Pre-numbered label used for registration.

Here's a book description taken from Amazon.com:

When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.

Reserved for the Banned Books Month Release Challenge.

#20 on the ALA's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.

According to Forbidden Library, it was "challenged, but retained on the Moorpark High School recommended reading list in Simi Valley, Calif. (1993), despite objections that it contains 'hardcore graphic sexual content.'"

Actually, Clan of the Cave Bear doesn't have that much sex it that I remember (besides the rape scenes, of course), although later books in the series have tons and tons of sex.

Personally, I'm surprised no school has ever tried to ban it because of the discussion of evolution. If you don't accept evolution as a scientific fact, then the tension between the Cro-Magnons and the Neanderthals doesn't make much sense.

RELEASE NOTES:

I left the book on a bench in the second floor hallway, D wing.