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Friendship, Tough Issues, and Banned Books – School Trip Discussion Questions and Review 2023

School Trip Discussion Questions and Review post   written by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.

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Brief school trip summary, why read school trip, school kids quotes, school trip discussion questions.

Book : School Trip Author and Illustrator : Jerry Craft Publication Date : April 4, 2023 Pages : 250 Reading Age : 10 and up Genres : Graphic Novel; Coming of age; humor; Diversity Warnings : Although there is a lot of humor, the book deals with some serious topics. If you do not want to be challenged don’t read School Trip.

Jordan and all his friends are back in the third installment of Craft’s “New Kid” series. The final year of junior high is coming to an end and Jordan’s class at Riverdale Academy Day School (RAD) is going on various trips. Jordan and several of his friends are on the trip to Paris. As in the prior two books, there is plenty of humor, a lot of thoughtful discussion, and lessons to be learned as they navigate their way through “The City of Lights”.

First, I would recommend that you read at least the first book in the series to acquaint yourself with the characters in the overall situation. School Trip rivals the first novel for excellence. Jordan is a budding artist (with perhaps some semblance to the author – see quotes below). Most of the book is in the third person, but it is interspersed with Jordan speaking through his drawings. This adds a great deal of variety to the overall art and is a winning point for this book.

There’s a great deal of humor in the book. Also, as the principal characters are about to enter high school, there is a lot of character development happening. This also applies to some of the adult characters but in a lesser way. School Trip, as well as the previous two books, deals frankly with topics that a lot of people don’t want to see addressed. Systemic racial and ethnic issues and attitudes, microaggressions, and book banning are just some of the topics that are handled well. This is not a “shout it from the rooftop” book – this book genuinely draws you into the lives of its characters.

One of the great things about this book is that there are no real villains. Andy, one of the primary antagonists, is on the trip. But after he is confronted by the honest feelings of some of his classmates, he begins to change. The novel has a lot of hope – even if you did make people think your donuts had bugs in them (yes, you need to read this highly humorous yet hopeful part). I would say this is a must-read.

Continue reading for our School Trip Discussion Questions and Quotes .

The more time we spend with people who aren’t like us, the more we learn that they really are like us… But how do you give someone a dream when they don’t even know that they’re allowed to dream? in France, we work in order to live, but in America, it seems you live in order to work. …you should never stop learning ’cause you’ll never know it all. Do you really think that one day you’ll grow up to make some New York Times bestselling comic book that will win all the big, literary awards, get translated into different languages and then…what?… get turned into a movie? Who knew that graphic novels were real books? School Trip Quotes

Themes for Discussion : Caring for others, Friendship, Understanding Others, Racial and Social Equity, Banned Books.

• What do you think about Andy at the end of the book? How has he changed? What made him change?
• All the characters are unique. Which one do you relate to and how?
• One of the reasons Craft addresses book banning is, as he noted in a short afterward, because “New Kid” has been banned from some school libraries. What is he trying to tell his readers about book banning? Why is this a bad thing? (You can check out Jerry Craft’s interview below where he talks more about this book and book bans).
• Although only briefly mentioned, other kids from RAD are on trips within the US. Where inside the US would you like to go on a school trip? What place outside of the US? Why?
• Do you like graphic novels? How do you think they compare to comics and to print novels?

Thanks for reading our School Trip Discussion Questions and Review. For further reading:

We have reviews of the first two books: – New Kid – Class Act

For a fantasy read addressing some of the same issues, see our review of Amari and the Night Brothers

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and this School Trip Discussion Questions and Review use affiliate links . We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva or used from media kits We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Find our  other reviews with discussion questions here . And our posts about  family stuff here .

Over 1,600 Books Were Banned During the Past School Year

A new PEN America report finds that targeted campaigns by advocacy groups are behind the increasing bans

Ella Feldman

Daily Correspondent

It’s  Banned Books Week , an annual campaign that began in 1982 to celebrate the  First Amendment and encourage the protection of controversial materials. But now, four decades later, book bans are on the rise, according to a new report from the free speech nonprofit PEN America .

Between July 2021 and June 2022, the report— Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools —found 2,532 instances of individual bans, which covered 1,648 unique books. PEN America tracks the bans in a public spreadsheet , which indicates that the most-banned book is Maia Kobabe ’s  Gender Queer: A Memoir .

The bans took place in 138 school districts across 32 states; in total, those school districts enroll nearly 4 million students. (These numbers only account for the bans that PEN America was able to track, and the organization says that more likely exist.) The report found that 96 percent of the bans did not follow the best practice guidelines for book challenges outlined by the  American Library Association  (ALA) and the  National Coalition Against Censorship .

About 41 percent of the banned titles explicitly address LGBTQ themes, making these the biggest target of the bans. Books involving sexual content—such as stories about teen pregnancy, sexual assault and abortion—account for 22 percent of the titles. About 21 percent directly address race and racism, while 40 percent feature major characters of color.

The team behind Banned in the USA wanted to determine where book bans originated. They found that in many instances, the bans were the calculated result of work by advocacy groups.

“[T]he large majority of book bans underway today are not spontaneous, organic expressions of citizen concern,” the report states. “Rather, they reflect the work of a growing number of advocacy organizations that have made demanding censorship of certain books and ideas in schools part of their mission.”

PEN America identified 50 groups, some with hundreds of regional chapters, pushing for book bans across the country. The majority of those groups—73 percent—have formed since 2021. 

“These groups probably do not necessarily represent a range of beliefs from our democracy,” PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, one of the report’s authors, tells Education Week ’s Eesha Pendharkar. “So they’re having an outsized impact in a lot of places on what it is that everybody gets to read.”

Such groups have played a hand in many of the book bans that took place over the last school year; 20 percent of bans can be directly linked to their work, while they appear to have influenced an additional 30 percent. 

“This is a concerted, organized, well-resourced push at censorship,” Suzanne Nossel, the chief executive of PEN America, tells the  New York Times ’ Elizabeth A. Harris. “[The effort] is ideologically motivated and politically expedient, and it needs to be understood as such in order to be confronted and addressed properly.”

Last week, the ALA  released its own report , which examines book bans since the beginning of 2022, and found a similar increase in bans.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, tells Hillel Italie of the  Associated Press (AP). “It’s both the number of challenges and the kinds of challenges. It used to be a parent had learned about a given book and had an issue with it. Now we see campaigns where organizations are compiling lists of books, without necessarily reading or even looking at them.”

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Ella Malena Feldman is a writer and editor based in Washington, D.C. She examines art, culture and gender in her work, which has appeared in Washington City Paper , DCist and the Austin American-Statesman .

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How a Debut Graphic Memoir Became the Most Banned Book in the Country

Maia Kobabe’s book “Gender Queer,” about coming out as nonbinary, landed the author at the center of a battle over which books belong in schools, and who gets to make that decision.

Maia Kobabe’s book, “Gender Queer,” was the most banned book in the U.S. in 2021, a year in which bans and challenges soared. Credit... Marissa Leshnov for The New York Times

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By Alexandra Alter

• Published May 1, 2022 Updated June 22, 2023

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Coming out as bisexual in high school had been relatively easy: Maia Kobabe lived in the liberal San Francisco Bay Area and had supportive classmates and parents. But coming out as nonbinary years later, in 2016, was far more complicated, Kobabe said. The words available failed to describe the experience.

“There wasn’t this language for it,” said Kobabe, 33, who now uses gender-neutral pronouns and doesn’t identify as male or female. “I just thought, I am wanting to come out as nonbinary, and I am struggling with how to bring this up in conversation with people. And even when I am able to start a conversation about it, I feel like I am never fully able to get my point across.”

So Kobabe, an illustrator who still lives in the Bay Area, started drawing black-and-white comics about wrestling with gender identity, and posting them on Instagram. “People started responding with things like, ‘I had no idea anyone else felt this way, I didn’t even know that there were words for this’,” Kobabe said.

Kobabe expanded the material into a graphic memoir, “Gender Queer,” which was released in 2019 by a comic book and graphic novel publisher. The print run was small — 5,000 copies — and Kobabe worried that the book wouldn’t find much readership.

