t had much of a problem with that in San Diego,” he said.

Last year the Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 547 challenges, which was an increase from 458 in 2003. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.

“We obviously don’t know about 100 percent of all the challenges that take place everywhere, but those are the challenges that are reported to the American Library Association,” said Burger, who added that there is not a formal process for reporting challenges. The ALA estimates that the number of challenges they receive only represents about a quarter of actual challenges to various books, because many go unreported.

According to the ALA, the national American Family Association is involved in many library challenges, but most complaints originate from the public.

Some states have attempted to pass legislation aimed at gay-themed books this year. In May, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a resolution by an 81-3 vote banning books on gay and lesbian families from children’s sections of public libraries. The bill’s sponsor Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, called King & King “obscene.” Two days later, Tulsa libraries created a “Parenting Collection” in order to prevent children from accessing books with gay themes because an adults-only section did not exist.

Last February, another bill that would have omitted any reference to gay and lesbian families in new textbooks purchased by school districts failed in Arkansas’ Senate Education Committee. Representative Roy Ragland, R-Marshall, sponsored the bill and said it was designed to block efforts to promote a “gay agenda” in schools. The bill needed four votes to progress to the Senate floor but died with a 3-3 vote.

“That’s something that we, the membership of the ALA, feel is contrary to the whole premise of the freedom to read, that you can’t legislate what people read,” said Burger.

As a result of this type of threatening legislation, the ALA Council passed a resolution in June affirming the inclusion of materials that reflect the diversity of society. The resolution encourages libraries to acquire and make available materials that are representative of all people.

“What we’re trying to do is just say to our members and to members of legislatures in these states that it’s our responsibility as librarians to make sure that the collections we present to the people who live in our community reflect diverse points of view. We’re not going to cave,” said Burger.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the ALA, American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.