LibGuides: Banned Books Week: The House on Mango Street / La Casa en Mango Street

The House on Mango Street

by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Call Number: Foley General Collection PS3553.I78 H6 2009; Foley General Collection PS3553.I78 H6 1991

ISBN: 9780679734772

Publication Date: 1984

The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes-sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous-Sandra Cisneros' masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.

"Cisneros draws on her rich Latino heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat ing unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one." -The New York Times Book Review
La Casa en Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Call Number: Foley General Collection PS3553.I78 H618 1994

ISBN: 0679755268

Publication Date: 1984

Elogiado por la crítica, admirado por lectores de todas las edades, en escuelas y universidades de todo el país y traducido a una multitud de idiomas, La casa en Mango Street es la extraordinaria historia de Esperanza Cordero. Contado a través de una serie de viñetas --a veces desgarradoras, a veces profundamente alegres-- es el relato de una niña latina que crece en un barrio de Chicago, inventando por sí misma en qué y en quién se convertirá. Pocos libros de nuestra era han conmovido a tantos lectores.
Das Haus in der Mango Street : Roman by Sandra Cisneros
Call Number: Foley General Collection PS3553.I78 H615 1992

ISBN: 9783311240044

Publication Date: 1992

Frustrated by a life in the slums of Chicago, Esperanza tries to escape her neighborhood and invent her own future.

Why was this book challenged?

Reasons: Sexual Content, Racial Content

According to an article written by Lisa Rand for the American Library Association, "The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros was banned as part of a significant censorship case in Arizona in 2010. Under Arizona House Bill 2281, more than 80 other books were banned in the state’s public schools. The law was aimed at dismantling or undermining programs that taught Mexican-American cultural studies, and prohibited courses that “promote the overthrow of the government.” In other words, studying the Mexican-American experience was framed as un-American. After a significant public response, the ban was overturned in 2017."
See our Frequently Asked Questions for more information about why books that address racism and inequality are frequently targeted for censorship.
Read review excerpts, responses to challenges of this book, and more on Book Résumés.