Then, last year, the book’s frank grappling with gender identity and sexuality began generating headlines around the country. Dozens of schools pulled it from library shelves. Republican officials in North and South Carolina, Texas and Virginia called for the book’s removal, sometimes labeling it “pornographic.”

Suddenly, Kobabe was at the center of a nationwide battle over which books belong in schools — and who gets to make that decision. The debate, raging in school board meetings and town halls, is dividing communities around the country and pushing libraries to the front lines of a simmering culture war. And in 2021, when book banning efforts soared, “Gender Queer” became the most challenged book in the United States, according to the American Library Association and the free speech organization PEN.

Many of the titles that have been challenged or banned recently are by or about Black and L.G.B.T.Q. people, both groups said.

“‘Gender Queer’ ends up at the center of this because it is a graphic novel, and because it is dealing with sexuality at the time when that’s become taboo,” said Jonathan Friedman, the director of free expression and education at PEN America. “There’s definitely an element of anti L.G.B.T.Q.+ backlash.”

Some who have lobbied to have the memoir removed from schools say they have no issue with the author’s story or identity. It’s the sexual content in “Gender Queer” that is not appropriate for children or school libraries, they say.

“It’s not a First Amendment issue, this is not going against L.G.B.T.Q. groups, we’re citing it for sexually explicit content,” said Jennifer Pippin, a nurse in Sebastian, Fla., and the chairman of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County, where “Gender Queer” was banned from school libraries last fall after Pippin filed a complaint.

The recent spike in book challenges has been amplified by growing political polarization, as conservative groups and politicians have focused on titles about race, gender and sexuality, and framed book banning as a matter of parental choice. Liberal groups, free speech organizations, library associations and some student and parent activists have argued that banning titles because some parents object to them is a violation of students’ rights.

The American Library Association counted challenges against 1,597 individual books last year, the highest number since the group began tracking book bans 20 years ago. In many cases, the titles that have been pulled aren’t mandatory reading, but are simply available on library shelves.

Several factors made “Gender Queer” a target.

It’s a graphic memoir that deals with puberty and sexual identity, and includes a few drawings of nude characters and sexual scenarios — images that critics of the book were able to share on social media to stoke a backlash. The book explores the author’s discomfort with traditional gender roles, and features depictions of masturbation, period blood and confusing sexual experiences.

And it arrived in the middle of a politically and emotionally charged debate about gender identity and transgender rights, as Republican elected officials in Texas , Florida and elsewhere have put forward legislation that would criminalize providing medically accepted treatment to transgender children, or ban discussions of gender identity and sexuality in some elementary school grades.

Being caught in the middle of a nationwide controversy has been unnerving for Kobabe, who has expressed concern about the impact the bans might have on young people who are questioning their identity.

“When you remove those books from the shelf or you challenge them publicly in a community, what you’re saying to any young person who identified with that narrative is, ‘We don’t want your story here’,” Kobabe said.

Kobabe, who was raised as a girl, started questioning that identity as a child. Once, during a field trip in the third grade, Kobabe went topless to play in a river, and was scolded by a teacher. Another time, Kobabe was secretly happy when another child in elementary school yelled, “What even are you, a boy or a girl?”

Kobabe found solace in drawing, David Bowie songs and fantasy series like “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings,” and developed crushes on both boys and girls.

Puberty was bewildering and traumatic. “I don’t want to be a girl. I don’t want to be a boy either. I just want to be myself,” Kobabe wrote in a diary at age 15.

In 2016, Kobabe began coming out to friends and family as nonbinary, and using the gender neutral pronouns e, eir and em. Kobabe’s parents, both teachers, were supportive, but also confused at times. To explain what it felt like to be nonbinary, Kobabe started drawing the images that eventually became the basis for “Gender Queer.”

Kobabe imagined the memoir would appeal mainly to young adults who had also wrestled with gender identity, and to friends and family of nonbinary people. The book’s publisher, Lion Forge, marketed it toward older teens and adults. But it soon found a younger audience. In 2020, it won an Alex Award, a prize given by the American Library Association to books written for adults that hold “special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.”

The award brought “Gender Queer” to the attention of librarians across the country, who often look to such prizes when deciding what books to order. High schools and some middle school libraries around the country began stocking it. Currently, on Amazon, it’s listed as appropriate for ages 18 and up; on Barnes & Noble’s website, it’s recommended for readers 15 and older.

One night in September, Kobabe was tagged in an Instagram post linking to a viral video of an irate mother denouncing the book as pornography at a school board meeting in Fairfax County, Va.

“I was like, ‘Well, this is disappointing and a bummer, but I don’t need to give this my attention,’” Kobabe said. “And then it just snowballed.”

Many of the book’s critics seized on a handful of explicit images that illustrate Kobabe’s evolving understanding of gender and sexuality as a teenager and young adult, including a drawing of Kobabe and a girlfriend experimenting with a strap-on sex toy, and another of Kobabe fantasizing about two men having sex.

The book was banned in dozens of school districts and removed from libraries across the country, including Alaska, Iowa, Texas and Pennsylvania. In some schools, it was pulled preemptively, without a formal complaint. It became a talking point for prominent Republican officials, among them Glenn Youngkin, now governor of Virginia, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, who called it “ obscene and pornographic ” and “likely illegal.”

It appeared on a list of books deemed sexually explicit that was circulated among members of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit formed in 2021 to push for “parental rights in schools” that has been helping to drive book banning efforts. Pippin first heard of “Gender Queer” when she saw it listed on the group’s Facebook page in October. She searched for it in her school library system and found there were copies in multiple middle schools and high schools, including the schools that her 13- and 17-year-old children attend, she said.

“Any 10- or 17-year-old could just check out that book,” Pippin said. “This could do damage to children if they don’t know what’s in it.”

She made a complaint to the school board, and shortly after, the book was removed. After a review, it was permanently banned.

In some communities, divisions over “Gender Queer” have been deep and painful.

This spring, after a member of Moms For Liberty submitted a complaint about “Gender Queer” to the Wappingers Central School District in upstate New York, the book was removed from a high school library. It had never been checked out. A committee of teachers, parents and educators reviewed it, and determined that it was not inappropriate and should be returned. The superintendent, citing sexually explicit images, overruled the committee and brought the issue to the school board, which voted unanimously to uphold the ban.

At a recent school board meeting, a group of students and parents denounced the ban, with one person arguing the book could be a lifeline for young people who are exploring gender identity and whose families are unsupportive. Others called the book pornographic and inappropriate.

Mandy Zhang, an 11th grader in the district, said banning “Gender Queer” sent a harmful message to gay, transgender and nonbinary students.

“People in the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community and in minority groups use these books as an outlet, and a way to connect to the world to feel support,” Zhang said at the school board meeting. “This book ban silenced these groups, these people, resulting in making them not feel valid.”

Zhang started a petition to reverse the ban, and within a week got more than 1,000 signatures. She’s starting a banned book club at her local library and is planning a fund-raiser to buy and distribute free copies of “Gender Queer.” But in her school district’s libraries, the book is no longer available.

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

Alexandra Alter writes about publishing and the literary world. Before joining The Times in 2014, she covered books and culture for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, she reported on religion, and the occasional hurricane, for The Miami Herald. More about Alexandra Alter

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School Trip

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247 pages, Hardcover

First published April 4, 2023

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The 15 most banned books in America this school year

Actor, author and ‘Reading Rainbow’ founder Levar Burton joins the L.A. Times Book Club to discuss the State of Banned Books.

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The recent surge in book bans in U.S. school districts and libraries is the latest front in a long-running battle that has swept up even literary masterpieces of John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger and Toni Morrison.

But the dramatically increasing censorship attempts have evolved, says Allison Lee, Los Angeles director of PEN America , a century-old writers organization that works to defend freedom of expression.

Prior to the current wave, communities usually banned books on a case-by-case basis, often in response to complaints about violent or sexual content. Now, Lee says, “large swaths of books, sometimes even entire school or classroom libraries are being removed.” Many activists and politicians object to an entire genre of books that deal with LGBTQ+ topics or issues. Other targeted books deal with race.

The American Library Assn. reports that in 2022 a record 1,269 demands were made to restrict or ban books and other materials in schools and libraries — up from 156 demands in 2020.

Here are 15 books PEN America says were most frequently banned from July 2021 through the first part of the 2022-23 school year.

1. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. This bestselling 2019 autobiography in graphic novel format has been praised for its honest, open discussion of what it’s like to be a nonbinary person. It also has been attacked for its frank depiction of sexual behavior, as Times columnist Robin Abcarian wrote in 2022 . The debut book by a Santa Rosa illustrator, “ Gender Queer ” has become the most banned book in America, a target of school boards, conservative candidates, preachers and parental groups who condemned it as pornography aimed at impressionable children. (56 bans; 150 challenges, according to the ALA )

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May 15, 2023

2. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson . In a recent discussion at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books , Johnson recalled that as a young Black queer person, they never saw themselves in any of the books they read. That led Johnson to write this 2020 book of coming-of-age essays, which has been challenged for its LGBTQ+ content and for being sexually explicit. In 2022, Time magazine named Johnson one of the 100 influencers shaping the next generation. (38 bans, 86 challenges)

3. “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. First published in 1970, Morrison’s novel about a Black girl growing up during the Great Depression is a meditation on the oppressive nature of America’s white-centric conception of beauty, as New York Times reviewer John Leonard wrote at the time. The story’s depiction of child abuse and sexual violence led to it being banned at a Southern California high school and elsewhere. (32 bans, 73 challenges)

4. “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez. A 1937 explosion that killed nearly 300 students and teachers at a Texas school provides the historical context for this YA novel , a love story about a Black boy and a Mexican American girl. Published in 2015, the book written by an Ohio State University literature professor faced challenges in 2021 about sexual depictions in the story. (31 bans, 50 challenges)

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5. “Flamer” b y Mike Curato. This award-winning 2020 novel explores a teenage boy’s struggle to understand and accept his sexuality while at summer camp in the 1990s. In an interview with PEN America, Curato described “ Flamer ” as a book about suicide prevention. Critics objected to its sexual-leaning content. (25 bans, 62 challenges)

6. “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas . Published in 2017, this novel about a teenage girl who witnesses a police officer kill her childhood best friend was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The bestseller was adapted into a 2018 film by the same name. An Illinois school board cited inappropriate language as a reason to ban the book in 2022 ; other challenges cited violence and an anti-police message. At the Festival of Books in April, Thomas said books like hers are seen as dangerous because of the power they have to create change through empathy. (24 bans)

7. “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins. The author based her 2004 novel on her daughter’s struggle with addiction to crystal meth and says the experience helped her better understand the nature of addiction. “The power of this novel is still felt in the constant challenges it still faces nearly twenty years after it was originally published,” writes Maryland librarian Nia Thimakis for the ALA . Challenges cited the book’s depictions of drug use and a violent sexual encounter. (24 bans, 48 challenges)

School librarians vilified as the ‘arm of Satan’ in book-banning wars

Conservatives vilify school librarians as “groomers and pedophiles” for stocking LGBTQ and racially themed books. “We have been cursed,” said one librarian.

Jan. 27, 2023

8. “Lawn Boy” b y Jonathan Evison. The 2018 novel tells the story of Mike Muñoz, a young biracial gay Chicano from a working-class family in Washington state. “The coming of age novel has received top marks from critics and readers, but also some challenges as well in schools and libraries because it contains profanity and sexually explicit scenes,” according to the ALA . (23 bans, 54 challenges)

9. “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins . In this 2009 novel , Hopkins tells the story of five troubled teenagers who become involved in prostitution in different parts of the country. It’s another provocative work by Hopkins , who had four books on the ALA’’s list of the top 100 banned or challenged books between 2010 and 2019. (21 bans)

10. “This Book I s Gay” by Juno Dawson. The British author delves into sexuality and gender in her 2014 young adult nonfiction bestseller . “I felt as a former teacher, sex education for LGBTQ+ teenagers wasn’t very good,” Dawson says on Instagram. “They weren’t really learning anything about safety in relationships.” Critics have denounced the book on social media as pornography. (21 bans, 48 challenges)

11. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie . Based on his own experiences, Alexie tells the story of a budding cartoonist growing up on a Spokane, Wash., reservation. Detractors have challenged the 2007 bestseller, citing sexual references and profanity. (21 bans, 52 challenges)

12. “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher . This 2007 novel explores the reasons a teenage girl decided to take her own life, recorded on cassette tapes discovered by a friend. The book was adapted into a Netflix series in 2017. One Colorado school district banned the book, saying it glamorized suicide, according to PBS NewsHour . (20 bans)

13. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews . This 2012 novel centers around two teenage boys who try to make a movie about their female friend with leukemia. One Missouri school district pulled it from libraries in 2023 because of explicit sexual language. (20 bans, 48 challenges)

14. “Sold” by Patricia McCormick. This 2006 novel, about a young Nepalese girl who struggles to survive being sold into sexual slavery, was a National Book Award finalist . But its realistic depiction of her plight has led to challenges . (18 bans)

15. “Melissa” by Alex Gino . Published in 2015, the novel follows the story of trans fourth-grader Melissa , who is seen by everyone as a boy named George. The book received the ALA’s Stonewall Book Award, a Lambda Literary Award and a Children’s Choice book award. In 2020, opponents of the book tried to close a town library in Kansas because it was on the shelf. (18 bans)

Classic works under fire

Here are another 10 notable books that have been banned or challenged over the years, according to the ALA and other sources.

“The Storyteller” by Jodi Picoult. This 2013 novel, about a young woman who discovers that an elderly man in her town was a death camp commander during the Holocaust, was among 20 books by the bestselling author removed in March from school libraries in Martin County, Fla., according to PEN America . Also removed were nine books from James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series and two books by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, among other titles.

“Forever” by Judy Blume. This 1975 novel, about a teenage couple who begin having sex, also was banned by Martin County’s school system. “What country is this?” Blume complained to NPR.

Abcarian: Judy Blume and ‘Margaret’ are having a well-deserved moment

In perfect timing, a movie version of the book and a documentary about the novelist’s life have converged. We needed them.

May 6, 2023

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. This 1951 novel is a classic of post-World War II American literature. The ALA notes that this title has been a favorite target of censors since its publication. Numerous school districts removed it from libraries and reading lists between 1960 and 2000.

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck . The Nobel Prize-winning author’s novel about the Dust Bowl and the hard lives of displaced farmers and their families in California became a bestseller in 1939. It was banned and copies were burned in Kern County, the destination of the fictional Joad family.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. The classic 1960 novel about racial injustice in a Southern town has been banned and challenged in numerous communities. Challenges often cite language and racial depictions. The hit Broadway adaptation by Aaron Sorkin has been a lightning rod for controversy.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell. The 1949 dystopian novel was challenged in Florida in 1981 for being “pro-communist” and sexually explicit.

“Beloved” by Toni Morrison. The 1987 novel, in which an enslaved Black woman kills her young daughter to spare her from slavery, was pulled from the Advanced Placement English class at a Louisville, Ky., high school in 2007 after parents complained. The principal ordered teachers to start over with “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

“Catch-22” by Joseph Heller . The 1961 antiwar novel was banned by a school district in Strongville, Ohio, in 1972, along with two novels by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. After students filed a lawsuit, a federal appeals court restored access , deciding the students had “the right to receive information which they and their teachers desired to have. ”

“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. Modern Library’s editorial board ranked “Brave New World,” the 1932 novel about the discontents of a technologically-advanced future society, as the fifth most important novel of the 20th century . Nevertheless, the book was challenged as required reading in the Corona-Norco Unified School District in 1993 because it is “centered around negative activity.” The novel also was removed from a high school library in Foley, Ala., in 2000 after a parent complained that it showed contempt for religion, marriage and family.

“Animal Farm” by George Orwell. The 1945 allegorical novella has been a target of complaints for decades, according to the ALA. In 1987, “ Animal Farm ” was one of dozens of books banned in schools in Bay County, Fla. Then 44 parents, students and teachers filed a federal lawsuit, and the school board reversed the decision. ‘’The only thing we have succeeded in doing is making sure every child in Bay County reads the books we banned,’’ a board member told the Associated Press.

Book club: State of Banned Books

What: Actor, author and “Reading Rainbow” founder LeVar Burton joined the L.A. Times Book Club on May 24 to discuss the State of Banned Books with Times editor Steve Padilla .

