It's Banned Books Week!
We are, of course, celebrating by reading books that have been frequently challenged and banned in schools and libraries across the U.S.
Here are the books we're reading, with the reasons they were challenged and/or banned:
Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth
Reasons: challenged, banned, and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content; for discussing gender identity and sex education; for concerns that the title and illustrations were “inappropriate”; and because it is believed to lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex.”
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reason: sexually explicit, homosexuality, offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group, violence
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, “contains controversial issues", violence, offensive language, depicts CSA
George (retitled Melissa's Story in 2021) by Alex Gino
Reasons: challenged, banned, restricted, and hidden to avoid controversy; for LGBTQIA+ content and a transgender character; for not reflecting “the values of our community”; because schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”; for sexual references; for conflicting with a religious viewpoint and “traditional family structure”; for encouraging children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones; for mentioning “dirty magazines”; for describing male anatomy; for “creating confusion”; and because the “sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels”.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people
Source: ALA's list of most frequently challenged and banned books
Sorry for the long post! Turns out Melissa's Story has been banned, like, a lot. Geez Louise.
Anyway, you can find more banned books at ala.org/bbooks. That's also where you'll find support and a way to report it if people are trying to ban books in your community.
Now go forth and read!