Where: ASU California Center in Los Angeles. This book club event also is available virtually: Watch now .

Join us: Sign up for the Book Club newsletter for latest books, news and events.

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clock This article was published more than  1 year ago

The rise in book bans, explained

Book challenges in America aren’t new — but over the past year, they’ve reached a fever pitch. A majority of the books that have been targeted nationwide focus on sexual orientation, gender identity, race and racism. Consider “ The Hate U Give ” by Angie Thomas, which has been challenged for an alleged anti-police agenda, and “ This Book Is Gay ” by Juno Dawson, a nonfiction book about sexuality and gender.

The situation is “unprecedented in its scale, and in the proliferation of organized groups who are trying to remove whole lists of books at once in multiple school districts, across a growing number of states,” says Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America, an advocacy group.

These are books school systems don’t want you to read, and why

According to an April report from PEN America, there were 1,586 instances of individual books being banned during the nine-month period from July 1, 2021, to March 31, affecting 1,145 book titles. Texas had the most bans (713), followed by Pennsylvania (456), Florida (204) and Oklahoma (43). That’s an “alarming” spike, compared with previous years, the group notes.

“From my place in the world, I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, who started working for the organization in 2000. She noted that social media is amplifying the situation. “A parent will stand up, do this impassioned speech about obscenity in school libraries in Virginia, and it goes viral on Facebook.”

The next book ban: States aim to limit titles students can search for

Amid the heated discussions about the issue, sometimes terminology can become muddled. To help clarify, we spoke to experts about the difference between a challenge and a ban, why books are challenged and when the current wave began. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:

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September 15, 2022

Five more children’s books you didn’t know were banned

What do Charlotte’s Web and the dictionary have in common? No, it’s not that they both include the word “pig” somewhere in their pages. Both of these books have been on banned book lists in the US. 

Legend has it that the first official book banning in the US occurred in 1624 when the Puritans banned the New English Canaan , a book that critiqued and attacked Puritan customs. Since then, parents, school districts, and concerned citizens have pushed for thousands of other books to be removed from shelves throughout the country. With book-banning efforts on the rise in recent years , and even in the past twelve months , Banned Books Week seeks to bring awareness to censorship and unite us all in our freedom to read.

If you’re a long-time Reading Partners supporter, you may remember this blog from 2015 that listed five children’s books you didn’t know were banned. In honor of Banned Books Week 2022, we found five more stories that surprisingly ended up on banned book lists. 

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

From Where the Sidewalk Ends to Falling Up to A Light in the Attic , Shel Silverstein’s books were filled with eccentric illustrations and quirky, rhyming poetry that made readers of all ages giggle. But parents in W isconsin weren’t laughing when they read one of the poems in A Light in the Attic : “How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes.” The poem goes like this: 

Parents believed that this poem would make their kids break all their dishes so they wouldn’t have to dry them. The book also got some criticism in Indiana where parents expressed concerns that it promoted “anti-parent material.” 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This award-winning story continues to be one of the most popular kid’s books since its publication in 1962. It follows the adventures of 13-year-old Meg who travels through time and space to save her father from the evil “It.” The story weaves together science, supernatural forces, and spirituality, which, to some, are not overlapping phenomenons. In fact, the story both makes overt Biblical references (with one character quoting directly from ​​Corinthians) and contains mentions of magic. Accordi ng to The Banned Books Project at Carnegie Mellon Un iversity, A Wrinkle in Time “has been criticized both for being too religious and for being not religious enough.” Its first challenge came from a Florida parents’ group, who argued that the book “opposes Christian beliefs and teaches occult practices.” It went on to secure spot #23 on the ALA’s list of the most frequently challenged books from 1990-1999. 

The Dictionary

For a book that contains almost every known word in the English language, it’s no surprise that a few of them ruffled some feathers. In 1976, schools in both Indiana and Alaska banned the American Heritage Dictionary because it contained inappropriate entries. One of these included the word bed , “ due to its use as a verb in slang .” More recently, prisons in Michigan have banned dictionarie s in Spanish and Swahili. The spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections explains that if the prisoners learned a “very obscure language,” they could then speak freely with each other about prohibited activities. 

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

To many, Charlotte’s Web is a wholesome, classic story about a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur finds out that he is being raised for slaughter, Charlotte decides to convince the farmer that Wilbur is a famous, special pig in order to save his life. Throughout the book, Charlotte weaves words of praise into her web such as “Radiant,” “Terrific,” and “Humble.” She ultimately saves Wilbur before her naturally short lifespan comes to an end. Due to themes of death and the fact that the main characters are talking animals, a parent group in Kansas sought to ban the book from their students’ school libraries. They argued that talking animals are “unnatural and blasphemou s as humans are the highest level of God’s creation.” However, the Kansas ban didn’t impact the book’s popularity; in 2006, it had been printed over 45 million times and been translated into 23 languages. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a children’s board book written to help toddlers make associations between objects and their meanings. On each page, the narrator asks an animal or person what they see. They answer the question, reporting that they see a red bird, a blue horse, a purple cat, a Goldfish, a school teacher, children, etc. You may be wondering, “What offensive image or theme could possibly be in this book?” The answer lies not within the book, but with the author. Accordi ng to the somewhat hilarious story , the Texas Board of Education accidentally mistook Bill Martin Jr., the author of over 300 innocent children’s books, for Bill Martin, the author of Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation. And thus, the book was banned for a brief time until they realized that Bill M artin Jr.’s only political agenda was “su pporting children and giving them wonderful literature they love to read.”

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Why are certain school books being banned in US?

• Published 7 February 2022

A growing number of US parents are alleging that school books are obscene or otherwise harmful to children. It's creating an increasingly divisive political battle that could spill over into upcoming national elections.

Yael Levin-Sheldon, a mother of two who lives near Richmond, Virginia, recently heard about a book that a teacher in an area school brought into the classroom. She made a note of the title, The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person.

The title alone, Levin says, is racist - and it's not the kind of book that should be available to children in public schools.

"Now think of it saying, 'on being a better black person'," she said. "Would that be ok?

Levin-Sheldon is the Virginia chapter president of the conservative parents-rights group No Left Turn in Education. Her organisation compiles a list of books it says are "used to spread radical and racist ideologies to students" and "divide us as a people for the purpose of indoctrinating kids to a dangerous ideology".

The list includes Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale and White Fragility by Robin Diangelo. The Black Friend, a New York Times best-selling memoir by Frederick Joseph recounting his challenges as a black student in a predominantly white high school, isn't on the list. At least, not yet.

Books such as Joseph's - offering critical views on topics like US history or race - gained new prominence in school curricula and library collections as a response to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and educational efforts to address concerns about persistent racism in the US. No Left Turn contends that the works should be taught in context, along with other texts that provide a different (and assumedly more positive) view of America's past. And parents, Levin-Sheldon adds, should have the choice of opting out of those lessons.

How critical race theory is dividing the US

Other works, however, particularly ones that touch on human sexuality in explicit detail, should be outright prohibited, the group argues.

"When it comes to pornography and paedophilia," Levin-Sheldon says, "that's when we want those books removed."

This, she adds, is all her group is seeking. It's not too different from what free-speech advocates and educators say they would like, as well - a conversation between parents, teachers and school librarians, balancing moral and educational interests and conducted with the best interests of the children in mind.

In practice, however, it hasn't always worked out that way.

Maus, which depicts the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust, was banned in Tennessee

A rising tide of complaints

A state legislator in Texas produced a list of more than 850 books that he contended may cause students to feel "discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress" because of their race or sex. A Dallas Morning News review found 97 of the first 100 books on the list were written by ethnic minorities, women or LGBTQ authors.

A school district in San Antonio pulled 400 of those books from its libraries without any formal review process or specific complaints from parents.

A Tennessee school board removed Maus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from its eighth-grade curriculum because of profanity and anthropomorphised mouse nudity.

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In Polk County, Florida, a school removed 16 books pending review, including award-winning novels The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Beloved by Toni Morrison, because they contained "obscene material".

Challenges have come from the left, as well. A school district near Seattle, Washington, dropped the 1960 Harper Lee classic To Kill a Mockingbird from its curriculum because of its depiction of race relations and use of racist language.

Characters' use of racist epithets also prompted efforts last year to limit the teaching of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in school districts in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, and Burbank, California.

The American Library Association keeps track of the number of complaints lodged against books in school libraries and has recorded a marked increase over the past year. According to preliminary data, from September through November of 2021 the association tallied 330 incidents. The total number reported for all of 2019, the last year schools across the US were in-person for the entire year, was 377 - suggesting that the final 2021 numbers ultimately will dwarf previous amounts.

The cumulative effect, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, is significant damage to open discourse and learning across the country.

"We are a government, a society that purports to protect freedom of speech, the freedom to access information to make up our own minds, to engage in a broadly liberal education," she says. "And we're now finding that we have a movement to shut down that conversation, to deny those rights, particularly to young people."

'Covid lemonade'

According to Tiffany Justice, co-founder of the parents group Moms for Liberty, the surge in parental interest can be attributed, at least in part, to the remote learning policies schools implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time, they say, many parents had an up-close view of what their children were being taught - and they didn't like it. She calls it "Covid lemonade," because the pandemic had a silver lining.

"We had never really been able to get parents as invigorated as they have been seeing the curriculum up close and personal while they were sitting with their child doing the work," she says. "We saw it as an opportunity to really engage parents even more and to get them involved in their children's education."

Social media has also proved to have a potent effect on the scope of the movement. Activists says it has helped their groups organise across the US, as parents learn that they are not alone in their concern. On the other side, groups like the American Library Association have found the same books identified in complaints turn up again and again, as lists - like the one on the No Left Turn websites - are circulated online.

"Social media is amplifying and driving both the messages of these groups that are pursuing a particular agenda, as well as individual challenges that crop up in a community," Caldwell-Stone says.

At the heart of the issue is a debate over the role of parents, schools and the rights of students in the classroom. Both Levin-Sheldon and Justice point out that until children turn 18 they are minors, and parents should be able to review the ideas and subject matters to which their children are exposed - even if that's not supervision all parents want to exercise at home or in the classroom.

Free-speech proponents counter that libraries are meant to serve an entire community of students, not just the ones with the most prudish parents. And although students are not adults, they still have rights - and agency. A dialogue between parents, teachers and librarians is important, but if teenagers seek out information on a topic of interest, they should have access to it.

"There's this notion that young people are in search of the most illicit material in every area of their lives, all the time," says Jonathan Friedman, director of Free Expression and Education at PEN America, an author's free-speech group. "I don't think that's true. I think people go to a library there's usually an alignment between reader and text."

The politics of anger

As the push to pass judgement on - and remove - certain books from schools has become a national drive with national attention from conservative and liberal media, tempers have become increasingly frayed.

A school board meeting in Flagler County, Florida, to discuss the removal of the book All Boys Aren't Blue devolved into obscenity-laced protests and counter-protests. (The board's decision to approve the book's use was ultimately overruled by a county official).

Meetings in other parts of the US have had to be cancelled or delayed because of threats against public officials. During a school board meeting in Carmel, Indiana, last July, where parents were taking turns reading out explicit passages from books that they believed should be removed from their school library, a man was arrested after a handgun fell out of his pocket.

Levin is quick to note that her group does not approve of such parental conduct and they seek to train their members to behave "respectfully and professional" at school board meetings. Justice agrees, calling her members "joyful warriors", but adds that parents have reason to be angry.

"Yeah, they're upset," she says. "Their kids aren't learning in school. They're sending their kids to school and their kids are learning more about - who knows? Not reading and writing."

A protest against critical race theory at a school in Virginia

Anger can be a potent force in politics, and conservative politicians - and Republican-dominated legislatures - have sought to harness the passion.

Last November, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governorship by campaigning on education and parental rights. One of his television adverts featured a mother who objected to Morrison's Beloved being taught in her son's high-school English class.

As November's mid-term elections approach, with control of the US Congress and many state governments at stake, more candidates on the right are following suit.

Matt Krause, the Texas legislator with the 850-book list, is running for state attorney general. On Tuesday, the Indiana state Senate approved a bill that would allow the criminal prosecution of school librarians for disseminating "material harmful to minors". The Oklahoma legislature is considering a bill that would ban public school libraries from offering any books on sexuality or gender identity.

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One thing Americans find hard to talk about

Friedman warns that efforts to remove books will have an adverse impact on librarians and school officials, who could engage in "soft censorship" by pre-emptively pulling titles they worry could spark controversy. It could also have a chilling effect on authors and publishers, who might shy away from controversial topics and stifle their creativity.

"If you are telling a story that's on the borderline of any of these issues right now, you're going to think twice about writing in a way that might get banned or draw national attention," he says. "You're not going to publish that book; you're not going to give that talk publicly about it."

Ashley Hope Perez is one of those authors feeling the pressure. In a recent issue of Texas Monthly, she describes how she was harassed after her book Out of Darkness was criticised as being obscene in meeting of a school board near Austin.

"Ugly phone messages calling me a 'degenerate piece of -', emails that were little more than expletives strung together, social media comments saying I was 'literally SATAN' and suggestions that I hang myself," she writes. "The attacks on Out of Darkness say far more about our cultural moment than they do about my book."

She notes that her book was first published six years ago with little controversy. The political ground, it seems, has shifted significantly since then.

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• Published 31 January 2022

Goldberg's second 'sorry' over Holocaust remarks

• Published 1 February 2022

Here are 50 books Texas parents want banned from school libraries

Conservative parents have swarmed school board meetings in Texas and across the country in recent months to call for the removal of library books that deal with race, racism, sex, gender and sexuality. Some parents have taken it a step further, filling out paperwork to formally challenge the appropriateness of library books and forcing school administrators to review them.

Read more: Books on race and sexuality are disappearing from Texas schools in record numbers

NBC News sent public records requests to nearly 100 school districts in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin regions — a small sampling of the state’s 1,250 public school systems — and found 86 formal requests to remove books from libraries last year, the vast majority coming during the final four months of the year. Several titles were targeted in multiple districts.

Drawing from those records, below is a list of 50 books that Texas parents tried to ban in 2021.

1. "Drama," by Raina Telgemeier

A parent asked administrators at the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston to pull this graphic novel, which features gay and bisexual characters, because she claimed it might lead young students "to question their sexual orientation when they don't even comprehend what that means."

2. "When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball," by Mark Weakland

A parent in Prosper, a Dallas suburb, said this illustrated children's book , which touches on the racism that Olympian Wilma Rudolph experienced growing up in Tennessee in the 1940s, should be removed from school libraries because "it opines prejudice based on race."

3. "Lawn Boy," by Jonathan Evison

A parent in Plano said this coming-of-age novel about a Mexican American character's journey to understanding his own sexuality and ethnic identity should be banned because it contains "profanity, pornography, gambling, homosexuality." The parent claimed the book encourages "admiring people with low morals and values, and hate of other people."

4. "Better Nate Than Ever," by Tim Federle

A parent in Leander, an Austin suburb, asked for this book, which features a subplot about a teenager who’s starting to notice his attraction to other boys, to be removed because the parent didn't believe "books should discuss sensitive/controversial topics such as gender, sexuality."

5. "Five, Six, Seven, Nate!" by Tim Federle

A Leander parent suggested replacing children's books that mention gender identity or sexuality, including this one, with "classics," such as "White Fang," "The Indian in the Cupboard," "The Swiss Family Robinson" and Shakespeare.

6. "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison

This classic novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison should be banned from schools, according to a parent in the Fort Worth suburb of Birdville, because it includes a graphic description of rape. 

7. "Out of Darkness," by Ashley Hope Pérez

This novel, about a 1930s East Texas romance between a Mexican American girl and a Black boy, isn't suitable for teens, a Birdville parent wrote, because "it depicts a graphic sexual experience between minors."

8. "Ghost Boys," by Jewell Parker Rhodes

According to a Houston parent, reading this novel about a Black boy killed by police might cause white children who attend the Spring Branch Independent School District to “feel ashamed based on color of their skin.”

9. "l8r, g8r," by Lauren Myracle

Told entirely through instant messages among three high school students, this novel has no place in schools, according to a parent in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, because it contains a "description of oral sex with minors," among other sexually explicit passages.

10. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," by Jesse Andrews

A parent in the Houston suburb of Katy wrote that this book, which chronicles the relationship between a teen boy and a girl with leukemia, includes "obscene language" and could lead students to "become over sexualized and objectified."

11. "White Bird: A Wonder Story," by R.J. Palacio

A parent in the Spring Branch ISD said this graphic novel — about a Jewish teen living in France after Nazis seized power — should be banned because it's "biased" and could lead to the "skewing of a young child's mind."

12. "Ground Zero: A Novel of 9/11," by Alan Gratz

A parent in Prosper said this novel, which tells the story of 9/11 and its aftermath from the dueling perspectives of an American boy and an Afghan girl, should be removed from schools because it "depicts American soldiers as callous, evil and terrorists" and because the author mentions the racial or ethnic identities of every character.

13. "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," by Alison Bechdel

This illustrated memoir, which recounts the author’s coming of age as a lesbian, is unsuitable for schools, according to a parent in Birdville, because it includes graphic descriptions of sexual violence.

14. "Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)" by L.C. Rosen

A Katy mom asked administrators to remove this book, about a 17-year-old gay student who has a lot of sex and isn’t ashamed of it, after reading explicit passages aloud at a school board meeting: “We cannot unread this type of content," she said, "and I would like to protect my kids’ hearts and minds from this.”

15. "City of Thieves," by David Benioff  

A parent in San Antonio asked the Northside Independent School District to ban this work historical fiction, set during the Nazis’ siege of Leningrad, because it includes “pornographic imagery” that is "not suited for the majority" of readers, the parent wrote, adding, "... unless you're into that."

16. "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe

This illustrated memoir by a nonbinary author, which includes sexually explicit cartoon images, triggered attempted bans — and even threats of criminal charges — in several Texas school districts.

17. "This One Summer," by Mariko Tamaki

A Birdville mom wanted this book, a graphic novel featuring LGBTQ characters, removed from libraries because, she said, it "has a recurring theme of oral sex."

18. "We Are the Ants," by Shaun David Hutchinson

This coming-of-age novel about a gay teenager came under fire in Birdville when a parent complained that it has explicit descriptions of "masterbation and genitalia."

19. "The Breakaways," by Cathy G. Johnson

Parents in Keller and Spring Branch complained that this graphic novel, which features a transgender character, should be off-limits for young students because it includes images of children kissing in bed.

20. "All Boys Aren't Blue," by George M. Johnson

This memoir by a queer Black author was flagged for removal by a group of Katy parents because it includes descriptions of molestation and sex between men.

21. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky

A parent in McKinney asked the district to remove this coming-of-age novel because it includes descriptions of homosexuality, date rape and masturbation.

22. "Michelle Obama: Political Icon," by Heather E. Schwartz

A Katy parent asked to have this children's biography of the former first lady banned at every grade level because, the parent said, it unfairly depicts former President Donald Trump as a bully and because Obama's reflections on race gave the impression that "if you sound like a white girl you should be ashamed of yourself."

23. "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You," by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

This young adult adaptation of "Stamped From the Beginning," Kendi's National Book Award-winning historical examination of racism, was flagged for removal by a parent in Katy, who wrote that the children's book "is littered with completely fabricated and conspiracy theory views on history" that make it seem as if "all historical events of the past were a result of racism."

24. "New Kid," by Jerry Craft

A Katy mom asked to ban this graphic novel about a Black seventh grader at a mostly white school. She claimed that, because it includes references to microaggressions, the book is "about critical race theory, which is forbidden by Texas law."

25. "Class Act," by Jerry Craft

A Katy mom said this graphic novel, the second in a series, should be removed from schools because it will make white children feel guilty and "kids will be brainwashed that one race is superior than the other."

26. "Salvage the Bones," by Jesmyn Ward

In asking to ban this book about the plight of a Black working-class family as they prepare for Hurricane Katrina, a parent in Katy wrote, "I object to the explicit description of the teenage girl having sex with the boys in her social group."

27. "Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice," by Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood

A dad in Grapevine, a Dallas suburb, asked his child's school district to ban this book, a collection of poems by women of color on topics relating to social justice, activism and discrimination, because, he said, it promotes "terrorism."

28. "Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness," by Anastasia Higginbotham

A parent asked the Eanes Independent School District in Austin to remove this picture book about racial justice, arguing that no books that promote the Black Lives Matter movement should be available to children.

29. "How to be an Antiracist," by Ibram X. Kendi

In asking to ban this nonfiction book about resisting racism, an Eanes parent suggested replacing it with copies of the Bible.

30. "A Good Kind of Trouble," by Lisa Moore Ramée

An Eanes parent asked administrators to get rid of this novel, about a 12-year-old girl who gets involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, because it might cause a white child to feel "confusion or distress."

31. "We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices," by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson

This illustrated collection of poems and essays about overcoming prejudice and racism shouldn't be allowed in schools, an Eanes parent wrote, because it "promotes discrimination."

32. "On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God," by Louise Rennison

A parent in Denton, north of Dallas, wanted this teen romance removed from schools, arguing that it should be replaced with books "that have humor that do not promote sexual activity."

33. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini

This acclaimed novel about an unlikely friendship between a wealthy Afghan boy and the son of his father's servant was flagged for removal by a mom in Birdville who complained that it "depicts the rape and sexual exploitation of minors."

34. "It's Perfectly Normal," by Robie H. Harris

A mom in Birdville asked school leaders to remove this book — an illustrated guide to puberty, sex and sexual health — after her child checked it out, writing that it wasn't appropriate for middle schoolers.

35. "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out ," by Susan Kuklin

This book, a collection of interviews with transgender or gender-neutral young adults, was flagged for removal by a parent in Birdville who claimed that the book, which includes descriptions of sexual abuse of minors, encourages sexual activity among young children.

36. "Monday's Not Coming," by Tiffany D. Jackson

This novel, which focuses on the unexplained disappearance of a Black teen, includes explicit language about sex, which was the basis for a Birdville parent's request to have it removed from school libraries.

37. "More Happy Than Not," by Adam Silvera

This novel, which includes LGBTQ storylines and explicit language, is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in the Fort Worth suburb of Keller. ( Most of the formal library challenges submitted to the Keller Independent School District were filled out on behalf of parents by a school administrator and don't specify why the parents sought to have the books removed. )

38. "George," by Alex Gino

This book, lauded for its portrayal of a transgender child, is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

39. "What Girls Are Made Of," by Elana K. Arnold

This young adult novel, a National Book Award finalist, mentions abortion and includes multiple descriptions of sex. It's one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

40. "I Am Jazz," by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

This illustrated children's book about a transgender child — based on the real-life experiences of one of the authors — is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

41. "So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed," by Jon Ronson

This book, in which the author interviews people who've been shamed on the internet, touches on sensitive subjects, including rape and suicide. It's one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

42. "King and the Dragonflies," by Kacen Callender

Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, this novel deals with themes such as grief, love, family, friendship, racism and sexuality. It is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

43. "Go With the Flow," by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann

This graphic novel, which the School Library Journal praised for its message "that periods need not be a dirty secret,” is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

44. "Last Night at the Telegraph Club," by Malinda Lo

This novel, about a lesbian romance set in 1954 between a Chinese American teen and a white classmate, is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

45. "Weird Girl and What's His Name," by Meagan Brothers

Tracing the story of a 17-year-old girl who's beginning to question her sexual orientation, this is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

46. "Flamer," by Mike Curato

The School Library Journal said this graphic novel, about a boy wrestling with his sexuality at summer camp, is "an essential book that shows readers that they are never alone in their struggles." It's one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

47. "Milk and Honey," by Rupi Kaur

This collection of poetry and short stories about violence, abuse, love, loss and femininity is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

48. "A Court of Mist and Fury," by Sarah J. Maas

The second in a series of young adult fantasy novels, this is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

49. "47," by Walter Mosley

This novel, about a young slave boy who becomes swept up in a struggle for his own liberation, is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

50. "Girls Like Us," by Gail Giles

This novel, which includes descriptions of sexual abuse, is one of dozens of library books that have been flagged for removal in Keller.

Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of "They Came for the Schools." 

School Trip

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About the Book

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft is back with the newest adventures of Jordan, Drew, Liam, and all the characters that fans first met in New Kid , winner of the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award! In this full-color contemporary graphic novel, the gang from Riverdale Academy Day is heading to Paris, for an international education like you’ve never seen before …

Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can’t wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights.

But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected—and hilarious—turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home.

Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture? Or will they all end up feeling like the “new kid”?

Don’t miss the two hilarious and powerful companion novels by Jerry Craft, New Kid and Class Act !

“With his signature laugh-out-loud storytelling, which teems with nuanced character dynamics, tender moments of acceptance and connection, and a multicultural cast, Craft offers a zestful graphic novel adventure that mixes lighthearted fare with thought-provoking observations on lasting friendship in the face of future-based anxieties.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“At the heart of Craft’s series are the three-dimensional relationships forged among the diverse cast of characters in Jordan’s orbit, and this novel fully delights on that score…readers will love this European escapade with characters who reflect the richness and multiculturalism of modern America. Another triumph of storytelling filled with heart and wonder.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This heartfelt, must-read title belongs on all ¬library shelves, as it beautifully accompanies Craft’s first two graphic novels with these characters.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Book Ban Data

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States, finding that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022 numbers, reaching the highest level ever documented by ALA. Read the full announcement .

OIF documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship , as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023 . Four key trends emerged from the data gathered from 2023 censorship reports:

• Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023 ; school libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.
• Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge.
• Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.
• There were attempts to censor more than 100 titles in each of these 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Spread the word. Download these graphics and share on social media!

Note: a previous version of one of these graphics incorrectly referenced the number of unique titles challenged in 2021 as 1,651. In fact, the actual number is 1,858 unique titles challenged. 1,651 is the number of unique titles challenged during the preliminary period between January 1 and August 31, 2022, originally reported in September 2022.

Take Action

Unite Against Book Bans is ALA's national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship with an array of resources, tools, and actions.

Reporting censorship and challenges to materials, resources, and services is vital to defending library resources and to protect against challenges before they happen.

Additional Resources

Lists of frequently challenged books compiled by ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools.

A clearinghouse of resources to assist library workers and advocates in responding to and supporting others facing those challenges.

Documents designated by the Intellectual Freedom Committee as Interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights and background statements detailing the philosophy and history of each.

Methodology

ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to ALA or covered by the press, the data compiled by ALA represents a snapshot of book censorship.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict access to materials or services based upon the objections of a person or group. A challenge to a title may result in access to it being retained, restricted, or withdrawn entirely. Restrictions on access may include relocating the book to a section of the library intended for an older age group than the book is intended for, labeling it with a prejudicial content warning or rating, taking it out of the online catalog so it has to be requested from a staff member, removing it from open and freely browsable stacks, or requiring parental permission to check it out.

Challenges do not simply involve people expressing their point of view, but rather are an attempt to remove materials from curricula or libraries, thereby curtailing the ability of others to access information, views, ideas, expressions, and stories. A formal challenge leads to the reconsideration of the decision to purchase the material or offer the service. This process is governed by a board-approved policy and includes review of the material as a whole to assess if it is aligned with the library or school's mission and meets the criteria delineated in its selection, display, or programming policy (as applicable).

A book is banned when it is entirely removed from a collection in response to a formal or informal challenge.

Any reduction in access to library materials based on an individual or group's believe that they are harmful or offensive is an act of censorship. ALA does not consider weeding of an item based on criteria defined in a library or school district's policy to be a ban, nor do we characterize a temporary reduction in access resulting from the need to review materials to be a ban.

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Book bans in the US are at an all-time high. Will we see a similar spike in Australia?

On January 20, 2021, the young black poet Amanda Gorman stood upon the dais at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration to read her poem The Hill We Climb.

It was a historic moment, and Gorman rose to meet it, delivering a stirring performance watched by millions worldwide.

Yet two years later, a printed version of the poem — a tribute to hope, harmony and the democratic project — was removed from the library of an elementary school in Florida after a parent complained the book aimed to " cause confusion and indoctrinate students ".

The Hill We Climb was not the only book removed from library shelves in the US in 2023.

According to the American Library Association (ALA), 4,240 titles held in public libraries and schools were challenged in 2023, a 65 per cent increase from 2022. Around half of these books dealt with sexuality and race.

Seventeen states recorded attempts to ban 100 books or more. This includes Florida, which passed controversial 'don't say gay' legislation  in 2022, preventing teachers from discussing sexuality and gender identity in the classroom.

But book censorship is not restricted to the US.

In Australia, activists have recently sought to remove books dealing with topics such as sex education and same-sex parenting from libraries and bookstores.

So what is driving the wave of book bans and challenges around the world?

What are the most banned books?

In 2023, the most challenged books in the US were Gender Queer: A Memoir, a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe, followed by All Boys Aren't Blue by queer black activist George M Johnson and This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson.

Many of the targeted books engage with events and issues that young readers encounter in their everyday lives, such as menstruation, sexual assault or police violence, Tracie D Hall, a librarian who served as executive director of the ALA from 2020 to 2023, tells ABC RN's The Book Show .

"Many of them are bildungsroman novels, either coming-of-age novels in which the protagonist has to grapple with something that could be life-changing or life-altering, or they are memoirs."

A Washington Post analysis of more than 1000 book challenges made to school districts across the US revealed that most came from just 11 people. 

Also leading the complaints charge are groups such as Moms for Liberty, who copy and paste excerpts from books into emails sent to hundreds of people, urging them to lodge complaints about specific texts.

"What we see is small groups that have deep political aspirations identify groups of people who are uninformed [and] haven't read the material … asking them to carry charges or allegations or to carry requests for censorship or restriction or the outright banning of books altogether," Hall says.

"It isn't the soccer mom and the basketball dad and the grandparent who goes to the school all of the time [who are driving book challenges]."

Hall attends as many school board hearings on challenged books as she can.

"You inevitably hear the same thing … 'I haven't read the book but I was told that this passage is in the book, and therefore I object to this book being available to young people,'" she says.

Do book bans happen in Australia?

While books by Australian authors, including Anh Do's WeirDo series for kids, have been subject to challenges in the US, a different education system in Australia means we lack the politicised school districts responsible for censoring many books in the US.

However, Australia has form when it comes to book censorship.

"Through the 20th century, Australia assiduously banned [material featuring] homosexual, queer and non-heterosexual forms of sexual activity," Nicole Moore, professor in English and Media Studies at UNSW Canberra and author of The Censor's Library, tells ABC RN's The Book Show .

"The censors thought of themselves as protectors of Australian morals, so there was attention to sex outside marriage in any representation, to sexual enjoyment, to the representation of desire itself."

As a result, the Commonwealth Book Censorship Board banned works considered seditious or obscene. This included Upsurge by JM Harcourt and Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence.

Today, the Australian Classification Board — established in 1970 to classify publications, films, and video games — can effectively ban material by refusing classification.

In March 2023, Gender Queer became the first book in a decade to be referred to the Australian Classification Board following a complaint to Queensland Police by conservative activist Bernard Gaynor.

Gaynor wanted the book — along with four other titles — removed from circulation at Logan City Council library on the grounds it was sexually explicit.

The police referred the issue to the federal government and the book was called in for classification.

After a review, the Australian Classification Board classified Gender Queer as unrestricted, with the recommendation the book was suitable for readers aged 15 and over — a decision later upheld by the Classification Review Board.

Gaynor has taken the issue to the Federal Court in a case to be heard later in 2024.

In May, book banning hit the headlines again when Sydney's Cumberland City Council passed a vote to remove a same-sex parenting guide from its library's shelves.

A public outcry followed, and the council later overturned the decision , reinstating the book.

Shadow banning and other forms of censorship

While these cases make the news, more common — and less recognised — is an unofficial form of censorship that Hall calls "shadow banning".

This happens when someone, such as a writer, editor, librarian or teacher, chooses not to pursue a topic or promote a text because they fear the consequences.

"They don't want to get in trouble or be called out," Hall says.

In other circumstances, a library or a bookstore might preemptively remove a book from its shelves to avoid attacks — something YA author Will Kostakis says happens in Australia.

In one instance he describes, an independent Sydney school removed Heartstopper — a bestselling LGBTQI graphic novel series adapted for the screen by Netflix — from circulation "because they were worried about it being too queer".

The issue was not the book's content but concerns about attracting bad publicity.

"They're fearing backlash from fringe Facebook groups that target schools that have queer content in libraries," he says.

"Our gatekeepers don't want to ruffle feathers."

Kostakis, who tours schools giving author talks, says in the years between the same-sex marriage plebiscite and the COVID-19 pandemic there was a strong interest in LGBTQI narratives .

"Schools were very much like, 'Hey, we have queer kids in our audiences. We would like you to touch on this stuff so that they feel welcome.'"

Now, he says, at least once or twice a term schools say to him: "'Look, can you not mention that you're gay and not mention any of the queer themes in your books?'"

Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, traces the current wave of challenges to Gender Queer to the US midterm elections in 2022 after videos of school board meetings discussing the book went viral. 

"It started this absolute wave of copycat book challenges … that quickly spread until, within a month or two, I couldn't keep track of how many challenges there had been because they were happening so quickly," e says.

Who gets harmed by book bans?

Restricting access to books with diverse perspectives harms vulnerable kids, argues Kostakis.

"I was somebody who hated himself," he says.

"My life started when I came out, and I came out too late. And I don't want that cycle to repeat."

He says the benefits of making these books widely accessible are two-fold.

"One, a queer kid will feel less alone when … they see somebody who is like them [in a book].

"But also, kids who aren't queer who read queer stories, when they encounter a queer person … they will understand that they are as vital a part of the human tapestry as the cisgender straight person is."

In the US, works from the black literary canon, such as The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and The Colour Purple by Alice Walker — who Hall describes as "two of the greatest writers to ever live" — have been the target of book bans.

Hall is concerned about what limiting access to these books means for readers.

"I'm worried about our young people, particularly in the [American] south in rural communities where we see unchecked censorship, often where there are limited bookstores, where small libraries may not feel that they have the endorsement or the freedom to put books on shelves that have been challenged," she says.

"To be robbed of the right to read Morrison or Walker is a travesty."

The people fighting back

The fight against book bans is a political battle — and library staff are on the frontline.

In the last three years, dozens of libraries across the US have received bomb threats and other threats of violence.

In 2023, a library in Indiana closed for six days after an individual claiming to be armed threatened to enter the building and harm employees.

After a parent called New Jersey librarian Martha Hickson a " sex offender " at a school meeting in 2021 over her defence of Gender Queer, Hickson was sent hate mail and attacked on social media.

Despite having to take medical leave due to stress, Hickson spearheaded a campaign to fight challenges against five books in her library, which were ultimately retained.

"What librarians are doing by instinct is standing up, even when it is costing them their careers, their livelihoods, when they are being fired or let go or harassed, when they are facing bomb threats … when they are facing threats of bodily harm … for upholding the right to read," Hall says.

"As a librarian, you begin to understand that information not only wants to be free, but that access to information is a human right."

Students, too, are offering resistance.

When a Pennsylvania school district banned all the materials on a diversity list created in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020, students responded by staging daily protests and starting a letter-writing campaign.

Their effort was successful, with the school board reversing its decision in September 2021.

Spates of book bans are also occurring in other countries, including Brazil and Poland.

"We're almost five years into a global censorship effort, and it hasn't slowed down; it's only speeding up," Hall says.

"I have a fear that if we're not able to stop it in its tracks right now, it will change the course of contemporary history in terms of what we're allowed to read, what we're allowed to say, and ultimately, how we act as civic actors, and also the course of our politics."

However, there is cause for optimism. Hall says young people today read and use the library more than previous generations.

"We have new generations that can't be put into a political corner … and I think that's scary for politicians and any type of legislator or decision-maker that wants to rule by force rather than by innovation or resonance or connection."

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Watch: High school student’s defiant protest of book ban during graduation ceremony

A high school student dropped a banned book at the feet an Idaho school district official in a defiant protest during her graduation ceremony last Thursday, 23 May.

Annabelle Jenkins tried to give a graphic novel copy of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood , adapted by Renee Nault, to West Ada School District superintendent Derek Bub but he did not accept the book.

The title is one of ten banned in the school district after HB 710, the Children’s Library and Protection Act, was signed into law intending to stop children from encountering materials “harmful to minors” in a school or public library.

West Ada School District was contacted for comment.

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Penguin Random House and 5 authors are suing a Florida school board over book bans

Becky Sullivan

Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the U.S., has sued a Florida county school board over its decisions to ban and restrict access to books. Joining the lawsuit are five authors, two parents of students and the advocacy group PEN America. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the U.S., has sued a Florida county school board over its decisions to ban and restrict access to books. Joining the lawsuit are five authors, two parents of students and the advocacy group PEN America.

A new federal lawsuit alleges that recent decisions by officials in a Florida county to ban and restrict access to books in school libraries violates constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.

Over the past year, officials in western Florida's Escambia County have banned more than a dozen books in the county school district's libraries and classrooms in response to a wave of challenges by conservative teachers and parents.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that school officials acted in defiance of existing policies and a review board's recommendations when they removed books, and that the removals have disproportionately affected books that address racism and LGBTQ relationships.

🧵PEN America Files Lawsuit against Florida School District over Unconstitutional Book Bans Lawsuit joined by @penguinrandom , parents, and authors asserts that Escambia County School Board unlawfully removes or restricts access to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities. pic.twitter.com/9FFps68Gd6 — PEN America (@PENamerica) May 17, 2023

Leading the suit is the writers' advocacy group PEN America and Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the U.S. Joining the suit are five authors whose books have been challenged and two parents of students currently attending an elementary school in the district, which includes the city of Pensacola.

The plaintiffs say the lawsuit is the first of its kind in addressing a new nationwide wave of conservative-led efforts to ban books from schools and libraries that activists say are sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate for young readers.

Book News & Features

Ala: number of unique book titles challenged jumped nearly 40% in 2022.

Last year, an Escambia County high school teacher challenged 116 books available in school district libraries over what she characterized as "explicit sexual content, graphic language, themes, vulgarity and political pushes."

Others filed similar challenges, bringing the total number of currently challenged books to 197, plaintiffs say.

The Escambia County school board has ordered 10 books to be removed from some school libraries, the lawsuit states, including the frequently challenged novels The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. More than 150 of the remaining challenged books are on restricted access until a review can be completed, according to the complaint.

Members of the Escambia County Public Schools Board did not respond to NPR's requests for comment. Last month, the board announced it would pause book challenges indefinitely.

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Book bans are getting everyone's attention — including biden's. here's why.

According to the American Library Association , the number of reported challenges to books doubled in 2022, and the number of unique titles facing challenges jumped 40% from 2021.

"It was time to really call it out in detail," says Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, which tracks book bans . "We've come together to say we need the courts to step in and uphold our constitutional rights."

One of the lawsuit's plaintiffs is Ashley Hope Pérez , the author of Out Of Darkness , a young adult novel about a teenage love affair between a Mexican-American girl and a Black boy in Texas in the 1930s. The book has been challenged and access is currently restricted within the school district's libraries.

Plot twist: Activists skirt book bans with guerrilla giveaways and pop-up libraries

Pérez says her book has been targeted by book removal groups, including Moms for Liberty, that offer talking points for parents around the country to petition local school districts for its removal.

"There's little evidence of having actually engaged with the books themselves and a lot of copying and pasting. So you see the same typos, for example," Pérez says.

"Young people do not want sanitized narratives," she says. "They want opportunities to talk about difficult issues and to imagine lives that are different than their own."

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Sjc school board considers banning 4 new books. what do you think.

Ariel Schiller , Reporter , Jacksonville

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Book bans have been a controversial topic affecting school boards across Northeast Florida and other regions.

The St. Johns County School District is considering banning four books from its school library materials.

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Do you think these books should be removed from the classroom? Why or why not? Share below.

The district will have a public hearing on the proposed book ban at Tuesday’s, May 28, meeting.

The St. Johns County School Board will have a public hearing to reconsider whether their books should be banned.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ariel schiller.

Ariel Schiller joined the News4Jax team as an evening reporter in September of 2023. She comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee where she worked at ABC27 as a Weekend Anchor/Reporter for 10 months.

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